How to compare UK procurement consultancies
The five axes to score on
- Commercial model: day-rate, fixed-fee, or shared-savings. Ask how fees flex if savings under-perform.
- Seniority on the tools: who actually runs the negotiations — the partner who pitched, or a junior?
- Category depth: ask for two recent references in your specific spend categories and sector.
- UK delivery footprint: where the team is physically based and how much travel loading you are paying.
- Baseline and verification: how savings are baselined, tracked and signed off by finance.
Common shortlist
UK mid-market shortlists usually include one or two Big 4 firms, one or two specialist procurement consultancies (Caventis, Efficio, Proxima, 4C, Bramwith, Odesma), and occasionally a sourcing marketplace for narrow single-category savings. See our alternatives to Big 4 procurement consulting guide for when each is the right call.
Red flags to watch for
- Pitch team you never see again after signature.
- No willingness to share commercial risk on cost-out work.
- Vague answers on how baseline is set and who signs it off.
- Category slides that could apply to any client.
How should we shortlist procurement consultancies?
Score each firm on five axes: commercial model (day-rate vs shared savings), seniority actually on the tools, category depth in your specific spend areas, delivery footprint in the UK, and how savings are baselined and finance-verified.
What questions should we ask in the pitch?
Ask for the CVs of the people who will actually deliver; ask how the fee flexes if savings do not land; ask for two recent references in your sector and spend size; ask how the baseline is set and signed off by finance.
Is shared-savings always better than day-rate?
Not always. For scoped work with a clear brief and no baseline (e.g. an operating-model design), day-rate or fixed-fee is often the cleaner commercial. For cost-out work with a measurable baseline, shared-savings aligns incentives better.
Related insights
More practical reading on procurement, cost and supply chain.
How a UK omnichannel retailer took 6.4% out of COGS in 14 weeks — packaging, freight, private-label sourcing and what made it stick.
A week-by-week 100 day cost plan for new CFOs, PE sponsors and post-deal operators.
Where EBITDA hides in a UK mid-market P&L and how to release it in 12-18 months.
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