Commercial Impact
Accelerating procurement transformation, delivering rapid operational improvements while positioning procurement as a strategic partner to the business.
Curzon Consulting partnered with Convatec, a global medical products company, to unlock procurement savings and efficiency gains as part of its strategic business plan. With challenging targets to optimise external expenditure in a short timeframe, the project faced tight deadlines, decentralised decision-making, and limited internal resources. Procurement needed a fresh approach to deliver rapid, tangible impact.
Curzon deployed an agile, data-driven strategy, running spend analysis, opportunity assessment, and sourcing execution in parallel. By leveraging direct negotiations, demand management, specification optimisation, and strategic sourcing, the team addressed over 15 indirect spend categories, including CapEx, recruitment, and employee transportation. Within 4 months only, savings far exceeded targets, delivering substantial financial benefits within the financial year.
Several key challenges had to be tackled head-on. Savings had to be realised within the current fiscal year, leaving no room for delays. Meanwhile, procurement teams were stretched thin across multiple strategic priorities. Adding to the complexity, decision-making was fragmented across business units and geographies, slowing execution. Overcoming these hurdles required a focused, results-driven approach to procurement transformation.
Curzon conducted an Opportunity Assessment of external expenditure, engaged stakeholders, and rapidly implemented savings initiatives—balancing quick wins with long-term procurement strategies.
Our approach prioritised speed, execution, and impact. Savings opportunities were actioned immediately, avoiding delays from lengthy assessments. Securing stakeholder buy-in upfront ensured smooth execution and compliance. No category was off-limits—every spend area was rigorously challenged to unlock efficiencies. Beyond cost savings, procurement was positioned as a value driver, integrating sustainability and process optimisation for long-term benefits.
This strategy covered approximately several hundreds of millions in external expenditure across thousands of suppliers, ensuring a fast yet sustainable transformation.
The project delivered significant cost savings across multiple categories. CapEx negotiations achieved ~25% cost reductions on a major manufacturing expansion project, despite supplier pre-selection. In the Dominican Republic, employee transportation costs dropped 22% through demand management, supplier market review, and specification optimisation. Meanwhile, UK recruitment expenses fell by 16% through direct MSP negotiations, agency consolidation, and tighter demand control. These targeted initiatives generated substantial financial benefits while reinforcing procurement’s role as a strategic business driver.
The project exceeded all initial objectives, delivering year-on-year cost savings well beyond targets. Strong in-year financial benefits surpassed expectations, creating immediate impact. Beyond financial gains, procurement was strengthened as a key strategic enabler, driving long-term value creation within the business.
Above and beyond savings, the project successfully delivered numerous qualitative benefits, including promoting sustainable behaviours by offering free coffee to all employees who brought in their own reusable cups, reduced the use of single-use items by 80% and food waste.
We positioned procurement as key partner to the business, opening the door to procurement transformation and increased mandate.
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