Procurement built for retailers, e-commerce and consumer brands
Retail procurement is the discipline of buying everything a retailer needs to trade, from the goods it sells to the systems, logistics, packaging and services that sit behind every order. It is different from most business purchasing because margins are thin, demand is seasonal, and a slow or badly structured supply chain shows up in stock, cash and customer reviews within weeks.
Pro Outsourcing provides senior, hands-on procurement support to independent retailers, e-commerce businesses and consumer brands. You get Chief Procurement Officer level judgement applied to your suppliers, your contracts and your systems, without building a procurement team you cannot yet justify.
Book a Free Procurement ReviewWhy retail procurement is hard
Margins leave no room for waste
A few percentage points on cost of goods or carriage is the difference between a profitable year and a flat one. Retail cannot absorb loose supplier terms the way a services business can.
Two very different kinds of spend
Goods for resale need product knowledge, MOQ and lead-time management, and supplier development. Goods not for resale (packaging, logistics, IT, telecoms, marketing, property) need commercial discipline that most growing retailers have never had time to apply.
Seasonality and stock risk
Buying too early ties up cash. Buying too late loses the season. Supplier lead times, payment terms and forecasting have to work together, and usually they were set up separately.
Systems and channels multiply the complexity
Web store, marketplaces, wholesale, physical shop, EPOS, ERP, 3PL and payment providers all bring their own contracts and their own failure points. Growth exposes the ones that were never properly bought.
Retail procurement support
Cost of goods and supplier terms
Structured negotiation on price, MOQs, payment terms and lead times with product suppliers, in the UK and overseas, including sourcing alternatives where the incumbent has become a risk.
Indirect spend and goods not for resale
Packaging, carriage and fulfilment, IT and telecoms, utilities, insurance and marketing services. This is where most retailers overpay and where savings land fastest.
Systems, ERP and e-commerce platforms
Commercial review and selection of EPOS, ERP, e-commerce and integration suppliers, so the technology supports the business rather than the other way round. We have implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Business Central procurement functions and know what good looks like.
Logistics and fulfilment
Carrier and 3PL selection, rate negotiation and service level design, including returns.
Supplier due diligence and risk
Financial, quality and ethical checks on product suppliers and critical service providers, so a supplier failure does not become a stock-out or a reputational problem.
Grant-funded reviews
Where regional or sector funding is available for business improvement, we can scope, secure and deliver a funded procurement or systems review, as we did for Melin Tregwynt.
Retail clients we have supported
Melin Tregwynt
Welsh woollen mill, weaving since 1819, selling direct online and through its own shop
As e-commerce grew, the business needed its ICT infrastructure, telephony and business systems reviewed to support the next stage. Pro Outsourcing secured European Regional Development funding for the review, assessed the existing estate, ran the supplier selection and negotiated the contracts.
"Tom was a great help in identifying our requirements in IT infrastructure, telephone systems and business software." Amanda Griffiths, Managing Director, Melin TregwyntRead the Melin Tregwynt case study →
Why retailers choose Pro Outsourcing
Founder Tom Evans MCIPS has led procurement across manufacturing, utilities and consumer businesses, and brings the same commercial discipline to a retailer buying packaging and carriage as to a utility buying a capital programme. The approach is practical and outcome-led: fix the contracts that leak margin, secure the supply that protects the season, and put the systems in place that let the business grow without adding overhead.
Tom also owns and runs a UK direct-to-consumer apparel brand, so the advice comes from someone who deals with MOQs, carriage rates and marketplace fees on his own account, not just on a client's.
Book a Free Procurement ReviewServices that support retail procurement
Fractional Procurement Leadership
Senior procurement direction, part-time, without a permanent hire.
Supplier Due Diligence
Financial, ethical and quality checks that protect you from supplier failure.
Strategic Sourcing
Category-led sourcing that reduces cost of goods and strengthens the supplier base.
Retail procurement: common questions
What is retail procurement?
Do you work with small and independent retailers?
Where do retailers usually save the most?
Can you help choose an ERP, EPOS or e-commerce platform?
Procurement that protects your margin
Book a free 30-minute procurement review with Tom Evans MCIPS. We will look at your supplier base, your biggest indirect contracts and your systems, tell you where the margin is leaking and whether we can help. No obligation, no jargon.
Book a Free Procurement Review