Procurement Services — Explained + 5 Examples

What are Procurement Services?

Procurement services are often used by companies that need help managing how they source goods and services. These services cover supplier negotiations, contract management, spend tracking, and compliance. Outsourcing this work to external consultants is common, especially for businesses without an internal team or those going through change or cutting costs.

But there’s a catch: when consultants leave, their knowledge leaves too.

Relying on external providers means your team misses hands-on experience. They lose the chance to build supplier relationships, improve cost control, and grow critical skills. Over time, this creates a cycle of dependence that raises costs and limits internal growth.

We believe there’s a smarter way forward.

At Procurement Tactics, we help companies build in-house procurement skills. Our training programs give your team the tools to manage sourcing, negotiations, and supplier relationships with confidence and clarity. Instead of handing control to outsiders, you keep it in-house, where it belongs.

Whether you’re aiming to close better deals, simplify sourcing steps, or reduce consultant reliance, investing in your people pays off quickly. And the real win? The knowledge stays with your team.

Browse our procurement courses, procurement bootcamps, and personalized team training and start building internal capability today. Schedule a demo to learning more about our offerings. 

5 Procurement Services Examples

Many organizations have partnered with third-party procurement service providers to address challenges in strategic sourcing, procurement operations, and digital transformation. Below are five real-world examples of named companies, their procurement challenges, the services provided by external partners, and the outcomes achieved.

1. U.S. Steel – Improving Sourcing with Digital Procurement

Case: Being in the steel manufacturing industry, U.S. Steel needed to upgrade its procurement systems to reduce manual tasks and improve sourcing efficiency across direct and indirect categories. The company’s legacy processes slowed down sourcing and limited visibility into supplier data.

Service provided: U.S. Steel partnered with GEP to implement its procurement platform. The platform included tools for supplier sourcing, contract management, and category planning. GEP’s system used automation and AI to simplify sourcing tasks and give buyers better data.

Outcome: U.S. Steel gained a more structured procurement process. The team reduced time spent on routine tasks and improved sourcing decisions using better supplier insights. The new platform also helped identify opportunities for cost savings through data analysis.

2. Synopsys – Reducing Procurement Costs Across Global Categories

Case: Synopsys wanted to improve procurement performance in areas like IT, marketing, and professional services. The company’s global operations created complexity in managing suppliers and contracts efficiently.

Service provided: Synopsys signed a multi-year agreement with GEP for strategic sourcing and procurement support. GEP provided sourcing experts, contract support, and its AI-based software to manage procurement activities from sourcing to contract approval.

Outcome: Synopsys achieved better control over spend and supplier performance. The company reduced costs in key categories and used digital tools to automate sourcing and improve contract visibility. Procurement teams now work more efficiently and with clearer spend data.

3. Cegid – Centralizing Procurement with Digital Tools

Case: Cegid needed a single system to manage supplier sourcing, contracts, and spend data. The company had grown quickly and lacked a unified procurement process. Manual approvals and limited reporting slowed down purchasing.

Service provided: Cegid worked with GEP and integration partner Fluxym to implement GEP SMART, a full source-to-pay platform. The system centralized procurement tasks, automated approvals, and allowed real-time tracking of spend and supplier performance.

Outcome: Cegid improved procurement efficiency and gained better visibility into spending. Teams reduced time spent on manual tasks and made faster decisions using data from the new system. Supplier performance tracking became easier, supporting better sourcing choices.

4. Ahlstrom – Improving Sourcing with Standardized RFQs

Case: Ahlstrom needed a consistent approach to strategic sourcing across global locations. The company’s RFQ processes varied by region, making it hard to compare supplier bids and manage costs.

Service provided: Ahlstrom extended its relationship with GEP, which provided sourcing support services. GEP helped implement standardized RFQ templates, introduced structured cost breakdowns for supplier quotes, and supported regular tendering cycles.

Outcome: Ahlstrom improved the consistency of its sourcing operations. Procurement teams used standardized tools to request and compare bids, which led to more accurate cost evaluations. The new processes also helped increase supplier competition and reduce sourcing cycle time.

5. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) – Gaining Spend Visibility Through AI and Automation

Case: CCEP lacked consistent data across its procurement operations due to mergers and regional differences. Without clear spend classification, sourcing teams could not identify savings or track supplier performance effectively.

Service provided: CCEP partnered with IBM Consulting to implement an AI-driven procurement analytics platform. IBM helped clean and structure spend data, introduced automation for repetitive tasks, and improved the company’s ability to manage indirect procurement categories.

Outcome: CCEP classified over 98% of procurement spend and identified over $40 million in cost savings. Procurement became more data-driven, with faster reporting and clearer insights. The company also improved compliance and reduced manual work using robotic process automation.

How to Start Offering Procurement Services

Looking to turn procurement into a professional service offering? Whether you’re a consultancy, agency, or internal team expanding into service delivery — here’s a proven, scalable process to get started.

And if you want to fast-track your expertise, our self-paced online courses at Procurement Tactics cover everything from negotiation mastery to AI integration — perfect for building a high-performance procurement team.

1. Train a Capable Procurement Team

You can’t offer services without skilled people. Equip your team with core skills like strategic sourcing, supplier negotiation, contract management, and risk assessment. A knowledgeable team builds trust fast and delivers real client value.

To prepare your team, build their skills through online or offline training. Focus on practical topics like negotiation, supplier management, and digital procurement tools. Training helps your team apply knowledge directly to real tasks.

Our online training programs at Procurement Tactics teach these skills through self-paced programs. This training gives your team the ability to handle client work quickly and effectively.

2. Define What You Offer

Will you handle sourcing only? Full procurement outsourcing? Or offer specialized services like spend audits or supplier onboarding? Clarify your services, package them cleanly, and tailor solutions to your ideal clients’ needs. 

Start by listing every service you can deliver. Then group them into clear categories. Keep your offer simple and easy to explain. Review common client problems and match your services to these needs.

3. Build Repeatable Processes

Create templates, SOPs, and workflows for everything — RFQs, supplier evaluation, approvals, and contract tracking. This consistency improves efficiency, ensures quality, and gives clients a predictable, professional experience.

You can build processes by first mapping each step your team takes. Then create templates for documents and checklists for tasks. Review these regularly to remove extra steps and speed up delivery.

4. Invest in Smart Tech

Use a cloud-based procurement system that can automate tasks, track spend, manage contracts, and generate reports. The right platform makes your services faster, more scalable, and easier to manage across clients.

Start by choosing a procurement software that covers your basic needs like RFQ management, spend tracking, and reporting. Test systems with a small project before full rollout. Train your team early to avoid mistakes.

5. Integrate with Client Systems

Clients will expect smooth collaboration. Your tech should integrate with their ERP, finance, and inventory tools so you’re working from the same data, in real time. It builds trust and eliminates friction.

Ask clients early about the tools they use. Choose integration options that are easy to connect. Use standardized formats like CSV or APIs to sync data without errors.

6. Turn Data Into Insight

Don’t just manage procurement — elevate it. Offer clear spend analysis, supplier performance reports, and risk flags. Insights like these show your value and help clients make smarter, faster decisions.

Start by collecting simple data: spend amounts, supplier delivery times, and contract renewals. Use basic dashboards to turn numbers into easy-to-read reports. Share insights with clients every month.

7. Centralize Supplier Management

Give clients one source of truth for all vendor data: onboarding, contract status, KPIs, and performance reviews. Centralizing this keeps things clean, reduces risk, and shows you’ve got their supplier ecosystem under control.

Use one tool to store all supplier details. Update it after every contract signing, KPI update, or review. Train your team to check the database before contacting any supplier.

8. Continuously Improve

The best procurement services evolve. Update templates, tweak workflows, and stay ahead of trends like AI and ESG. Regular improvement keeps your offering sharp and clients loyal.

Review your processes every three months. Ask clients for feedback. Track what works and remove what slows down your team. Keep learning through short courses or updates on procurement trends.

9. Build and Share Authority

Use case studies, results, and certifications to showcase your expertise. Market your services through a strong brand, client testimonials, and content that proves your team knows procurement inside and out.

Want to launch or scale your procurement services with confidence?
Start by building a capable team. Our expert-led, self-paced online courses give procurement professionals the skills to deliver real results — from negotiation to AI-driven sourcing.

Start by collecting feedback from every project. Turn strong results into short case studies. Share them on your website and in client meetings. Certifications can also add quick proof of your team’s skills.

Explore our courses or schedule a free demo to see how we can help your team deliver smarter, more strategic procurement services.

Is it Better to AcquireE-Procurement Service?

Nowadays, there are a lot of e-procurement services available for procurement teams to use and avail of. Personally, we believe in the efficiency of these programs. 

These are software designed to help small to middle-sized procurement teams in building their own procurement process. The best thing about these programs is that they allow the team to spend manpower on actual procurement processes that matter. Other smaller procurement tasks, such as approving budget proposals and checking documentation should be given to the program itself.

Most e-procurement systems have automated programming that allows them to do market research, sourcing tasks, and other data-relevant work that is important for the success of the procurement process. As such, it is now the job of the procurement manager or procurement analyst to make sure that the company gets a good federal procurement data system that can really help with automating the procurement process while following important company standards.

A procurement system is a detailed and automated process of buying goods for the company. The procurement system is also responsible for maintaining the inventory system of the company. These days, it is a program designed and bought specifically to help the company in how it spends its budget for procurement as well as managing the supplies that were bought.

Some of the other processes that a procurement system takes care of automatically are as follows:

• Generating purchase orders
• Sending purchasing requests
• Approving delivered services/goods
• Selecting/managing vendors
• Reviewing invoices

The future is all about procurement services using this software to keep the procurement team working at double efficiency without sacrificing too many of its members. It’s always a great idea to invest time and money in these automated procurement services and to do away with the traditional paper-type procurement process of the past.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this article offers valuable insights into what procurement services are and how they help companies buy goods and services. It shows how strong procurement systems use tools like workflow approval, spend reporting, and system integrations to improve results.

It also explains how e-procurement software helps teams save time by automating tasks. To improve procurement performance, companies should use these systems and focus on building internal skills. This helps teams work faster, reduce errors, and keep knowledge inside the company.

As procurement continues to advance, professionals are encouraged to embrace these tools and technologies to ensure greater efficiency and success in the dynamic field of procurement.