Procurement consultancy for UK businesses, led by a senior procurement director
Part of our cost reduction service.
Procurement consultancy workstreams
Our procurement consultancy services span the full commercial lifecycle: from procurement spend analysis and vendor spend analysis through to embedding the controls that keep savings in place.
- Spend analysis and category prioritisation
- Supplier negotiation services and contract renegotiation
- Strategic sourcing and competitive tendering
- Category management and supplier performance governance
- Procurement policy, approvals and controls
Procurement consulting companies: what we do differently
Most procurement consulting companies and procurement services firms fall into one of two shapes: a large firm with a pyramid of junior consultants, or a small procurement company that hands over a slide pack and leaves execution to the client. Caventis is deliberately neither. Every engagement is led personally by the founder, Matt Buckley, who runs the sourcing, negotiates the contracts and manages supplier transitions to conclusion, and every engagement is managed by the founder.
Every engagement is shaped around what you want to achieve. The scope, the way we work together and the commercials are agreed before anything begins, and savings are verified against a baseline your finance team signs off.
How our procurement consultancy differs
- Shaped around your goals. Scope and commercials are agreed together per engagement, before work starts.
- Implementation-led. We run the sourcing events, negotiate the contracts and manage transitions, not just recommend them.
- Senior only. Every engagement is managed by the founder, not a pyramid of juniors.
Also known as
Clients search for this work under several labels: procurement advisory, procurement advisory services, procurement advisors, procurement advisor UK, procurement advisory firm, or simply a procurement consultant. It is the same body of work: senior category expertise applied to your spend base.
Who we work with
- UK businesses without a mature procurement function
- Private equity portfolio companies pre- or post-acquisition
- Manufacturing, industrial and consumer businesses
- Professional services and technology firms
Related
For savings across third-party spend, see ourcost reduction consultantspage, or exploreprocurement transformationwhen the function itself needs rebuilding.
Procurement consulting firms compared
The UK market ranges from the Big 4 to specialist firms and independent advisers. Our guide toalternatives to Big 4 procurement consultingsets out who the firms are, and our buyer’s guide onhow to choose a procurement consultancycovers the questions to ask before you shortlist.
Procurement outsourcing and ongoing support
Some businesses do not need a project; they need someone to run procurement for a period. Procurement outsourcing covers that gap: sourcing, contract management and category ownership handled outside the permanent team.
We provide outsourced procurement through the founder for a defined period, to lead a cost programme, manage procurement through a transaction or own categories that have no owner. See ouroutsourced procurement services.
Price analysis sits at the centre of the work. We break the price into materials, labour, overhead and margin so the negotiation is about cost drivers, not goodwill. See how we build a should-cost model.
Frequently asked questions
What does a procurement consultancy actually do?
A procurement consultancy analyses how an organisation buys, benchmarks pricing and terms, runs sourcing events, renegotiates contracts and puts governance in place so savings hold. Caventis supports each stage and tracks realised savings against the P&L.
How is Caventis different from other procurement consultancy firms?
Caventis supports implementation as well as recommendations and tracks realised savings against the P&L, with every engagement shaped around what you want to achieve and the commercials agreed together before work starts.
Do you offer procurement consultancy services to UK and PE-backed businesses?
Yes. The bulk of our procurement consultancy services are delivered to UK businesses of all sizes, including private equity portfolio companies where senior category expertise is not economic to hire in-house.
How long does a procurement consultancy engagement take?
A Cost Review takes 1-2 weeks. Category sourcing and renegotiation waves run 8-16 weeks each. Governance and monitoring continue lightly to protect savings.
What is procurement consulting?
Procurement consulting is external advisory and delivery support that helps an organisation buy better: analysing spend, benchmarking pricing, running sourcing events, renegotiating contracts and putting the governance in place to make savings stick.
What does a procurement consultant do?
A procurement consultant analyses what you spend and with whom, identifies where you are over-paying or over-exposed, then leads the sourcing, negotiation and supplier transition work to release savings, usually alongside your finance and operations teams.
How do I pick a procurement consulting firm?
Look for senior category experience (not a pyramid of juniors), a track record of implementation (not just recommendations), commercial terms that reflect the agreed scope and outcomes, and references from businesses of a similar size and sector. Avoid firms that quote a saving number before seeing your spend.
How does procurement consulting work in practice?
Most engagements start with a short diagnostic (1-2 weeks) to size the prize by category. From there, sourcing waves run in 8-16 week cycles: each with a benchmark, a tender or renegotiation, a supplier decision and a tracked saving. Governance is left behind so savings hold in the P&L.
How much do procurement consultants cost in the UK?
Fees vary widely across the market, from day rates to fixed project fees and savings-linked fees. At Caventis, scope and commercial terms are agreed with each client before work starts.
Do you offer no win no fee procurement consulting?
Some firms in the market work on a no win no fee basis, where fees depend on savings delivered. At Caventis, scope and commercial terms are agreed with each client before work starts.
What is gainshare procurement or shared-savings consulting?
Gainshare (also called shared savings) is a commercial model where the consultant's fee is a defined share of savings delivered against an agreed baseline. It is one of several models used across the consulting market. At Caventis, scope and commercial terms are agreed with each client before work starts.
What is a typical procurement consultant fee structure?
Options in the market range from day rates, to fixed project fees, to gainshare. At Caventis, scope and commercial terms are agreed with each client before work starts.
Related procurement topics
Specialist areas that complement this work.
Bottom-line savings across every category, evidenced and signed off by finance.
Consolidate the long tail of low-value, high-volume spend.
Senior procurement leadership for a defined period.
Rebuild operating model, technology and capability from the ground up.
Buyer's guide: firm types, fee models and how to shortlist.
About Caventis
Caventis (Caventis Ltd, registered in England & Wales, company number 17158263) is a UK procurement, supply chain and cost reduction consultancy. It works with global businesses businesses to identify and deliver savings across procurement, operations and back-office spend, with every engagement shaped around what the client wants to achieve and results verified against the P&L.
The firm was founded by Matt Buckley, who leads every engagement personally, drawing on 16 years of procurement, supply chain and cost transformation experience at bp and General Motors. Matt holds an Executive MBA, two PG Diplomas in Senior Leadership and Finance, a Bachelor of Business in Supply Chain Management and MCIPS. Caventis is headquartered in the United Kingdom and serves clients internationally.
Talk to a UK procurement consultancy led by its founder.
Start with a Cost Review: 1-2 weeks, sized by category, with no obligation.