Third Party Spend Review and Contract Management Framework
Client Context
The Council was facing significant financial pressure and needed validated, deliverable savings alongside stronger commercial discipline. Baseline challenges included fragmented spend, inconsistent supplier use, off-contract purchasing, incomplete contract data, limited visibility of live contracts and variable contract management capability.
The programme comprised two workstreams:
Third-Party Spend Review – establish a robust evidence base for savings, quantify opportunities, identify 3–5 pilots and support budget planning.
Contract Management Framework – design and implement corporate standards, tools, templates and governance to improve commercial maturity and value for money.
Our Approach
We worked closely with Procurement, Finance and service leaders to ensure recommendations were practical and deliverable. Knowledge transfer was built in through workshops, shared tools and structured walkthroughs, leaving reusable frameworks, spend analysis tools and contract management standards.
Third‑party spend review
Consolidated and categorised full-year third-party spend, validated with services and Finance.
Held service-level interviews to understand demand, commissioning routes and local practice.
Applied commercial levers including consolidation, demand challenge, compliance, governance improvements and supplier leverage.
Produced a savings longlist of c.£1.1m, then prioritised initiatives based on feasibility, evidence and organisational readiness.
Designed early pilots to demonstrate impact across multiple service areas.
Contract Management Framework
Assessed existing contract management practice and identified gaps in roles, documentation and assurance.
Developed a corporate framework covering contract tiering, role definitions, reporting and assurance standards.
Piloted a new operating model in Infrastructure & Environment on high-risk contracts before wider rollout.
Outputs and Outcomes
Key outcomes from this work included:
Robust Savings Pipeline
c.£1.1m savings potential identified across consolidation, demand reduction and commercial levers.
Wider long-term pipeline of additional unquantified savings.
Clear prioritised pipeline aligned to MTFS pressures.
Developed Early Pilot Initiatives
Legal Services:reduced outsourcing and stronger triage, saving c.£90k.
Design & Print: reduced fragmentation, increased preferred supplier use and £10–15k savings.
Grounds Maintenance: consolidated suppliers, c.£14k savings and improved compliance.
Culture & Heritage: streamlined low-value commissioning and improved oversight.
Contract Management Model: tested a new corporate model for major high-risk contracts, improving visibility, assurance and role clarity.
Improved Contract Management Capability
Clearer roles, tiering and assurance expectations.
Improved visibility of contract performance and risk.
Stronger, consistent commercial practice for long-term benefits.
Immediate savings opportunities and a sustainable commercial model.
Stronger controls, better data and improved commissioning discipline.
About Us
Human Engine is a leading management consultancy with specialisms in strategy, transformation, digital, commercial, procurement and projects.
Founded in 2018, we have partnered with more than 50 local authorities, central government, NHS organisations and national charities to help transform their strategies, operations and cultures.
Our mission is to help individuals and organisations to do the best work of their lives. We do this by blending first-hand, practical experience of the problems we help our clients solve with award-winning consulting expertise and an approach based on trust, collaboration and partnership.