Case Studies

We have numerous cases studies summarising assignments that we have carried out for clients and the results that we have achieved for them. These are set out below.

Please feel free either to review them all or, if you would like to select by market sector, click on the right-hand side of the grey box to ‘Select Option’ and access the drop-down menu, make your choice and then press the Search button.

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The background:

A Bristol-based solicitors with 70 partners. The firm lacked a formal procurement function and asked us to review its costs across a range of general office costs to identify the cost reductions available and thus increase earnings.

Work Carried Out:

By benchmarking the client’s expenditure and adopting procurement best practice, including negotiations with both alternative and incumbent suppliers, we identified cost reductions in the following categories:

general stationery/IT consumables – 41%
printed stationery – 20%
accommodation. – 20%

The background:

A specialist producer of factory manufactured doors, employing 76 staff. Part of a larger group which turned over £900 million, this client had not been able to take advantage of central deals negotiated by its parent and asked us to review certain of its indirect costs to see whether it should join the group schemes or appoint suppliers directly itself.

Work Carried Out:

We benchmarked the client’s current expenditure and compared current prices both with its parent company’s deals, and those available elsewhere in the market place. By selecting the most competitive prices we generated cost reductions in the following categories:

general stationery/IT consumables – 33%
printed stationery – 19%
skips. – 12%

The background:

A Reading-based company, with a turnover of approximately £100m and 400 staff. This client had expanded rapidly and felt it had lost a degree of control over its indirect costs. It asked us to review its expenditure in a number of areas and, in consultation with its middle managers, propose ways of reducing them.

Work Carried Out:

We reviewed the nature of the client’s current goods and services, and the make-up of its supply chain. By introducing best procurement practice we generated cost reductions in several categories. We also identified one supplier who was charging incorrectly thus generating a 29% rebate. Categories addressed included:

telecoms
print (including catalogues)
general stationery/IT consumables
recruitment
packaging.

£0.5m overall

The background:

One of the country’s leading providers of catering equipment and related products, based just outside Cheltenham and turning over almost £20 million. The client’s central procurement function did not have sufficient resources to take responsibility for all costs and the client therefore asked us to review certain of its administrative expenditure, managed by staff that did not have backgrounds in procurement, with a view to boosting profit.

Work Carried Out:

By negotiating with both incumbent and alternative suppliers, and introducing best procurement practice generally, we generated cost reductions in the following:

general stationery/IT consumables. – 21%

The background:

One of the country’s largest producers of banking and loyalty cards, for customers including Visa, BP, Sainsbury’s and Boots. The company, which produced 400 million cards annually and was owned by one major shareholder, asked us to review two of its biggest areas of indirect spend and identify cost reductions in order to increase earnings.

Work Carried Out:

By benchmarking expenditure, rationalising the supply base and negotiating with existing suppliers we generated cost reductions in:

agency staff – 11%
telecoms. – 30%

The background:

An independent company that specialises in the management of aircraft component overhaul, repair and warranty, turning over £50 million annually. Responsibility for office overheads was spread throughout the company and managed by staff without backgrounds in procurement, so the finance director was concerned that it was not buying effectively in these areas and thus shareholder value being compromised.

Work Carried Out:

We were invited in twice to help this company. By benchmarking current expenditure and applying best practice procurement principles we identified cost reductions in:

general stationery – 24%
IT consumables – 28%
telecoms – 29%
photocopiers. – 26%

The background:

An engineering company specialising in the design, manufacture, installation, distribution and servicing of stair lifts and other assistive living products, turning over £23 million and employing 210 staff. A venture capital-owned business, this client had previously engaged an alternative procurement company to review its export freight costs, with a view to increasing profits prior to a trade sale, but had terminated its contract early due to the poor quality of its work. It then appointed NLaR to review this area.

Work Carried Out:

By benchmarking its expenditure and negotiating with incumbent suppliers, we put in place detailed service level agreements incorporating existing service levels and fixed prices, generating cost reductions in the following:

couriers – 35%
airfreight – 11%
sea freight – 14%
European road freight. – 24%

The background:

The UK operation of one of the world’s best-known producers of lingerie, employing 400 staff and turning over £80 million. The client’s UK headquarters was the centre of its distribution operations in this country but its overhead buying was outside the responsibility of its central procurement function and management was concerned that it was inefficient, thus diluting earnings to its European parent.

Work Carried Out:

By applying best practice, including advice on how to minimise ‘off-contract’ buying, we generated cost reductions in the following areas:

general stationery – 37%
print – 24%
IT consumables – 25%
telecoms. – 11%

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