SunSource — Account Dossier

Why This Company

Corporate Structure:

• SunSource — $2B+ PE-backed (CD&R) industrial distributor. A federation of 30+ affiliate companies across 280+ locations, each operating independently with its own purchasing processes and legacy systems. No CPO, no procurement technology. Headquartered in Addison, IL.
• Vytl Controls Group — Flow control solutions distributor ($500M revenue, 1,100 employees, 32 branches) acquired by SunSource on January 30, 2026. Previously PE-backed by MiddleGround Capital. Runs Oracle E-Business Suite. Its CEO Matt Bate is now inside SunSource leading the integration — making the procurement fragmentation problem significantly larger overnight.
• CD&R (Clayton, Dubilier & Rice) — SunSource's PE owner. Relevant because CD&R hired a dedicated Portfolio Company Procurement Program Director (Scott Easterwood) in 2023, creating a top-down mandate for procurement modernization across portfolio companies including SunSource.

Fit:

• Zero procurement technology across the combined entity — purchasing runs on Excel and Word across 60+ locations (MDM 2025 Top Distributors Report, ZipRecruiter — Purchasing Agent posting)

Pain:

• Employees confirm systemic technology failure: "outdated software systems with conflicting product pricing and inventory management," "antiquated technology," "the inventory system is outdated" — each of 30+ affiliate companies maintains independent purchasing processes on legacy systems (Glassdoor)
• Zero cross-entity spend visibility across a conservatively estimated $300M+ in indirect spend (extrapolated from $2B+ revenue, 4,600+ employees, 280+ locations) — no centralized procurement, no analytics, no tail spend management; four acquisitions under CD&R have compounded supplier fragmentation without consolidation (Tracxn)

Timing:

• Three converging triggers: (1) Vytl Controls acquisition closed January 30, 2026 — adding $500M revenue, 1,100 employees, 32 branches, and Oracle E-Business Suite to an already fragmented technology landscape (PR Newswire); (2) CD&R hired a dedicated Portfolio Company Procurement Program Director (Scott Easterwood, former CPO at Tapestry and Hershey) in November 2023, creating an institutional top-down mandate for procurement modernization (CD&R); (3) Tariffs driving 10-50%+ price increases on pumps, valves, and actuators — SunSource's core distributed products — with ~80% of industrial valve supply sourced from tariff-affected regions (Valve World Americas); expanded Section 232 duties now cover pumps, fasteners, and industrial components at 25-50% rates (PwC)

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Decision Makers

Scott Easterwood — Director, Portfolio Company Procurement Program, CD&R

Primary Contact (Portfolio Mandate)

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/scott-easterwood-37453a11
• Email: seasterwood@cdr-inc.com (inferred from CD&R email pattern)
• Cares about:
  • Building procurement functions from zero — built global multi-brand procurement from scratch at Tapestry (Coach, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman), managing $2B enterprise spend across NYC, London, Singapore, Shanghai, and Tokyo (CD&R announcement)
  • Hard savings as PE value creation — managed $3B spend at Hershey (60% of company spend), delivering $40M+ annual productivity; stated goal: "creating new opportunities through strategic procurement initiatives" across CD&R's portfolio (PR Newswire)
• Why they matter: His job is to bring procurement capability to CD&R portfolio companies — SunSource ($2B+, zero procurement tech, 280+ locations) is among the most obvious targets in the portfolio, and a win here could cascade across other CD&R companies.

Connection Vectors:

• BCG procurement practice: Senior Executive Advisor building BCG's procurement practice (2019-2023). Caveat: Simfoni's strategic partner Kearney competes with BCG — navigate carefully. (CD&R announcement)
• Hershey Company alumni: 20-year tenure creates a deep network of procurement leaders who rose through Hershey. (PR Newswire)

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Scott Lovingfoss — CIO

Champion / Technical Evaluator

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/scott-lovingfoss-7792092
• Email: slovingfoss@sunsrce.com (inferred from company email pattern)
• Cares about:
  • M&A technology integration — has overseen technology integration for 4+ acquisitions at SunSource; Vytl Controls (Oracle E-Business Suite) is the most complex yet (LinkedIn)
  • Analytics, cost optimization, and supply chain management — explicitly listed as focus areas; career arc from Oracle DBA → Enterprise Architect → CIO reflects a deeply technical, data-systems thinker; TOGAF 9 Certified (The Org, LinkedIn)
• Why they matter: Natural owner of any procurement analytics platform evaluation — his mandate explicitly covers analytics, M&A integration, supply chain, and cost optimization, and he would manage ERP data integration across the combined entity.

Connection Vectors:

• Chicago CIO peer network: Won 2014 "CIO's Most Effective IT Team" Award (SIM Chicago / AITP Chicago) under CIO Creighton Warren at USG Corporation. Warren is now CIO at Boyd Group Services — potential warm introduction path if anyone in Simfoni's network knows him. (PRWeb 2014)

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Matt Bate — CEO, Vytl Controls Group (now SunSource)

Integration Leader

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matt-bate (LinkedIn-active — a rarity at SunSource)
• Email: mbate@sunsrce.com (uncertain — acquisition is 2 weeks old; may still be on Vytl/Setpoint email)
• Cares about:
  • Technology consolidation — experienced PE-driven technology centralization at Vytl under MiddleGround Capital; now facing a larger challenge integrating into SunSource's 30+ affiliate structure (MiddleGround Capital)
  • Financial and operational integration — finance background (former CFO of Setpoint Integrated Solutions before becoming Vytl CEO); understands spend data and ROI math (The Org, LinkedIn)
• Why they matter: As the leader integrating a $500M, 1,100-person acquisition into SunSource, he has the most acute awareness of data consolidation and system fragmentation pain — and he's one of the few SunSource leaders with an active LinkedIn presence, making him a viable digital engagement target.

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Tim McNamee — VP, Purchasing

Gatekeeper

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tim-mcnamee-27a86835
• Email: tmcnamee@sunsrce.com (inferred from company email pattern)
• Cares about:
  • Purchasing operations — 20+ year SunSource lifer, rose from Senior Purchasing Manager to VP; skills include procurement, supply chain management, lean manufacturing, negotiation (LinkedIn, ZoomInfo)
• Why they matter: Most senior dedicated purchasing executive — but critical nuance: in industrial distribution, "VP Purchasing" typically manages direct spend (products for resale), not indirect/tail spend (Simfoni's primary domain). However, his 20+ years of institutional knowledge and organizational authority make him essential to any procurement technology conversation. He can be an advocate or a blocker.
• Key purchasing contacts in his orbit: Judy Potts (Sr. Purchasing Manager, HQ — LinkedIn), John Hair (Director Purchasing, GHX Industrial subsidiary — LinkedIn), Tony Bongaarts (Purchasing Manager, strongest procurement skillset among mid-level staff — LinkedIn)

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David Sacher — President & CEO

Strategic Authority

• LinkedIn: None found
• Email: dsacher@sunsrce.com (inferred from company email pattern)
• Cares about:
  • Technical expertise and solving complex industrial problems — consistent framing: "a continuation of our commitment to build deep technical expertise and value-added capabilities to address the complex problems impacting today's industrial operators" (PR Newswire)
  • Value-added distribution over commodity play — positions SunSource as an engineering extension of customers (Ryan Herco acquisition)
• Why they matter: Ultimate strategic authority (at SunSource since 2002, CEO since 2017), but procurement technology is likely below his direct attention — evaluation comes from Freeman (budget), Lovingfoss (technology), and Easterwood (CD&R mandate). No LinkedIn, no public presence — unreachable through digital channels. (Bloomberg)

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Entry Strategy

Recommended Entry Point: Scott Easterwood (CD&R)

Easterwood's job is to bring procurement capability to CD&R portfolio companies. SunSource — $2B+, zero procurement technology, 30+ affiliates, 280+ locations, purchasing on Excel — is among the most obvious targets in the CD&R portfolio for his mandate (CD&R). His Tapestry experience building global multi-brand procurement from scratch maps directly to SunSource's situation (PR Newswire). The PAYS model's zero-upfront-cost structure aligns with PE value creation economics: savings flow directly to EBITDA. A CD&R-level win also creates portfolio-wide cascade potential.

Potential Champion: Scott Lovingfoss (CIO)

Lovingfoss's mandate explicitly includes analytics, M&A integration, supply chain management, and cost optimization (LinkedIn, The Org). He would own ERP data integration — especially critical now with Vytl's Oracle E-Business Suite needing to feed into consolidated analytics. His TOGAF-certified enterprise architecture background means he evaluates through an integration lens — Simfoni's ability to sit above multiple ERPs and consolidate data speaks his language.

Dual-path approach: The CD&R pathway (Easterwood) has higher leverage — top-down mandate, portfolio cascade — but is harder to access. The SunSource direct pathway (Lovingfoss) is more conventional but may face organizational inertia without a top-down mandate. Pursue both in parallel. Matt Bate (Vytl CEO) offers a third angle — he's LinkedIn-active (rare at SunSource), has a finance background, and sits at the epicenter of integration pain.

Note: This is essentially a cold account from Simfoni's existing network. Zero direct matches were found between any SunSource decision maker and Simfoni's key people (UT Austin, TraceLink, Accenture, FTI Consulting, Finexio, Forrester/SiriusDecisions). The strongest indirect paths are: (1) BCG contacts to reach Easterwood (caveat: Kearney/BCG competitive dynamic), and (2) Chicago CIO community contacts to reach Lovingfoss via Creighton Warren (former colleague at USG, now CIO at Boyd Group Services — PRWeb 2014).

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Key Context

• CD&R owns Epicor (ERP/supply chain software) and actively cross-sells it into portfolio companies (Panorama Consulting). However, Simfoni is complementary, not competitive: Epicor handles transactional purchasing (requisitions, POs via ARM) and distribution ERP (Prophet 21 SCM for direct procurement) — it does NOT provide cross-entity spend analytics, tail spend automation, indirect spend management, or multi-ERP data consolidation (Epicor ARM, Epicor P21 SCM). No evidence SunSource currently uses Epicor. Frame Simfoni as the analytics and automation layer that sits above whatever ERP(s) SunSource runs — making the Epicor investment more valuable, not replacing it.

• All SunSource leaders have extremely low public profiles. No interviews, podcasts, conference appearances, or LinkedIn thought leadership found for Sacher, Lovingfoss, or McNamee. Sacher has no LinkedIn at all. There is no content engagement path — cold outreach must be precise and evidence-based.

• Open "Senior Director Supply Chain" role (status unknown): A corporate-level posting for this role — overseeing Purchasing and Inventory Control across the ISS branch network — was found but now returns 404. If this role was filled, the new hire is in their first 90 days (highest receptivity window for new tools) and should be identified via LinkedIn. If unfilled, it confirms an organizational gap in centralized supply chain leadership.

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Quick Reference

All @sunsrce.com emails are inferred from confirmed company pattern (first-initial + last-name @sunsrce.com, 86% usage rate — ContactOut). Easterwood's @cdr-inc.com email follows CD&R's confirmed pattern ({first_initial}{last}@cdr-inc.com, 97.3% usage per RocketReach; ZoomInfo shows masked address). Bate's email is especially uncertain — acquisition closed 2 weeks ago; he may still be on Vytl/Setpoint email.

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