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FortisBusiness Advisory
Cost6 min readUpdated 7 November 2026

The supplier cost review: a checklist for owner-managed businesses

Savings on cost go straight to profit. This is the order we review categories in, what we look for in each and the controls that stop the savings evaporating.

By Richard Yeo, Director, Fortis Business Advisory

First, get the data

Export twelve months of purchase ledger from your accounting software, including supplier, date, amount and nominal code. Categorise every line. Rank categories by total spend. The top ten categories usually account for most of the money and almost all of the opportunity.

Category by category

  • Materials and stock: price per unit versus alternatives, volume consolidation, rebates, specification creep
  • Subcontractors and agency labour: rates against market, margin stacking, direct engagement where appropriate
  • Utilities: contract end dates, out-of-contract rates, broker commissions, consumption reduction
  • Insurance: cover levels against actual risk, duplicated policies, claims history, broker remuneration. Review through an independent, FCA-authorised broker
  • Telecoms and software: licences nobody uses, auto-renewals, plan sizes, duplicated tools
  • Fleet, plant and equipment: hire versus own, maintenance contracts, fuel cards, idle assets
  • Professional services: scope and fee against value, fixed fees versus hourly
  • Logistics and packaging: carrier rates, consolidation, dimensional weight, packaging spec

Expect the quick wins in utilities, telecoms, insurance and software. Expect the big wins in materials, subcontract and logistics, and expect those to take a proper negotiation or tender.

Negotiate, consolidate or tender

For each priority category decide the approach. Renegotiate when the incumbent is good but expensive. Consolidate when spend is spread across many vendors. Tender when the market has moved or the relationship has gone stale. Run any tender fairly, with a written specification and clear evaluation criteria, and keep the incumbent in the running where they deserve it.

Make it stick

Savings evaporate without controls. Purchase order approval above a threshold, a preferred supplier list, a renewal calendar with reminders ninety days ahead, and a quarterly spend report against the baseline. Review the top categories annually.

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