File 04 · Procurement

Procurement & Supplier Performance

Structure category strategy, measure real supplier performance and reduce the dependencies that threaten your continuity, without trading away cost or quality.

NatureStrategy and performance
Core tensionCost versus continuity
Natural next stepChain resilience

Your challenges

When upstream decides your downstream.

Purchasing often carries the largest share of costs, and suppliers condition your ability to deliver. Two reasons to make it a leadership topic, not a back-office one.

E.01

Dependency concentrated on a few suppliers

One incident at one of them is enough to stop your production or sales, and nobody has priced that exposure.

E.02

Prices negotiated without data

With no consolidated history or cost breakdown, negotiation runs on leverage and relationships, not facts.

E.03

Supplier performance never measured

Delays, non-conformities and disputes are handled case by case, with no record to demand better or decide differently.

E.04

Scattered, passive buying

Each department orders on its own: fragmented volumes, inconsistent terms, no consolidation lever.

Our approach

Four movements, from passive spend to category strategy.

We start from your real spend and your real risks, and finish with category decisions your teams can defend.

Phase 1

Map the spend

Consolidate who buys what, from whom, on what terms and with what risks.

Phase 2

Segment the categories

Cross economic stake and supply risk to differentiate strategies.

Phase 3

Assess the suppliers

Measure real performance: lead times, quality, responsiveness, health of the relationship.

Phase 4

Decide and secure

Category strategies, sourcing plans and continuity scenarios.

Deliverables

The exhibits handed over at close.

Purchasing decisions that stand up in committee, evidence in hand.

Exhibit A

Spend and risk map

The consolidated view of your purchases: volumes, suppliers, terms, dependencies and critical exposures.

Exhibit B

Category strategies

For each category that matters: the objective, the main lever, the target panel and the action plan.

Exhibit C

Supplier scorecard

The criteria, scoring method and review routine to steer performance over time.

Exhibit D

Security plan

Critical dependencies addressed: dual sources, decoupling stocks, contract clauses and fallback scenarios.

Expected benefits

What actually changes.

The same procurement function, before and after structuring. Toggle to compare.

Nobody holds the full picture of the spend
A few suppliers carry an unpriced risk
Negotiation runs on gut feel and relationships
Supplier incidents surface together with their consequences
A consolidated, current spend map
Dependencies identified, priced and addressed
Negotiations prepared on data and cost breakdowns
Measured supplier performance feeding every decision

Who it's for

Three situations where this file is the answer.

This file becomes a priority when upstream starts dictating terms to your business.

Margins under pressure

Purchase prices climb and you lack factual levers to negotiate or substitute.

Critical dependency

One or two suppliers hold your business, and that exposure has never been addressed.

A procurement function in the making

Purchasing grew with the company, without a formal strategy or steering tools.

Typical case

What this file looks like in real life.

An anonymized example, representative of the procurement engagements we run.

Engagement noteRef. D-04
ContextA manufacturer whose three suppliers carry most of the critical supply, on inherited contracts never renegotiated.
ProblemPrice increases absorbed without counter-arguments, recurring delays left unmeasured and no qualified alternative in case of failure.
EngagementSpend and dependency mapped, categories segmented, supplier scorecard built, alternative sources qualified and a security plan established.
Expected outcomeNegotiations rebalanced by facts, supplier performance tracked as routine and continuity scenarios ready to activate.
Previous fileInventory, Replenishment & Distribution Next fileDigital, Systems, Data & AI

Open this file

Let's take back control of your upstream.

One conversation is enough to identify your critical dependencies and the negotiation levers left on the table.