We Went Into Business To Provide Procurement Services. Chances Are You Didn’t.
Every organisation relies on suppliers. Technology, facilities management, professional services, logistics, marketing, utilities, recruitment and many other categories all play a critical role in keeping the business running. These services keep your business running and all feed into procurements remit. Yet procurement is rarely why a business exists.
Chances are you went into business to develop products, serve customers, grow revenue, innovate, manufacture, advise, build, operate or deliver specialist expertise. The story we hear so many times from internal procurement teams and leaders is how they “fell into” procurement.
We went into business to provide procurement services. Chances are, you didn’t.
This distinction matters because as organisations grow, supplier ecosystems become more complex. Spend increases. Contracts multiply. Governance requirements expand. Commercial risks become harder to manage. What was once manageable through informal relationships and local decision-making becomes a significant business function in its own right. Many organisations reach a point where procurement maturity fails to keep pace with business growth. The result is familiar.
Supplier decisions become fragmented across departments. Contract renewals are missed. Commercial opportunities remain untouched. Procurement teams become overwhelmed by day-to-day activity. Operational leaders spend valuable time managing suppliers instead of focusing on the areas that drive business performance.
The challenge is rarely a lack of opportunity.
It is usually a lack of time, resource, specialist expertise or dedicated focus. That is where a procurement partnership with EBIT can make a significant difference.
A Procurement Partner, Not Just A Procurement Provider.
At EBIT, we do not believe every organisation needs the same approach. Some businesses require a complete outsourced procurement capability, others simply need additional expertise and capacity to strengthen an existing team. That is why we have developed our procurement partnerships around two core service models:
Managed Procurement Services
Our Managed Procurement Service is designed for organisations that want EBIT to take accountability for procurement delivery.
In practical terms, we become your procurement team, your category specialists or your procurement operations function. We manage sourcing activity, supplier relationships, governance, category management and continuous improvement programmes on your behalf.
This model is particularly valuable when:
The business has no formal procurement function.
Growth has outpaced procurement capability.
Procurement activity is spread across multiple departments.
Internal teams lack the capacity to pursue commercial opportunities consistently.
Leadership wants measurable procurement outcomes without investing in additional headcount. The benefit extends far beyond cost reduction.
Clients gain stronger supplier governance, improved spend visibility, enhanced supplier performance, better contract compliance and greater commercial control.
Virtual Procurement Services
Not every organisation wants to outsource procurement entirely.
Many already have capable procurement teams but need additional expertise, specialist knowledge or extra delivery capacity.
Our Virtual Procurement Service provides access to experienced procurement professionals who become an extension of your team. Whether you need procurement leadership, category expertise, supplier governance support or project delivery resource, we provide flexible capability exactly where it is needed.
For clients, this creates a powerful alternative to recruitment.
Rather than hiring additional permanent staff, organisations gain access to broad procurement expertise, category specialists and proven delivery capability that can scale alongside business requirements.
The “For You” Model
Some organisations want procurement outcomes delivered but do not want to build procurement capability internally. They need a trusted partner who can assume responsibility and deliver results.
This is what we call the “For You” model.
EBIT takes ownership of defined procurement activities and outcomes, providing an accountable delivery structure that removes pressure from internal stakeholders. We identify opportunities, engage suppliers, manage sourcing events, negotiate contracts, implement governance processes and deliver continuous improvement. Leadership retains visibility and control, while EBIT provides the expertise and resource required to achieve the objectives.
For many organisations, this becomes the fastest route to procurement maturity without the cost and complexity of building an internal function from scratch.
The “With You” Model
Other organisations want to strengthen what they already have. Their procurement team may be performing but lacks specialist expertise in certain categories, requires additional capacity or needs support to accelerate strategic initiatives.
Our “With You” model enables EBIT to work alongside internal teams as a genuine extension of existing capability. Rather than replacing procurement, we enhance it. We bring additional resource, category knowledge, market intelligence, supplier management expertise and commercial delivery support whilst helping internal teams build capability and focus on higher-value activities.
This approach is particularly effective for organisations that see procurement as a strategic capability and want to accelerate its development without significantly increasing overhead.
A Procurement Partnership As A Growth Enabler
As organisations scale, procurement becomes increasingly important. Supplier spend often grows faster than internal governance. New suppliers are added. Contract complexity increases. Stakeholder expectations evolve. The consequences of weak commercial control become more significant.
The organisations that consistently outperform their peers are not necessarily those with the largest procurement teams. They are the organisations that ensure procurement capability evolves alongside business growth. Sometimes that means building internal resource, sometimes it means partnering with a specialist.
More Than Savings
Savings often start the conversation, they are rarely the full story. We find the he most successful procurement partnerships also create measurable improvements in:
Supplier performance
Commercial governance
Spend visibility
Contract compliance
Stakeholder engagement
Risk management
Operational efficiency
Organisational capability
That is why our clients see EBIT as more than a procurement provider. We become a strategic extension of the business. Whilst procurement may not be why your organisation exists, it has a significant impact on profitability, resilience, operational performance and future growth.
And that’s exactly why we went into business. To provide procurement services. Chances are, you didn’t.
That’s why Procurement Partnerships work
