Procurement consultancy for UK bakery and food manufacturers
Outsourced procurement for food manufacturers, paid only from what we save you.
Parallel Purchasing is the procurement team UK bakery and food manufacturers never have to hire. We tender your supply, manage your suppliers and check every invoice with our own AI software. Our fee comes only from the savings we deliver.
A free 20-minute intro call on Teams, by phone or in person in the Midlands.
- Food and bakery specialistsExperience from supermarket-scale manufacturing to food service and the high street
- Paid only from savingsNothing to pay until the savings show on your invoices
- NDA before any dataA mutual NDA is signed before you share a single invoice
Who does what in a managed tender
Steps tagged Purchasing Portal run on our own AI softwareYour part
- 1Share your invoicesAs files, or through a read-only Xero or QuickBooks link
- 2Approve our recommendationYou make the final call at every stage
- 3Keep the savingsLower prices on every invoice from then on
That's your part done.
Our part
Everything else- Read and classify a year of invoices Purchasing Portal
- Match the same products across suppliers Purchasing Portal
- Benchmark what you pay today
- Shortlist vetted suppliers
- Run the tender Purchasing Portal
- Compare every quote like for like
- Negotiate and recommend
- Handle the switch and supplier agreements
- Check every invoice against agreed prices Purchasing Portal
- Challenge every price increase
Illustrative example, not a client result. Your saving depends on category, volumes and how recently prices were last tested.
Rising input costs, thin margins, and no time to fix it.
Most bakery and food SMEs have no dedicated buyer. So supplier prices go untested, supply chains run on habit, and margin quietly leaks away.
Nobody owns buying
Owners and finance teams are stretched. A proper tender is a specialist job that rarely gets the time it needs.
Suppliers on autopilot
Suppliers, order patterns and stock levels set years ago and never reviewed. The waste is invisible until someone looks.
Spend nobody can read
Unclassified invoices make it impossible to see where the money really goes, or to negotiate from strength.
A full procurement and supply chain function, without the headcount.
Bring us in for a single tender or hand us the whole supply chain. We flex to what your business needs.
Strategic sourcing and tendering
A structured five-stage tender process that typically returns 10 to 15% on the categories we take to market, with the decision always left with you.
Spend and data analysis
We read, classify and normalise your spend with Purchasing Portal, so you see the true picture, then report on wastage, margin and savings as they land.
Supply chain and systems
From materials planning to purchase-to-pay, we design and implement the systems that keep production fed and cash under control.
Sourcing as a service
Need a new supplier fast? We have established, vetted sources across ingredients, packaging, utilities, waste, cleaning, logistics and equipment.
Sustainability
Practical, measurable change: less single-use packaging, less waste and carbon-neutral energy, all backed by reporting for your CSR story.
Direct to consumer
Reliable home-delivery supply chains to unlock online sales, including chilled and frozen, bespoke packaging and the right delivery partners.
How does our five-stage sourcing process work?
A transparent route from first conversation to savings on your bottom line. You see where we expect to save before you commit to anything.
- 1
Pre-project
Sign a mutual NDA, review your invoices and show you where we expect to save, before you commit.
- 2
Scoping
Understand how the business runs, then gather spend, contracts, suppliers and technical requirements.
- 3
Negotiating
Take it to market with a structured tender, compare every quote like for like, and present clear recommendations.
- 4
Implementing
Award with robust supplier agreements and service levels, and manage a smooth switch.
- 5
Post-project
Track savings, check every invoice, and stay on top of renewal dates and price increases.
What does managed buying look like over a year?
A tender is the start, not the end. We keep watching your invoices and challenge every increase, so the saving holds.
Illustrative example, not a client result.
- Every invoice checked against agreed prices
- Every increase request challenged
- New products sourced as you need them
- Supply problems handled for you
How do we get paid? From the savings we deliver.
We always keep skin in the game. Our income is linked to the benefit we deliver together, so you are never out of pocket for a result you have not yet seen.
- A fixed share of the saving, agreed before any work starts
- Payable only once you are seeing the benefit on your invoices
- You keep most of every saving
A worked example
You spend £180,000 a year on packaging. We tender it and find a 12% saving.
Illustrative figures, not a client result. Your saving depends on category, volumes and when prices were last tested.
Powered by our own AI software, Purchasing Portal.
Our tenders run on Purchasing Portal, the AI procurement software we built. It reads every invoice, matches the same product across suppliers and pack sizes, builds the tender, compares every quote and checks every invoice afterwards so agreed prices stick. You get the benefit; we run the software.
Prefer to run tenders yourself? Purchasing Portal is also available on its own, from £99 a month.
Explore Purchasing Portal
Sample spend, normalised by AI| Product | Volume | Price per unit |
|---|---|---|
| Cake box, 10 in, white | 2,400 boxes | £0.82 to £0.88 |
| Caster sugar, 25 kg sack | 40 sacks | £27.50 to £29.80 |
| Greaseproof paper roll | 24 rolls | £2.05 to £2.30 |
- AI spend analysis
- AI product normalisation
- Tendering
- Quote comparison
- Price compliance monitoring
What categories do we source?
Established, reliable supply lines across the things a food manufacturer buys.
Commodity ingredients
Flour, sugar, fats, oils and dairy
Specialty ingredients
Inclusions, fillings, flavours and chocolate
Packaging and design
Boxes, trays, films, labels and print
Utilities, gas and water
Energy contracts and water services
Waste management
General, food and recycling collections
Cleaning, janitorial and PPE
Hygiene chemicals, consumables and workwear
Catering and industrial equipment
Equipment, servicing and spares
Third-party logistics
Chilled and ambient distribution, pallets and couriers
IT equipment and services
Hardware, software and support
Not a food business?The same process works for any UK business that buys regularly from a handful of suppliers, from manufacturing to construction and distribution.
Talk to us
Years in food manufacturing, on your side of the table.
We combine real experience across the food and bakery industry, from large-scale manufacturing for the major supermarkets, to wholesale supply into catering and food service, to retailing on the UK high street. We know how these businesses run, and where the money hides.
Founded and run by Matt Armitage, based in the Midlands.
Practical guides for food manufacturers
Plain-English guidance on supplier prices, tenders and when to bring in help.
Procurement for small food manufacturers: do you need a buyer, a consultant, or software?
How the three options compare on cost, time and results for a business with no dedicated buyer.
Read the guide PricingAre you paying too much? A baseline pricing guide for food SMEs
What a baseline price is, why a 12-month invoice average beats a gut feel, and how to pull your own.
Read the guide TenderingWhat is a supplier tender, and when should a food manufacturer run one?
The steps of a tender, which categories are worth tendering, and the mistakes to avoid.
Read the guide Cost reductionHow bakeries can cut ingredient and packaging costs without losing quality
Where ingredient and packaging costs creep up, and how to bring them down without changing your product.
Read the guideStraight answers
The questions owners usually ask on a first call.
How do you get paid?
From the savings we deliver. Our standard fee is a fixed share of the saving, payable only once you are seeing it on your invoices, with nothing to pay up front. If a project needs something different, we agree it with you before any work starts.
What if you don't find a saving?
Then there is nothing to pay for that category. Because our income comes from the savings, we only take on work where we expect to deliver them, and we will tell you honestly on the first call.
Do we have to change suppliers?
No. You hold the final decision at every stage. Sometimes your current supplier matches the best price to keep your business.
What do you need from us to get started?
A 20-minute call, then around 12 months of supplier invoices, either as files or through a read-only Xero or QuickBooks connection. We sign a mutual NDA before you share anything, and we show you where we expect to save before you commit.
Do we need a procurement consultant, a buyer or software?
It depends on what you spend and how much time you have. A buyer is a fixed salary, software needs someone to run it, and a consultant like us is paid from results. Our guide compares all three.
How does Purchasing Portal fit in?
Purchasing Portal is our own AI procurement software. We use it to read and normalise your invoices, run the tender and check every invoice afterwards. You get the benefit without learning or paying for the software. If you would rather run tenders yourself, it is also available on its own.
Is our data safe?
Yes. We sign a mutual NDA before you share anything, accounting connections are read-only, and we comply with UK GDPR.
Do you only work with bakery and food businesses?
Food and bakery is where we specialise and where most of our experience sits. The same process works for any UK business that buys regularly from a handful of suppliers, including manufacturing, construction and distribution, so we are happy to talk.
See what we could take off your cost base.
Book a 20-minute intro call. Tell us what you buy, and we will tell you honestly where we think the savings are.
On Teams, by phone or in person in the Midlands.