transformation

As organisations transform themselves or their services, they have an opportunity to change the interaction and alignment of the procurement function within the business and its supply chain. Transformation can:

  • create disruption, value and deliver on the overall business strategy
  • move procurement to or from a decentralised or centralised function
  • integrate the function to achieve the business goals
  • include people, process and technology enablement
  • include the ‘make or buy’ options to deliver more value
  • be agnostic across all e-enablement platforms
  • drive automation and standardisation across a business

At 4C we understand the challenges our clients face with procurement transformation, which can include:

  • a poor performing function
  • misalignment with the goals of the organisation
  • lack of controls and governance
  • poor data visibility
  • poor performing suppliers with little innovation
  • low internal or external engagement
  • culture issues
  • high cost of service
  • lack of agility
  • inability to support wider strategic challenges
  • inability to drive and enable sustainable change internally or across the supply chain.
We use systematic methodologies, tools and techniques to recommend focus areas to our clients so they can improve control, performance and understanding of business needs, understand how to become a high performing function and align operating models and culture to deliver the business goals. Our 9-box model for operating model design, standard people development templates and change management methodologies enable and deliver sustainable benefits, while 4Spend and 4Tracker tools put data and insights at our clients’ fingertips. Our teams have supported global organisations with their vision, strategy and operating model, while ensuring their people are mapped against the correct strategic categories, leveraging local and Global Procurement Services teams to execute contracting and sourcing.

We will provide diagnostic and ambition setting, transformation design and planning and rapid implementation solutions that allow your business to:

  • enhance capabilities and focus capacity
  • move to a controlled environment
  • focus on goals
  • support front, middle and back office functions and
  • change the culture to drive and enable internal change
  • deliver sustainable change within the supply chain


These benefits will maximize your profitability, deliver business efficiency, while empowering your staff and supply chain.

multi-national energy and utility company

A British multinational energy and utility company supplying electricity and gas to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and North America.

4C was selected and brought in to map to existing procurement operating model and recommend a TOM design and associated benefits for its people, process and technology

  • mapped out existing operating model end to end using five S2P processes
  • conducted an in-depth analysis of current design implications and identified opportunities, challenges and pain points
  • continuous engagement with senior leadership with regards to progress and direction of overall diagnostic
  • delivered recommendation for the Target Operating Model and implementation planning

value delivered

  • identified increased value for business partners through SRM and close co-operation with BUs
  • simpler more agile organisation with increased compliance to company policy
  • global target operating model being adopted in 5 business units; standardising the ways of working

development of PSCM common processes in E&P

BP is one of the world’s leading integrated oil and gas companies. We provide customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, lubricants to keep engines moving, and the petrochemicals products used to make everyday items as diverse as paints, clothes and packaging.

Incorporating best practices and standardising the way procurement is undertaken in a global organisation.

  • Working as part of a combine internal and external team, we reviewed all the current ways of working across the Business Units (BUs)
  • Building in external best practices as well as academic insight to develop a common process throughout the procurement lifecycle
  • Testing across all regions and category types
  • Training and education plan developed to communicate new process and upskill existing staff in new approaches

value delivered

  • Single common process developed
  • Handbook and templates developed to communicate new processes
  • IT tool specified to automate common process
  • Training programme developed to roll-out new process

UK specialist lender and savings bank

Recommendation for a new procurement policy and target operating model.

A UK challenger bank focused on savings and lending for SMEs, homeowners, landlords and individuals.

Aldermore has grown rapidly and recognised the need to understand their expenditure profile, provide clear management information on the supply base and to transform procurement. We were initially engaged to provide visibility of their spend which led to us reviewing their procurement function and providing options on the new operating model, including outsourcing.

  • developed spend as service to understand Aldermore’s 3rd party expenditure
  • conducted a 10 week diagnostic to understand the ‘as-is’ position and propose a new operating model and developed a new policy, processes and procedures
  • provided team resources into the bank’s procurement function to accelerate material contract remediation
  • develop a training & development plan for the function and an option to outsource.

value delivered

  • a new service to provide real-time data on their supply base
  • recommendation of target operating model along with a new procurement policy, 5 key procedures and over 300 process steps, all incorporating business feedback
  • accelerated contract remediation and agreed longer term support for delivery of plans

multi-national currency exchange service

Outsourced procurement solution. Travelex is a global foreign exchange company with a significant presence in APAC, North American and Europe. Travelex employs over 6,500 people and serves over 37m customers per year.

When Travelex brought us in there was no internal procurement team with all sourcing undertaken by operational staff in an ad-hoc, uncoordinated way.

We needed to build credibility for a procurement function and once this was achieved, we became the outsourced procurement provider.

Our key deliverable was to building trust in the value procurement can add. We focused on OPEX savings with improve EBITDA but also supported a large IT CAPEX project. We adopted:

  • category approach to build relationships
  • implemented a cross functional common sourcing process
  • use of e-Sourcing software
  • deployment of procurement policy to support performance improvement, risk mitigation and cost reduction

value delivered

We provided a core fixed team which was supplemented by category experts as and when expertise was required.

  • >6% indirect savings of addressable spend in Year 1 and 2
  • implementation of spend analysis
  • full supplier risk analysis programme
  • contract novation during divestment