S2P & S2C Diagnostics: Transforming Your Procurement Value Chain

Your business's procurement and supply chain are complex, but they don't have to be opaque. Our S2P and S2C Diagnostics service provides a rapid, data-driven analysis of your entire source-to-pay process. We help you uncover inefficiencies and pinpoint exactly where to focus your efforts to drive profit and improve performance.

I required a partner that could provide cost effective augmented Procurement expertise and resource on demand. 7SS ticked all the boxes. What is also great about 7SS is I feel they really understand my sector, care about my business and deliver real outcomes. Their reputation as commercial and procurement experts is well deserved.

Principal, Value Creation

7 Step Solutions significant reputation in Private Equity is a testament to their commercial and procurement expertise, white glove service, working at pace and delivering tangible results consistently. It is easy to understand how these key qualities I have witnessed for many years have transferred in their services to multi-sector industries.

Director - Global Investment Firm

If you are looking for a partner that can integrate seamlessly into your organisation, reduce costs, improve business profits and Procurement performance, I would highly recommend 7 Step Solutions.

Chief Financial Officer for a £1bil private sector organisation

7 Step Solutions are my go-to partner for Procurement support. Whether a cost out project, M&A support or a strategic procurement transformation initiative, 7SS white glove service and commercial acumen has consistently delivered a high return on investment.

Partner - global investment firm focusing on acquiring and transforming companies across diverse industries worldwide

7 Step Solutions bring a real laser like focus and commercial aptitude, considering not just Procurement supply side activity like some advisories, but business wide efficiencies, savings and improvements along with first class change management.

Director - global investment firm overseeing £20b portfolio

7 Step Solutions have delivered a step change improvement in our Procurement culture and performance, aligning Procurement activity to business goals alongside rapid delivery of cost, process and technology improvements.

Chief Procurement Officer for a £600mil private sector organisation

7 Step Solutions have supported our business at pace to deliver rapid savings and sustained profit improvement. Having an expert, flexible and scalable partner for projects and peaks in demand has been invaluable to our success.

Operating Partner - leading alternative investment firm focused on Private Equity, Private Credit, and Real Estate

Their speed and agility were remarkable. They quickly integrated with our team and delivered a tangible, positive impact on our bottom line.

COO, Global Logistics Company

They truly understood our business and delivered a solution that was not only commercially robust but also perfectly aligned with our strategic objectives.

Head of Finance, European Private Equity Firm

7 Step Solutions helped us redesign our marketing procurement, which led to a 20% reduction in agency costs and a £1.8M annual saving.

Marketing Director, American Manufacturer

What are S2P and S2C Diagnostics?

Source-to-Pay (S2P) and Source-to-Contract (S2C) are fundamental to business efficiency. Our diagnostics service provides a rigorous review of your procurement value chain, from initial sourcing to final payment. We use a commercially-focused lens to assess your processes, identifying opportunities for improvement across both upstream (S2C) and downstream (P2P) activities.

A Data-Driven Approach to Efficiency

Comprehensive Insight
We provide a holistic view of your procurement landscape, pinpointing specific areas of high-cost leakage, process gaps, and misaligned systems.
Quantifiable Results
Our diagnostic provides a clear business case and projected ROI for every opportunity we identify. You'll receive a clear roadmap for tangible, bottom-line results, with an average 10:1 commercial and operational return on investment on our projects.
Strategic Roadmap
Our analysis results in a prioritised action plan, allowing you to focus on the initiatives that will have the most significant impact on your business's profitability and performance.

Our S2P & S2C Services

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Source-to-Contract (S2C)

We evaluate your strategic sourcing, supplier selection, contract management, and category management processes to ensure you are getting the best value from your relationships.
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Procure-to-Pay (P2P)

We analyse your purchasing, invoicing, and payment processes, identifying opportunities to automate workflows and reduce manual errors.
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Technology & Data Strategy

We assess your current technology stack and data management practices to ensure they are aligned with your business goals and are supporting your operational efficiency.

Our proven process

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Data Collection & Analysis
We begin by examining all relevant spend and contract data to build a clear baseline of your current situation.
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Interview
We engage with key business buyers and stakeholders to understand your buying processes and requirements, filling in the crucial details that data alone cannot provide.
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Baseline & Opportunity Development

We benchmark your current state against industry best practice to identify tangible opportunities for savings and value creation.

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Validation & Recommendation
We validate our findings with your team and present a clear, prioritised delivery roadmap based on value versus ease of implementation.

Case Studies

Our experts designed and implemented compliant policies to cut procurement carbon emissions for a global public sector research facility.

Business Challenge

Client expressed their vision of becoming a role model as an environmentally aware global research laboratory.

Solution

This global public sector research facility sought to become a world leader in environmental responsibility, but faced a massive challenge: 64% of their 450,000 tonnes of annual CO2 emissions were tied directly to the £438 million of goods and services purchased from their supply chain. With their 70-strong procurement team focused solely on standard sourcing and compliance, they urgently required expert, external support. The goal was to fully embed a responsible environmental procurement policy into their organisation and supply chain, all while strictly adhering to global public sector purchasing regulations and operational controls.

Outcomes

Successful creation and embedding of a new global Environmentally Responsibly Procurement Policy and Processes aimed at sustainably reducing scope 3 emissions while maintaining fair and equitable public sector controls.

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Analysed $440m in global spend to identify procurement value opportunities

Business Challenge

Operating 427 restaurants across four Nordic countries under separate agreements led to inefficiencies and limited scalability. 7SS was engaged to unify operations through a supply chain optimisation workstream within a wider business transformation.

Solution

7SS took a structured, data-led approach to define the as-is state and identify improvement opportunities. Spend, contracts, and policies were analysed to establish a clear baseline, then validated through interviews with key buyers to understand real-world processes and capability. The findings were benchmarked against best practice to develop sourcing strategies by category, and a delivery roadmap was created to prioritise actions by ease and benefit — forming the foundation for implementation.

Outcomes

The project delivered results in two phases. A 12-week diagnostic identified cost-saving and cash-flow opportunities, producing 25 prioritised initiatives. Over the next 18 months, 7SS implemented a new procurement and supply chain model, realising €33m in benefits across key categories and embedding sustainable practices for long-term impact.

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£117M Global Spend: An 8-week assessment identified key P&L value creation opportunities delivering, clear, significant, measurable profitability.

Business Challenge

This global software provider, with over £330 million in turnover, faced critical fragmentation after being acquired by private equity and executing a swift M&A strategy. Third-party spend became highly complex, and the small, tactical procurement team struggled to manage the scattered direct and indirect costs. 7 Step Solutions was engaged to diagnose this fragmented spend across critical areas like IT, HR, and Marketing to identify and unlock immediate optimisation opportunities.

Solution

7 Step Solutions was engaged by the private equity owners to apply its full four-phase diagnostic process—from initial data collection and stakeholder interviews to developing the strategic baseline and validating the delivery roadmap—ensuring the business could unlock significant, measurable value across its fragmented spend profile.

Outcomes

This extensive two-year programme began with an 8-week supply chain diagnostic to identify key cost and cash-flow opportunities across the operation. Over the subsequent 18 months, 7 Step Solutions implemented a full cost-out programme, continuing the transformation across IT, HR, Marketing, Insurance, and Property, resulting in audited annualised savings equal to 4% of the addressable spend.

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£22M Spend: A rapid assessment across 750 veterinary practices identified key value creation opportunities and a clear roadmap.

Business Challenge

Our client is a leading veterinary group that provides care for companion animals, equine, and farm animals across the UK and Europe. Founded in 2015, the group has rapidly grown to encompass over 750 veterinary practices, along with several laboratories, farms, and training facilities.

Solution

7 Step Solutions was hired to provide an aggressive diagnostic that was both data-driven and commercially grounded. The solution involved a systematic four-phase process: rigorous Data Collection and Analysis across three key categories; targeted Stakeholder Engagement to develop the baseline; Opportunity Identification by benchmarking against best practice; and finally, Market Engagement to leverage the client’s scale for optimal pricing and commercial terms.

Outcomes

The opportunity assessment identified potential savings of between 6-9% (£1.3m-£1.9m) of the £22m spend associated with the three spend categories.

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Why partner with 7 Step Solutions?

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Deep Commercial Expertise
Our team of experts has decades of experience managing and optimising spend, with a mindset honed in the demanding world of private equity.
Global Reach, Boutique Focus
With offices in London, Boston, and Zurich, we offer international capabilities combined with a personal, relationship-driven service.
Guaranteed ROI
We are so confident in our ability to deliver results that we provide minimum ROI guarantees, ensuring you see a clear return on your investment.

FAQs

S2C (Source-to-Contract) covers the upstream processes of identifying and selecting suppliers and negotiating contracts. S2P (Source-to-Pay) includes S2C but also encompasses the downstream processes of purchasing and payment (P2P).
We deliver a comprehensive report, including a prioritised roadmap of savings and efficiency opportunities, within weeks.
Yes. We provide a clear roadmap and can offer support in the form of resource augmentation or managed services to help you implement the changes and ensure you realise the full benefits.
Our methodology is rooted in data-driven analytics and commercial discipline. We identify and quantify every opportunity, allowing us to offer minimum ROI guarantees that ensure a clear return on your investment in our services.

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