How our procurement outsourcing services helped to build a category management function for a meat processor

About the сlient

A multi-site meat processing group supplying raw materials and packaged products across a network of production facilities.

Its procurement environment covered raw materials, packaging, spices, energy, equipment, and administrative categories — with purchasing decisions distributed across multiple locations.

Challenge

The company had an established competitive sourcing process, but the diagnostic uncovered a critical execution gap: the outcome of a tender was not always reflected in the purchase that followed.

In some cases, raw materials were purchased from suppliers that had not participated in the tender — and at prices above the awarded tender price. This pointed to a broader lack of category ownership, procurement governance, and supplier controls.

This led to several issues:

No dedicated procurement function overseeing the full sourcing lifecycle
No mechanism to verify that purchases were made from the awarded supplier at the agreed terms
No centralized committee for strategic or high-value sourcing decisions
No cross-functional review process for mid-value purchases
No consistent supplier due-diligence and screening process
No standardized process for documenting and handling non-conforming deliveries
No formal performance or incentive framework for procurement employees

Our consulting approach

We designed and helped implement a category-managed supply function — an operating model that can also be delivered as an ongoing managed procurement service for companies that prefer to outsource the function rather than build it entirely in-house.

Category management structure

Conducted market analysis and category segmentation to create a centralized Supply function with dedicated ownership across key categories: Raw materials, Packaging, Spices and ingredients, Administrative goods. Equipment. Each category received a clearly defined owner responsible for sourcing, supplier management, and category performance.

Multi-site coordination model

Designed a regional procurement coordination role to align purchasing activity across production facilities and reduce fragmentation between locations.

Phased centralization

Built a plant-by-plant, category-by-category rollout plan, starting with the highest-priority spend at the lead production facility — including core raw materials, packaging, and energy — before expanding centralized category management across the wider organization.

Procurement governance

Established a formal Sourcing Committee for strategic and high-value sourcing decisions, creating an additional control point between sourcing decisions and purchase execution. The governance model also established clear approval responsibilities and escalation paths.

Supplier and receiving controls

Introduced a standardized non-conformance process for goods receiving. Instead of informally rejecting deliveries, warehouse teams document quality or specification issues through a defined process. We also designed a Strategic Supplier program to recognize suppliers with strong multi-year performance and create a structured basis for preferred commercial relationships.

Performance framework

Developed procurement KPIs covering four core dimensions:

Safety
Quality
Cost
Service

Each area was assigned measurable targets to create clearer accountability across the supply function.

Procurement reorganization plan

Deliverables

Category segmentation and category management operating model
Multi-site, phased centralization roadmap
Sourcing Committee charter and approval governance
Supplier due-diligence and control framework
Goods-receipt and non-conformance procedure
Strategic Supplier program design
Procurement KPI and incentive framework

Results

Dedicated category ownership across five major spend areas

Raw materials, packaging, spices and ingredients, administrative goods, and equipment were assigned clear category ownership instead of being managed through fragmented purchasing responsibilities.

Tender-to-purchase controls

A documented approval process was introduced to verify that purchases align with awarded sourcing decisions and agreed supplier terms.

Formal strategic sourcing governance

Strategic and high-value purchases now have a defined escalation and review path rather than relying on individual decision-making.

Standardized receiving controls

Non-conforming deliveries are handled through a documented process, creating a clearer audit trail and reducing the risk of disputes with suppliers.

A phased path to centralized procurement

The company gained a practical roadmap for moving from fragmented, site-level purchasing toward centralized category management across its production network.

Business impact

The biggest change was closing the gap between what procurement awarded and what the business actually purchased.

By introducing dedicated category ownership, sourcing governance, and tender-to-purchase controls, the company created accountability across the full procurement cycle — from category strategy and supplier selection through purchase execution and goods receipt.

The standardized receiving process also created a more consistent way to manage supplier issues, protecting both procurement controls and supplier relationships.

The resulting operating model provides the foundation for ongoing category management, stronger supplier governance, and scalable procurement outsourcing as the organization expands.