Technology & Digital Strategy: The Foundation of Digital Procurement

Digital strategy is where commercial expertise meets technical execution. Our Technology and Digital Strategy service provides a clear, prioritised roadmap for your digital transformation, ensuring your technology investments deliver maximum commercial impact. We guide you through the complexities of the procurement technology landscape, guaranteeing that your solutions are scalable, efficient, and aligned with your business goals.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bridging the Gap Between IT and Commercial Goals

Our technology division, operating since 2019, understands that digital strategy must drive business value. We ensure your digital roadmap is not simply a list of IT projects but a commercial blueprint for profit improvement. We provide the expert guidance needed to simplify complexities, reduce procurement risks, and embed digital tools that streamline operations.

What a Digital Strategy Project Delivers

Clear, Prioritised Roadmap
We deliver an actionable strategy that defines which technologies to invest in and when, focusing on maximum value creation and measurable ROI.
Cost Optimisation
We help you optimise software and hardware spend by eliminating redundancies and ensuring technology usage is efficient.
Enhanced Scalability
Our strategies are designed to support rapid growth and exit readiness, ensuring your digital infrastructure can scale with your business demands.
User-Centric Alignment
We focus on improving user experience, driving adoption, and ensuring technology fully integrates with redesigned processes.

Key Components of Digital Strategy

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Technology Landscape Assessment

A comprehensive review of your current systems and processes to identify gaps and opportunities for digitisation.
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Roadmap Development

Creating a clear, phased strategy for technology implementation, governance, and resource allocation.
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Business Case and ROI Modelling

We quantify the commercial benefits of proposed solutions, ensuring every investment has a guaranteed return.
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Change Management Integration

Embedding the necessary cultural and operational changes to ensure successful technology adoption across your organisation.

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

Designed and implemented a new operating model for a £600m business following the divestment of its national business.

Business Challenge

The client was a provider of retail and wholesale local and national telecommunications services with an annual revenue of £600m and 4000 employees. The company’s strategy was to divest its national business, leaving only the wholesale and retail part of the business.

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

This comprehensive transformation was executed in three disciplined phases, beginning with a swift 4-week Maturity Assessment to diagnose the client’s existing model and commercial structures. We then moved through a focused 3-week Design Phase to finalise the Target Operating Model. Our team concluded by leading the initial 12-week Implementation, delivering the impact assessment and roadmap for the new, commercially focused structure.

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Led S2P and S2C technology assessment, business case, and market engagement for a leading UK&I food wholesaler

Business Challenge

A leading UK&I food wholesaler sought to unlock greater value from procurement by using technology to drive efficiencies in contract and supplier management. Procurement’s role was historically limited to indirect, reactive spend of £700M within a £5B business, with previous business cases failing to secure executive buy-in. To address this, the company engaged external experts to assess current maturity, evaluate market solutions, and build a robust, ROI-focused S2P and S2C business case to support future investment.

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 successfully secured CFO approval to invest in procurement technology, beginning with S2C modules as a proof of concept and progressing to full S2P implementation. Delivered on time and to budget in 10 weeks, it provided a clear roadmap and critical path for rollout. The trusted partnership led to further engagement, with 7SS supporting market assessment, partner selection, and system integration planning.

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Led S2P and S2C technology assessment, business case, and market engagement for a leading UK&I food wholesaler

Business Challenge

One of Europe’s leading aviation services companies had purchased an off the shelf Source to Pay (S2P) product (Zycus) to help them better control and manage Procure to Pay (purchasing and invoice management and data analytics), as well as benefit from Source to Contract (S2C) topics such as Sourcing and Contract Management, as well as Risk Management and potential future Supplier Management modules.

Solution

7 Step Solutions was engaged to provide the essential Business Integrator Support for the full Source to Pay (S2P) technology implementation. Acting as the “glue” between the technical vendor and the client’s commercial, finance, and legal teams, we defined the roadmap, managed stakeholders, and ensured that all overlooked S2P elements, from master data cleansing to process redesign and training, were executed to guarantee project success and maximise commercial return.

Outcomes

This successful transformation was achieved by positioning 7 Step Solutions as the essential Business Integrator, ensuring the complex global S2P implementation was delivered on time and to budget. The project achieved successful go-live across 296 locations in 44 countries, providing the client with critical commercial stability and enhanced governance. Our team acted as a trusted business partner to the CPO and CIO, securing operational objectives and even winning trust to manage additional project sourcing activities.

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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

We support clients at all stages, from initial assessment and strategy definition to technology selection and full implementation support.
No. We maintain a technology-agnostic position, ensuring our recommendations are solely based on the best commercial and functional fit for your business.
We are focused on the procurement and commercial value of the technology. Our team ensures the strategy is aligned with your P&L goals, providing a more commercially disciplined approach than generic IT integration firms.
The timeline is tailored to the complexity of your business, but our agile approach ensures we deliver a complete, validated roadmap rapidly, typically within weeks.

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