Fractional procurement leadership without the full-time cost
Get Chief Procurement Officer level capability embedded part-time in your business. Senior direction, supplier governance and team leadership, at a fraction of the cost of a permanent hire. Ideal for SMEs and mid-market organisations.
What is fractional procurement?
Fractional procurement is senior procurement leadership provided on a part-time basis. An experienced procurement leader works with an organisation for a set amount of time each week or month, giving it Chief Procurement Officer level direction and capability without the cost of a full-time hire.
A lot of growing businesses hit the same wall. Spend has climbed, suppliers have multiplied, and the informal approach that worked at a smaller size is now creating cost and risk. The business needs senior procurement leadership, but the spend does not yet justify a full-time CPO on a six-figure salary. So nothing happens, and the gap quietly widens.
Fractional procurement solves this. You get a senior leader, a fractional CPO, who sets the strategy, leads the team, owns supplier governance and reports at board level, but for the days a week or month you actually need. It is the same capability a larger organisation would hire full-time, sized and priced for where your business is now.
The gap between no leadership and a full-time hire
he hardest stage for procurement is the middle. A small business buys informally and that is fine. A large one has a full procurement function led by a CPO. In between sits a wide band of growing organisations where procurement matters, the spend and risk are real, but a permanent senior hire is hard to justify. The result is procurement led by people who are capable but stretched, or by no one in particular. The cost of that gap is quiet but compounding. No one owns the supplier strategy, savings go uncaptured, governance is patchy, and when something goes wrong there is no senior procurement head to deal with it. Fractional leadership closes the gap without forcing the business into a premature full-time commitment.
What fractional leadership delivers
Fractional procurement gives you the upside of senior leadership without the fixed cost. The return shows up in savings, control and the confidence of having someone senior owning procurement.
Senior capability
CPO-level strategy, judgement and supplier leadership, embedded in your business and accountable for results.
A fraction of the cost
You pay for the days you use, not a full salary with on-costs and recruitment, usually recovered through savings..
Flexible commitment
Scale the input up or down as the business changes, with no long-term employment liability.
What our fractional procurement service covers
A senior procurement leader embedded in your business, with the level of input matched to your size and needs.
Procurement Strategy
A clear procurement strategy aligned to your business goals, with the priorities and savings targets that matter..
Team Leadership
Senior leadership and coaching for your existing buyers, lifting capability and consistency across the team.
Supplier Governance
Ownership of supplier strategy, risk and key relationships, so the suppliers that matter are managed properly.
Major Sourcing and Negotiation
Hands-on leadership of the high-value sourcing and negotiations where senior experience pays for itself.
Governance and Controls
The approval framework, spend controls and compliance that keep procurement controlled as the business grows.
Board-Level Reporting
Clear reporting of procurement performance, savings and risk to leadership, in pounds and plain language..
A four-stage engagement process
A fractional engagement is ongoing, but it starts the same way as any other, so you always know what is being delivered and how value is measured.
Discover
Free procurement review. We assess your current state, identify quick wins, and agree the engagement scope and outcomes.
Design
Detailed plan with deliverables, timelines and KPIs. You sign off the approach before we touch your team or systems.
Deliver
We work as embedded practitioners, not visiting consultants. Hands on, weekly progress, transparent updates.
Embed
We stay until the change holds without us. Knowledge transfer to your team, then a clean handover or transition to retained support.
A senior leader, not a junior on a budget
Fractional only works if the person is genuinely senior. You are not buying a discount, you are buying experience for the hours you need it. Tom Evans has led procurement functions and major programmes, so you get a real CPO-level head, embedded in your business.
- Practitioner-led leadership We have led procurement functions and major sourcing programmes, so you get genuine senior capability.
- Embedded, not detached We work as part of your business, accountable for outcomes, not advising from a distance.
- Sized to your business We match the input to your spend and needs, scaling up or down as the business changes.
- CIPS-qualified leadership Founder Tom Evans holds MCIPS designation. CIPS Professional Ethics certified. Backed by Chamber of Commerce membership.
- Measurable savings Most engagements deliver measurable savings within 6 to 12 months, reported in pounds, not slides.
Services that work alongside fractional procurement
Procurement Strategy
Build a procurement strategy that aligns with your business goals, reduces cost, and strengthens commercial outcomes. From category strategy to procurement target operating models.
Learn More
Procurement Governance
The controls and supplier governance a fractional leader puts in place to keep procurement under control.
Learn More
Strategic Sourcing and Management
The hands-on sourcing and day-to-day management a fractional leader can run or oversee for you