Commercial Thinking
Procurement impact

Boutique consultancy with private-equity DNA, delivering outcome-driven procurement solutions.

Why 7 step solutions?

We combine deep private-equity insight with hands-on procurement expertise - guaranteeing measurable ROI faster than traditional consultancies. 15+ Years PE Experience - Private-equity procurement leadership, scaled to suit your needs.
Improvement in business profit performance and commercial thinking
Structural or transformational procurement change required to meet future goals
Lack of internal capabilities or resources to deliver tangible outcomes
Step-change in procurement culture and performance, aligned with business goals
Flexible and scalable procurement partner for projects and peaks in demand
Streamlined operations, technology and process improvements
Greater control and reduced risk profile (Upstream and Downstream)
Rapid financial savings and measurable profit improvement

Our 7 step methodology

Diagnostic

Data-driven spend and process review.
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Strategy

Tailored category and commercial plan.
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Technology

Digital tools & automation road-map.

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Implementation

Hands-on change management.
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Optimisation

Quick wins and process tuning.

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Change Management

Stakeholder enablement & training.
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Continuous Improvement

Ongoing performance monitoring.
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Solutions designed for ROI

Whether you need a short-term project team or a long-term managed service, our solutions drive cost-out, mitigate risk and create lasting value.
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Advisory Services

We bring decades of experience in procurement diagnostics, maturity assessments, and operating model design. Whether you’re scaling operations or extracting value from M&A, we work directly with leadership to ensure targeted, actionable results.

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Outsourcing That Works

From running full RFx processes to acting as an extension of your procurement function, we provide you with capacity, expertise, and speed. Need immediate support? Our on-demand team will hit the ground running.
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Technology & Systems

Cut through the noise with our tailored digital strategies. We help you select, optimise, and implement procurement software to ensure data-driven decisions with long-term scalability.
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Operational Excellence

Struggling with overly complex category management? Let us optimise supplier contracts, streamline operations, and refine relationships to stabilise costs while improving service levels.
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Real stories of rapid cost savings and strategic transformation

Analysed $440m in global spend to identify procurement value opportunities

Business Challenge

Operating 427 restaurants across four Nordic countries under separate agreements led to inefficiencies and limited scalability. 7SS was engaged to unify operations through a supply chain optimisation workstream within a wider business transformation.

Solution

7SS took a structured, data-led approach to define the as-is state and identify improvement opportunities. Spend, contracts, and policies were analysed to establish a clear baseline, then validated through interviews with key buyers to understand real-world processes and capability. The findings were benchmarked against best practice to develop sourcing strategies by category, and a delivery roadmap was created to prioritise actions by ease and benefit — forming the foundation for implementation.

Outcomes

The project delivered results in two phases. A 12-week diagnostic identified cost-saving and cash-flow opportunities, producing 25 prioritised initiatives. Over the next 18 months, 7SS implemented a new procurement and supply chain model, realising €33m in benefits across key categories and embedding sustainable practices for long-term impact.

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Public healthcare client outsourced £30m procurement, improving visibility, risk management, and cost efficiency.

Business Challenge

The client, a leading UK healthcare equipment and services provider, faced mounting pressure to optimise its £30M third-party spend. Following a private equity acquisition, the business identified significant cost-saving opportunities in an under-prioritised indirect supply chain. However, supplier engagement was limited, strategic partnerships were lacking, and commercial rigour was minimal—highlighting the need for external expertise and resource to drive improvement.

Solution

7SS took a structured, data-led approach to define the as-is state and identify improvement opportunities. Spend, contracts, and policies were analysed to establish a clear baseline, then validated through interviews with key buyers to understand real-world processes and capability. The findings were benchmarked against best practice to develop sourcing strategies by category, and a delivery roadmap was created to prioritise actions by ease and benefit — forming the foundation for implementation.

Outcomes

7SS initially focused on identifying and delivering cost-out initiatives, which evolved into a two-year Procurement Managed Service. This partnership embedded best-practice procurement, improved contractual structures, and achieved £1.5M in direct savings and £900K in cost mitigation. With an ROI of over 5:1, the engagement strengthened supplier relationships, integrated procurement into business decisions, and laid a solid foundation for future in-house capability.

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Global leisure and fitness leader held 2-day procurement workshop to define principles and drive improvements

Business Challenge

The global procurement team had rapidly grown from 0 to 14 employees in response to the company’s global expansion. While existing structures supported rapid sourcing and basic contract management, the Global Procurement Director sought external expertise to benchmark maturity and identify improvement opportunities.

Solution

Our support began with thorough preparation alongside the Procurement Director to define clear outcomes and design a focused two-day agenda. Using best-practice templates and deep business insight, we built sessions covering design principles, maturity assessment, technology mapping, and key procurement workflows. The workshop combined expert facilitation, interactive group activities, and real-time process mapping to align the global team, surface improvement opportunities, and co-create a clear future roadmap.

Outcomes

The two-day workshop delivered clear, actionable outcomes. We designed and facilitated tailored sessions aligned with the Procurement Director, blending best-practice insights with practical guidance for an evolving team. Day two materials were adapted in real time to reflect day one outputs, ensuring relevance and clarity. The team left with a concise roadmap, defined actions, and a critical path, as well as a clear view of resource gaps to support a business case for future investment.

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A national £1 billion UK broadcaster benefited from our procurement transformation services, allowing them to manage in-house buying activity.

Business Challenge

£1bil revenue British free-to-air public broadcast television channel had an underperforming commercial and procurement mindset, alongside immature finance and procurement technology and process meaning significant value was being left on the table.

Solution

A specialised project team, equipped with expertise across procurement, project management, and multiple spend categories, was created to act as the client’s interim procurement function for 12 months. The team’s remit was broad, focusing on immediate Spend Diagnostics and Cost Reduction Programmes across high-impact categories (Marketing, IT, HR, etc.), and developing a Procurement Target Operating Model Design. Crucially, the team also led unique value creation initiatives, such as Barter and Contra deals, successfully identifying £8 million in savings in Year 1 alone, all while driving change towards a future sustainable in-house solution.

Outcomes

This comprehensive transformation was executed in three disciplined phases, beginning with a swift 4-week Maturity Assessment to diagnose the client’s existing model and commercial structures. We then moved through a focused 3-week Design Phase to finalise the Target Operating Model. Our team concluded by leading the initial 12-week Implementation, delivering the impact assessment and roadmap for the new, commercially focused structure.

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A private equity client with £30 billion in assets benefited from our outsourced procurement service, achieving full spend and contract visibility, managing risk, and optimising costs.

Business Challenge

Our client is a prominent alternative investment firm with $30bn assets under management focussing on private equity, credit, real estate investments across North America and Europe.

Solution

7 Step Solutions was hired as the client’s outsourced procurement function to provide seamless, ongoing operational support. The solution was built on four key pillars: leadership alignment to define ongoing procurement needs; process excellence to shape sourcing approaches; commercial execution leading competitive tendering and negotiation; and risk mitigation in coordination with legal counsel. This was all underpinned by monthly reporting and the implementation of a Contract Management solution to ensure continuous cost optimisation and compliance visibility.

Outcomes

Success of service has resulted in ongoing discussion to renew from a tactical 1st Generation Managed Service to a more comprehensive 2nd Generation Managed Service covering greater scope of global spend, process management and M&A support.

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I required a partner that could provide cost effective augmented Procurement expertise and resource on demand. 7SS ticked all the boxes. What is also great about 7SS is I feel they really understand my sector, care about my business and deliver real outcomes. Their reputation as commercial and procurement experts is well deserved.

Principal, Value Creation

7 Step Solutions significant reputation in Private Equity is a testament to their commercial and procurement expertise, white glove service, working at pace and delivering tangible results consistently. It is easy to understand how these key qualities I have witnessed for many years have transferred in their services to multi-sector industries.

Director - Global Investment Firm

If you are looking for a partner that can integrate seamlessly into your organisation, reduce costs, improve business profits and Procurement performance, I would highly recommend 7 Step Solutions.

Chief Financial Officer for a £1bil private sector organisation

7 Step Solutions are my go-to partner for Procurement support. Whether a cost out project, M&A support or a strategic procurement transformation initiative, 7SS white glove service and commercial acumen has consistently delivered a high return on investment.

Partner - global investment firm focusing on acquiring and transforming companies across diverse industries worldwide

7 Step Solutions bring a real laser like focus and commercial aptitude, considering not just Procurement supply side activity like some advisories, but business wide efficiencies, savings and improvements along with first class change management.

Director - global investment firm overseeing £20b portfolio

7 Step Solutions have delivered a step change improvement in our Procurement culture and performance, aligning Procurement activity to business goals alongside rapid delivery of cost, process and technology improvements.

Chief Procurement Officer for a £600mil private sector organisation

7 Step Solutions have supported our business at pace to deliver rapid savings and sustained profit improvement. Having an expert, flexible and scalable partner for projects and peaks in demand has been invaluable to our success.

Operating Partner - leading alternative investment firm focused on Private Equity, Private Credit, and Real Estate

Their speed and agility were remarkable. They quickly integrated with our team and delivered a tangible, positive impact on our bottom line.

COO, Global Logistics Company

They truly understood our business and delivered a solution that was not only commercially robust but also perfectly aligned with our strategic objectives.

Head of Finance, European Private Equity Firm

7 Step Solutions helped us redesign our marketing procurement, which led to a 20% reduction in agency costs and a £1.8M annual saving.

Marketing Director, American Manufacturer

Keen to develop a greater commercial procurement mindset across your business?

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FAQs

Identified within a week and typical savings realised within 8–12 weeks.

We typically deliver a 8:1 return on investment (ROI)

Yes. With a heritage in investment banking and PE, we serve all sectors and industries

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