Proprietary Framework
Total Profit Added™
The metric that replaces Total Cost of Ownership — and changes every commercial conversation. Total Profit Added™ (TPA™) is Todd Snelgrove's proprietary framework for quantifying the full economic value a supplier delivers to a customer, enabling suppliers to defend premium pricing and buyers to make smarter procurement decisions.
What Is Total Profit Added™?
Total Profit Added™ is the net economic benefit a supplier's product or service creates for a customer — measured in real dollars, not feature lists. Where Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) focuses narrowly on costs, TPA™ captures the complete picture: revenue gains, cost reductions, risk mitigation, productivity improvements, and strategic advantages that flow from choosing the right supplier.
Developed by Todd Snelgrove over two decades of consulting with Fortune 500 companies and global procurement organizations, TPA™ has been adopted by leading firms across manufacturing, technology, energy, and professional services. It is the foundation of every Experts in Value engagement.
Why TPA™ Matters
Beyond Price. Beyond TCO. Into True Value.
Price is the wrong conversation
When buyers and sellers negotiate on price alone, both parties leave value on the table. TPA™ reframes the discussion around economic outcomes — where suppliers can win on merit, not margin compression.
TCO is incomplete
Total Cost of Ownership captures acquisition and operating costs but ignores revenue upside, risk reduction, and strategic value. TPA™ completes the equation by quantifying every dimension of value delivered.
Procurement needs a better metric
Leading procurement organizations are moving beyond lowest-price sourcing. TPA™ gives procurement teams a rigorous, defensible framework for evaluating suppliers on total economic contribution.
Sales teams need a value language
TPA™ equips sales and commercial teams with a structured methodology to quantify and communicate value in the language of the C-suite — ROI, profit impact, and risk-adjusted returns.
The Framework
How TPA™ Is Calculated
Total Profit Added™ is the sum of all economic benefits a supplier delivers, net of all costs — including price, implementation, switching, and ongoing operating costs.
Revenue Enhancement
Incremental revenue the customer generates because of the supplier's product or service — faster time to market, higher quality output, improved customer retention, or new capabilities enabled.
Cost Reduction
Direct and indirect cost savings: lower material costs, reduced labor, fewer defects, less downtime, lower warranty claims, and reduced administrative burden.
Risk Mitigation
The economic value of reduced exposure to supply disruption, regulatory non-compliance, quality failures, reputational damage, and other quantifiable business risks.
Capital Efficiency
Improvements in working capital, inventory turns, asset utilization, and cash flow that the supplier's solution enables — often overlooked but frequently significant.
Strategic Value
Long-term competitive advantages: access to innovation, preferred supplier relationships, co-development opportunities, and market differentiation that compound over time.
Documented Results
TPA™ in Practice
$7B+
Documented client value impact
200+
Companies trained in TPA™ methodology
20+
Years developing and refining TPA™
40+
Industries where TPA™ has been applied
Applications
Where TPA™ Creates the Most Value
Value Selling
Sales teams use TPA™ to build customer-specific business cases that justify premium pricing and accelerate deal cycles by speaking the language of economic buyers.
Value-Based Pricing
Pricing teams use TPA™ to set prices that capture a fair share of the value delivered — moving beyond cost-plus and competitive benchmarking to value-anchored pricing strategies.
Strategic Procurement
Procurement organizations use TPA™ to evaluate suppliers on total economic contribution rather than unit price — improving sourcing decisions and supplier relationships.
Commercial Negotiations
Both buyers and sellers use TPA™ to structure negotiations around value creation and fair value sharing — producing more durable agreements and stronger partnerships.
Executive Alignment
Finance and C-suite stakeholders use TPA™ as a common language to evaluate commercial decisions in terms of profit impact, risk, and strategic fit.
Training & Capability Building
Organizations embed TPA™ into sales, procurement, and finance training programs to build a company-wide culture of value-based commercial thinking.
Academic and Industry Recognition
Total Profit Added™ has been cited in academic research, featured in executive education programs at leading business schools, and adopted by procurement and sales organizations worldwide. Todd Snelgrove has presented the TPA™ framework at SAMA, ISBM, IACCM, MAPI, ProcureCon, and numerous other industry forums, and has co-authored research with professors from IMD, Northwestern, and other leading institutions.
Bring Total Profit Added™ to Your Organization
Whether you are a supplier looking to defend premium pricing or a procurement organization seeking better sourcing decisions, Todd Snelgrove can help you implement the TPA™ framework and transform your commercial conversations.