Beyond Cost-Cutting: A Smarter Approach to Business Procurement

Smarter Procurement for Growth and Resilience: Why It Matters Now

With costs rising and pressure mounting to deliver value and efficiency, organisations across the UK are increasingly re-evaluating how they buy goods and services. Yet, while the focus often falls on reducing headline costs, a more strategic view of procurement reveals opportunities that go far beyond savings alone.

In today’s climate, effective procurement can unlock growth, improve operational resilience and position businesses for long-term success. But what does that actually mean in practice?

What is strategic procurement?

Strategic procurement goes beyond sourcing the cheapest option. It involves assessing whether you’re buying the right things, from the right suppliers, at the right time and on the right terms. It’s about understanding supplier markets, managing risk, negotiating with insight and aligning procurement decisions with your wider business goals.

It also means thinking long-term, developing a procurement strategy that supports innovation, sustainability and competitiveness. Done well, strategic procurement not only reduces costs but enhances the quality, reliability and flexibility of your supply chain.

This is particularly important for SMEs and mid-sized organisations, which often lack the in-house resources to take a strategic view across all areas of expenditure. In many cases, purchasing is handled by operational staff without formal procurement training or access to market data. This creates a natural imbalance when negotiating with suppliers who have deep expertise in pricing and contract structuring.

Common challenges

In our work with businesses across sectors, we frequently encounter:

• Long-standing contracts that haven’t been benchmarked in years

• Services that are still being used despite no longer meeting operational needs

• Organisations unknowingly paying above market rate for essentials like energy, fuel or telecoms

• Fragmented procurement across departments, leading to inconsistent terms and lost leverage

These aren’t signs of bad management — they’re signs of busy teams doing their best without specialist support. But they do present an opportunity. Strategic procurement doesn’t mean doing more with less — it means doing things differently, with greater control and better insight.

Areas to review

There are more than 100 spend categories where improvements can be found. Some of the most impactful areas include:

• Energy procurement – Are you on an out-of-contract rate? Is your tariff still competitive? The market moves fast and a passive approach can be costly.

Example: A manufacturer in the Midlands discovered they were on out-of-contract rates for 60% of their electricity supply. After a review, a new fixed tariff was secured, reducing their annual energy spend by over £18,000.

• Fleet & fuel cards – Managing vehicle costs, mileage and consumption efficiently can deliver major operational savings.

Example: A construction firm was using three different fuel card providers with no central oversight. Consolidating to a single provider with real-time monitoring reduced admin time and delivered fuel savings of 8% per month.

• Water & Waste – Many organisations overpay simply due to billing errors or outdated contract structures.

Example: A leisure centre was billed for wastewater based on historical assumptions rather than actual usage. A reassessment led to a £12,000 rebate and a more accurate billing method going forward.

• IT & Telecoms – Systems evolve quickly. Ensuring your contracts match your current and future requirements is vital.

Example: One business was paying for 85 Microsoft 365 licences but only had 63 active users. Adjusting the licence count saved over £4,000 per year with no disruption.

• EV & Solar readiness – Planning for a lower carbon future can reduce long-term costs, but it must be based on the right data, not assumptions.

Example: A logistics company keen to adopt EVs was quoted £100,000 for infrastructure upgrades. A review revealed the site’s power capacity could support a phased EV rollout with smart chargers, cutting upfront costs by over 40%.

These are just a few examples. Even in well-managed organisations, inefficiencies and missed opportunities often lie hidden simply due to complexity or time constraints.

The benefits of reviewing procurement processes

Reviewing procurement is not about a one-time cost cut, it’s about embedding better processes and governance that benefit your business in the long term. These benefits can include:

• Improved cost control and cash flow

• Better supplier performance and accountability

• Increased transparency and risk mitigation

• Enhanced agility when responding to market changes

• Opportunities to align procurement with sustainability and ESG goals

In one example, a regional care home operator worked with Auditel to review long-held utility contracts. Through benchmarking, renegotiation and process streamlining, they achieved over £100,000 in annual savings, without switching suppliers or compromising service quality. Crucially, they also established new procurement controls that will deliver value year after year.

How Auditel can help

At Auditel, we’ve spent nearly three decades helping UK businesses get better outcomes from procurement. Our specialists are former industry professionals who now work alongside your team to bring deep category insight, supplier knowledge and analytical tools to your existing procurement processes.

We offer a free initial review to help identify where there may be opportunities to reduce costs, improve supplier performance or introduce innovation. There’s no commitment, no disruption and no cost to take that first step.

If you choose to act on our recommendations, we offer a range of commercial models,  including supplier-funded commission, shared savings or retainer options all transparent and agreed in advance.

Final thoughts

In challenging times, procurement isn’t just a cost centre, it’s a strategic lever for performance, resilience and growth. By taking a more structured approach and bringing in specialist support where needed, organisations can uncover significant value that might otherwise go unnoticed.

To find out more or to take advantage of our free procurement review, get in touch at Andrew.Buxton@auditel.co.uk.

We’d love to explore how smarter buying could benefit your business.