Strategic Sourcing Transformation for an International Logistics Organisation

Sunfish was engaged by an international Rail and Road Logistics organisation that recognised its in-house procurement function was largely administrative and transactional in nature. While the team managed both Goods and Services for Resale and indirect procurement categories, the absence of a strategic sourcing approach limited operational efficiency and value generation.

Cost savings, supplier performance improvements, and structured risk management were not being systematically driven from the supply base.

Sunfish was appointed to design and implement a strategic sourcing model that would align procurement with business strategy, optimise cost and performance, and proactively manage supply chain risk.

The existing procurement function lacked a structured strategic sourcing capability. Activity was focused on transactional processes rather than value creation.

As a result:

The organisation required a transformation that would shift procurement from reactive administration to proactive value creation while strengthening governance and commercial discipline.

Under the sponsorship of the CFO, Sunfish engaged leadership across business functions to capture business needs, assess supplier performance, and evaluate procurement workload and capability gaps.

A comprehensive skills assessment of the existing team was conducted and incorporated into a phased reorganisation and recruitment plan. The procurement function was restructured around a ‘Business Partner’ model, introducing clear roles and responsibilities aligned to strategic objectives.

Sunfish implemented a structured strategic sourcing framework to:

The new model embedded procurement within business planning cycles, ensuring sourcing decisions were aligned with operational and financial strategy.

The transformation delivered a coherent and measurable strategic sourcing plan that improved cost performance and strengthened supplier management across the organisation.

The procurement function evolved into a strategic partner to the business, with clearer accountability, improved commercial control, and enhanced collaboration with finance and operational teams.

Secondary benefits included improved clarity and control over supplier-related risks and enhanced efficiency within back-office finance processes.

“The results were both measurable and significant. The introduction of a strategic sourcing plan delivered a 20% improvement in cost savings across the business, alongside greatly improved supplier performance, structured sourcing activity and more rigorous issue and risk management”