James Kennedy sits down with Keith Wright – procurement leader, author, and founder of K Wright Consultancy – to unpack how professional procurement creates durable profit, not just cheaper prices. They explore Keith’s ACE method (Analyze → Create → Execute), why execution failures destroy value, and practical ways SMEs can uncover 5–6% cost-of-goods savings in weeks. Keith also lifts the lid on his “Profit Booster” scorecard, supplier consolidation tactics, and how to manage cost-price inflation without eroding margin.
About Keith Wright
With 30+ years in procurement (largely in building supplies), Keith has run 1,000+ negotiations across global supply chains, delivering hundreds of millions in value through quality, reliability, and service – not just unit price. After senior roles in PLCs, he launched K Wright Consultancy to help mid-market companies build modern procurement functions, write clear playbooks, and execute with discipline.
What You’ll Learn
- The ACE Method: How Analyze, Create, Execute becomes a repeatable playbook – and why most teams skip (or rush) the Execute stage and burn cash.
- Rapid Savings Levers: Finding 5–6% COGS opportunity via tail-spend cleanup, CPI challenge frameworks, and range & supplier rationalization.
- Risk vs. Resilience: Balancing single-source risk vs. too many suppliers; when and how to dual-source.
- Market Context Matters: Why “beating budget” can still mean losing market share – and how to benchmark externally.
- Procurement as Customer Experience: Getting promotions, inventory, and supply aligned so execution doesn’t fail at the last mile.
Episode Highlights
- “You can analyze forever – value appears when you execute well.”
- “There’s usually money on the table. The trick is knowing where to look and having a plan to go get it.”
- “Cost-price inflation isn’t a memo – it’s a managed process.”
- “Too many suppliers = complexity tax. Too few = fragility.”
- “A simple scorecard can reveal gaps in minutes – and guide the first 90 days.”
More About Keith’s Role
At K Wright Consultancy, Keith helps goods-for-resale businesses (typically £10–£50m+ revenue) stand up or sharpen procurement: data & spend baselines, supplier strategy, CPI governance, contracting, and implementation cadence. Offers a 3-Day Sprint to size the opportunity fast, plus a free Profit Booster Scorecard to self-diagnose risks and quick wins. His goal: a pragmatic plan the team can actually run – so savings stick, service improves, and margins rise.
