SUCCESS STORY
35% cost saving in merchant acquisition
Transforming Procurement Strategy in Fashion Retail
- Delivering value through payment process optimisation and capability building
Outcomes
35% Cost Reduction
Merchant acquisition reduced
Improved Supplier Accountability
Higher contract compliance and more consistent performance across categories
Procurement Capability Strengthened
Internal teams equipped with the tools to drive procurement excellence independently
BACKGROUND
A leading high-street fashion retailer with a turnover of approximately £150M partnered with EBIT to overhaul its procurement strategy, focusing on payment processing.
The engagement included running a full end-to-end tender for merchant acquiring and payment gateway services to unlock savings and improve operational effectiveness.
the challenge
Payment processing presented a complex challenge due to layered fee structures across merchant acquiring, gateway services, and fraud screening. With multiple providers and limited in-house expertise, the retailer struggled to assess true value or benchmark costs. Headline pricing often concealed inefficiencies, and a lack of granular insight made it difficult to optimise for both cost and customer experience.
SOLUTION
EBIT partnered with the retailer to execute a targeted procurement transformation, with a focus on strategic sourcing and internal capability building:
- Conducted a full assessment across all indirect spend categories to identify inefficiencies and cost-saving opportunities
- Established a dedicated procurement team, engaging stakeholders across the business to drive lasting change
- Identified further savings through spend consolidation and process redesign
- Implemented standardised procurement policies and governance frameworks to ensure supplier accountability
- Upskilled internal teams to embed best practices and sustain performance improvements
- Developed strategic and BAU procurement pipelines with robust value delivery and reporting mechanisms
EB102