Consulting & Advisory Service

Procurement & Commercial


Global resources, streamlined supply chain, and innovative cost reduction

 Optimising your Sourcing,

Costs and Contracts


Streamline
Processes

across Geographies, Suppliers & Contracts

Without the need to invest in a large in-house procurement team


We offer strategic consultancy to review your procurement practices and policies, helping to develop a holistic approach to the procurement life-cycle.


Whether you need to access new global resources and build carrier relations in a new geography, require a cost reduction strategy involving your supply chain and contracts, or wish to review your processes and policies on a global scale—we can build a team with the skills and experience necessary to deliver your outcomes on budget and on time.


How we help our clients

Our team has decades of experience designing process improvements that increase efficiency and reduce costs

Strategy

Supporting you to carve out and design a holistic glidepath to a successful procurement function, covering every input and output along the way.

Procurement as a Service

Offering outsourced procurement services to support you in understanding, streamlining, and executing all aspects of the procurement lifecycle.

Contract Management as a Service

Managing all aspects of supplier contracts to ensure that they are being compliant on their end, and negotiating to implement improved contracts where necessary.

Cost Reduction

Reviewing your current estate of products and go-forward contracts to optimise supplier renegotiation and service migration.

Process Reviews

Understanding how you have operated and approached procurement processes in the past in order to streamline and optimise them in the future.

Outsource Pricing Team Support

Providing necessary pricing support, strategies, and solutions for those procurement exercises which lie outside your usual scope.

Current Estate and Spend Review

Analysing your current portfolio and spend activities to better determine the requirements of your business going forward.

Digital Procurement Services

In an increasingly digital landscape, we can assist you in deciphering digital solutions for your procurement needs, from conception to implementation.

Invoice and Inventory Auditing and Analytics

Reviewing and evaluating your services, including supplier inventory, billing, and contracts, to make sure they are all aligned.

Supplier Performance Management

Getting to know your suppliers and their operations, metrics, and systems for reporting to make sure you are receiving the best possible services.

Featured Services



Our Procurement & Commercial practice is led by
Nigel Meacham

Managing Partner - Digital Procurement

Nigel began his telecom career in the late 80s, leading sales of iNet’s optimisation tools business. In the early 90s he co-founded Salford Networking International, developing tools to optimise backbone and access networks. At SNI, in addition to running sales of the companies' products to many multi-national and government organisations, he consulted on network design for organisations such as the National Grid and CAA.


In the late 90's Nigel co-founded another company, Magenta netLogic, where he led company sales and received two government export achievement awards. In 2012, Nigel founded a consultancy company, CSL, specialising in telecom audits and optimisation.


Nigel joined the Cambridge Managment Consulting team as Managing Partner and is also a co-founder and director of our procurement and carrier relation subsidiary, The Carrier Club.

Our team can be your team


Our team of experts have multiple decades  of experience across many different business environments and across various geographies.


We can build you a specialised team with the skillset and expertise required to meet the demands of your industry.


Our combination of expertise and an intelligent methodology is what realises tangible financial benefits for clients.

SPEAK TO THE TEAM

Our Procurement & Commercial Experts

Case Study

Delivery of Significant Cost Savings to a Large UK Retailer


A large UK online retailer went through a downsizing exercise in the early part of 2023. This caused significant changes in demand, meaning that expenditure in many areas was far more than the business requirement.


The goal of the project was to review all current vendor and supplier contracts, identify where savings could potentially be made, and then work with the procurement department to reduce the current level of expenditure to meet current business requirements. Our team was given a three-month deadline to make savings to the bottom line.


Utilising our significant experience in procurement and contract management, Cambridge MC delivered £10m of savings on an addressable budget of £80m.

READ CASE STUDY

Procurement & Commercial

Case Studies


Multicoloured neon lights.
by Jeff Owen 27 February 2024
Utilising our significant experience in procurement and contract management, Cambridge MC delivered £10m of savings on an addressable budget of £80m A large UK online retailer went through a downsizing exercise in the early part of 2023. This caused significant changes in demand, meaning that expenditure in many areas was far more than the business requirement. There were also instances where certain technologies were no longer required, but long-term contracts were in place that needed to be negotiated out. The goal of the project was to review all current vendor and supplier contracts, identify where savings could potentially be made, and then work with the procurement department to reduce the current level of expenditure to meet current business requirements. Our team was given a three-month deadline to make savings to the bottom line. Project Overview Cambridge MC was engaged on a three-month project to perform the following: Perform a deep dive on all vendor contracts against the current business. Establish priority saving areas and launch projects. Challenge demand and specification requirements. Build a cost reduction report. Engage in supplier negotiations in conjunction with the client's own procurement team. Produce weekly reports on cost savings achieved. Our experience in procurement, contract, and vendor management enabled us to completely meet the brief set out by the client which was to deliver significant bottom-line savings in a three-month turnaround. Specific Challenges Client had lost control of spend across the business. They had no awareness of what contracts had auto-renewed. They had signed long-term contracts. Some contracts had recently been extended for 24 months or longer. Due to downsizing, the volume of licenses for certain technologies were way above the actual requirement. Client had an inexperienced procurement team. Recent staff turnover meant that contract owners were no longer in the company. They had no contract management platform in place, resulting in contracts not being readily available. Most vendors were reluctant to renegotiate contracts at a lower cost to the business. Procurement had a process—not price—focus. Solutions Cambridge MC employed a data-driven analytical approach which prioritised target spend and volume data. All existing agreements and contracts were 'fair game'. We challenged what was the actual demand and specification, questioning whether what they have today is still relevant to what is needed now and in the future. After performing a deep analysis of all contracts, we entered into negotiations with vendors where the existing contracts did not meet the business requirement due to downsizing. Approach Vendors were allocated across the Cambridge MC team. Weekly all-day meetings at client's offices. Regular video conference calls to update progress. Engaged department heads as required. Outcomes & Results 1. Cost Savings In excess of £10m savings achieved off the bottom line. 2. Knowledge License requirements reduced to the correct level for the business. 3. Diligence Contracts managed far more closely. 4. Efficiency Procurement team coached to function more efficiently. 5. Commitment All contractual obligations were met.
Pillars of a building lit up by technicolour lights.
8 August 2023
Ensuring that University of Bristol remains the university of choice for students, academics and partners in a globally competitive market The University of Bristol is a Russell Group University and a leader in many global league tables, including the QS World University Rankings where in 2023 it ranked 9th in the UK. To strengthen its competitive position, the University is undertaking an ambitious digital transformation strategy. As a foundation of this strategy, the Modern Network will deliver a significant increase in capacity, flexibility, automation, resilience, security and experience for all users. Cambridge Management Consulting was selected as the consulting firm to help the University establish and refine the requirements, design the network in collaboration with University of Bristol experts and lead the technical procurement for a Modern Network. Cambridge MC’s technical and commercial expertise helped University of Bristol navigate a complex procurement exercise and deliver the first stages of the transformation programme. The Challenge The current University of Bristol campus network requires significant modernisation to support the University’s Digital Strategy. All staff, students and visitors interact with the University's network every day, whether it's connecting a device to Wi-Fi, emailing a colleague, or running a session on the University’s Digital Learning Platform. The University of Bristol recognised that improving their global competitiveness requires a step change in the digital experience offered to all users and so it launched its Modern Network programme. Key objectives of the Modern Network are to introduce a high-performance network that gives users access to comprehensive teaching and learning resources, as well as specialist equipment, data, and scalable fibre for innovative research. The Modern Network programme also aims to enable students to connect with friends and family, and socialise online from wherever they are on campus, at any time, day or night. The new network will enhance the Wi-Fi coverage and capacity to give users the best digital experience round the clock. The University realises that a significant increase in network performance is needed to support data intensive activities, including centralised and de-centralised computing, large scale sensor networks, media rich applications like augmented and virtual reality, data intensive instrumentation and modelling. The architecture designed is going to be more flexible, highly scalable, adaptable and evergreen. Security will be improved to cope with the continuously evolving threat landscape and to enable Modern Network users to safely perform their activities from any location in the world, with a consistent, hassle-free experience. The Modern Network will deliver a reliable platform with world-class operational capabilities, making the services easy to consume, monitor and manage. The Strategy Cambridge Management Consulting used its expertise and knowledge to quickly establish a comprehensive set of requirements and to test market appetite to deliver a Modern Network via an RFI. Requirements Management used a structured approach based on a Cambridge MC requirements catalogue. This accelerated the process of engaging University of Bristol stakeholders to validate requirements and helped to shape the University’s procurement process. An efficient and comprehensive stakeholder engagement process also saw the development of multiple personas that were used to explain how the Modern Network would deliver capabilities for students, academics, researchers and professional services colleagues. Cambridge MC, in conjunction with the university, then helped to shape a structured procurement approach. Modern Network capabilities were put into 3 main procurement categories to provide purchasing and transformation flexibility. Cambridge MC led the Procurement technical dialogue. Working in partnership with experts from the University of Bristol, a highly scalable, flexible, secure and resilient target state network was designed. The design is modular and makes use of multiple technical patterns. This provides a repeatable, standardised way for the University to deliver capabilities that can have customised performance service and levels. To assist the Procurement activities, Cambridge MC also created a Model Modern Network. The Model allowed a consistent financial assessment to be made at each stage of the Procurement, including providing a detailed estimate of the transformation milestones and payments. The Cambridge MC team also shaped the Modern Network programme. It was broadly shaped into mobilisation, discovery, design, prove, pilot and deploy phases. Cambridge MC are providing support in the early transformation phase to help the University of Bristol deliver the ambitious programme. The resulting Modern Network will be a high performance, flexible, resilient and secure platform. It will introduce self-service and automation, such as zero touch deployments and autonomous networks for research activities. It will leverage programmatic control and AIOps to improve the digital experience and inclusiveness, sustainability and the global competitiveness of the University. A technical modernisation like this requires a similar shift to a world-class operating model. Cambridge MC supported the service management redesign throughout the procurement phase. Using comprehensive requirements structured around ITIL, the team co-designed the enhanced set of service capabilities and are now helping University of Bristol to introduce these services. The new service management approach will provide full end-to-end visibility of the network, formal SLAs and SLA management and enhanced fault, change, configuration and knowledge management. This will complement the new technical capabilities and provide significant benefits to the University. The Team Cambridge Management Consulting provided procurement, commercial, technical business analysis and service management expertise. Cambridge MC also provided expertise for the procurement and post-procurement implementation activity. Cambridge MC worked exceptionally well with the University's digital and procurement teams to ensure end-to-end success for the University. Not only did the Cambridge MC team help support, but they also provided extensive knowledge transfer to, the University to minimise the future need for external support, minimise future costs for external consultants and help further develop the in-house ICT and procurement capabilities. Outcomes & Results 1. Cambridge Management Consulting's attention to detail ensured there were clear winners of the Procurement lots, with no challenges or disaffected potential suppliers. The winners of the three lots were all world-class organisations with a desire to support the University with its ambition to deliver a first-class service. 2. Cambridge MC have since assisted the University with other aspects of their Digital Strategy and continue to be engaged to help University of Bristol transform.
The side of a curvy skyscraper.
by Eric Green 8 February 2023
Our Procurement as a Service allows your internal resources to focus on what they do best essensys is a leading global software and technology company designed to solve the complex operational challenges faced by landlords and flexible workspace operators. essensys was using its sales & delivery teams to additionally procure services for their clients. This took resources away from what they do best: getting requests, chasing quotes and managing ordering & termination processes. As the inventory of services grew the client was missing out on the cost opportunities of procuring at scale. Rather than recruiting an in-house team, essensys turned to Cambridge Management Consulting for help with the procurement of their connectivity services from quotation to inventory management. The Challenge The initial contract was to help essensys meet pricing requests for ‘last mile’ connectivity enquiries from their Sales teams. To date this had been done through their Technical Delivery team and pre-sales engineers. The problem was that this took those specialised resources away from important core duties performed by the sales teams. Our pricing analysts took over quoting, originally for the UK and then for the US, supporting the essensys sales team and comparing the costs from suppliers with pricing from other clients. Pricing for essensys customer sites requires two diverse lines with different suppliers, providing as much resilience as possible to ensure a maximum uptime for essensys’ customers. Our team’s knowledge of suppliers and their networks ensures that maximum resilience is offered with each pair of quotes provided to the essensys team. Scope As essensys looked to expand their operations into the APA Region, we were asked to provide regulatory support establishing their operations in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Once their PoPs were built, we supported these new markets by developing the supplier strategy for data centre space, access and IP Transit. We then helped the quote team expand their scope to include supporting sales enquiries for these new markets. When Sales started enquiring about connectivity in markets other than where essensys had operations, our PaaS practice located and introduced essensys to a partner organisation that would operate as their virtual PoPs, rapidly increasing the number of markets that essensys could cover while maintaining internet quality and client experience of the essensys platform. In 2023, essensys' relationship with our PaaS practice increased its scope again, supporting essensys in all elements of the procurement life cycle including all elements of inventory management (raising orders, submitting cancellations and ensuring that the inventory data is up-to-date) as well as supporting essensys in meeting their cost management targets. All of these services are supplemented with our PaaS contract management and end-to-end procurement strategy across their telecoms and data centre spend. The Team The team is led by Eric Green (Senior Partner) and Elisabeth Simao (Partner) who between them have over 60 years of experience in running telecoms procurement teams for some of the largest names in the industry including AT&T, Level 3 (now Lumen), COLT and SITA/Equant (now Orange Business) Backed by a team of analysts and calling on a roster of procurement specialists, the team is able to scale up and down to meet the changing needs of essensys as the project grew How Paas Works Our Procurement-as-a-Service team shares resources and knowledge with the Carrier Club (part of the Cambridge MC family of companies and focussed on telecoms operators). The team uses its view of aggregated spend across all clients to calculate what the right market price should be and then leverages this when negotiating new pricing We also benchmark suppliers and can manage all aspects of our clients' inventory management, proactive cost management and supplier management requirements Our clients effectively share a team of procurement specialists with decades of experience. This improves the decision-making process and gives you the edge over a traditional in-house procurement model
People in an office working at computers.
19 December 2022
Across a client portfolio that includes 3000+ sites in 120 countries Cambridge MC worked with a large company leading the workplace revolution and representing some of the largest brand names in the workspace-as-a-service market. This client had realised that internet services provided to customers were key to their business success. With 3000+ sites in almost 900 cities, in over 120 countries, they need to ensure that telecoms services are being bought at the right quality and at the best market price. Our client was following an aggressive acquisition strategy, and the procurement processes and contracts are currently failing to keep apace. They initially required a Procurement as a Service solution and market review of current spend. We sought to find ‘cash now’ savings and create a report outlining improvements to the process for telecoms procurement. The Strategy In August 2017, the team was brought on to run a global cost review for the group. As this project developed, the scope-of-work was expanded to include onboarding and managing new suppliers. The aim was to invigorate the cost base and improve the quality of experiences (QofE) for customers. We also led on programs to ensure that our client's centres have a bandwidth that is ‘cost sensible’ without affecting QofE. Analysis Conducted a review of client's data costs globally to find where the largest areas of opportunity and most likely areas for quick wins were. In this review, the processes in North America were found to be efficient and their pricing on-market. This region was dropped from the scope of work after getting our seal-of-approval Developed and ran RFPs for Australia, Japan, South East Asia and Africa in pursuit of improved market pricing. The RFP sought out new suppliers as well as sending out a wake-up call to some existing providers Renegotiated agreements for pricing across a number of markets and suppliers, including major suppliers to the group across Europe. Discounts were leveraged against introducing new services to client through the supplier's new operations in Asia Developed the mathematics behind sizing the bandwidth requirement for centres, as well as looking at new ways of deploying bandwidth into centres that was more focused on the way the bandwidth is used by the end-users Knowledge & Skills Extensive use of the Cambridge MC Group’s database of market rates, developed over time through extensive trading Knowledge of best practice procurement for telecoms, including understanding the operational impact of procurement decisions The ability to define, draft and manage end-to-end Procurement RFP processes across a large global network Our knowledge of a wide range of telecoms products The ability to work with stakeholders across different countries, time-zones and cultures Outcomes & Results 1. PaaS Solution As the client expanded, we led their centralised procurement for telecoms. We helped them to manage these contracts as their change in business model allowed franchisees to take on the responsibility for procurement 2. 2019 - £3.67m in savings In 2019 the team provided £3.67m in savings from its global activities with the group, while simultaneously increasing the provided bandwidth by over 20% 3. 2020 - £10m in savings In 2020, we saved the group nearly £10m, circa 30% of their global telecommunications expenditure 
SEE MORE CASE STUDIES

Industry insights


Blue Neon Cloud above a abstract road and city
by Tom Burton 27 March 2025
Well Intended Guidance Leaves more Questions than Answers The UK Government Digital Services – part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – has recently published guidance for how the public sector should adopt a multi-region approach to cloud technology. At first sight this appears encouraging. Any unnecessary constraints on hosting arrangements (or any other non-functional requirements) reduce the available market of providers, constrain competition, and therefore inevitably reduce value for money. If parts of Government, whether central, regional or local, have felt that everything must be hosted in the UK then it makes sense to produce guidance that clarifies this perception and helps to open their options up. But for guidance to be useful it should guide. It should make it easier for people to take actions that they previously would have discounted. The guidance in this case, which at 1420 words is almost as short as this article, probably leaves the reader with more questions than answers. It may reveal some unknowns, but without increasing certainty. The Guidance in a Nutshell A summary of the guidance is as follows: Look wider than UK: Many cloud solutions may not offer UK hosting, particularly new innovative solutions that haven’t scaled up yet. Irrespective, their staff are likely to be distributed around the world if the service is supported 24/7. There may also be other benefits in looking wider than UK hosting, such as enabling better business continuity and disaster recovery options if the vendor only has one UK site. Get legal advice: Before you even consider a non-UK option you need to seek advice from your own legal advisors and your Data Protection Officer (DPO). Ensure compliance with ICO guidance: Before you even consider a non-UK option you need to check and make sure that any international transfer of personal data will be compliant with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance, and you should get further guidance from your own legal advice and DPO. Do a full review of vendor security: Before you even consider a non-UK option you need to make sure the vendor and solution are compliant with your own security policies. In a nutshell, it says: 'you should consider options outside of the UK but only if you have checked everything is legal and secure'. This seems to be verging on a statement of the obvious; the real difficulty in going offshore is covering all of the legal, regulatory and security compliance aspects. Adequacy is a Moment in Time On point 3, the guidance points out data protection compliance is easier if the country in question is considered by the ICO to be adequate – having equivalent regulations for data protection to the UK. Sound advice. But even this is not that simple. For instance, the USA is not considered adequate unless it is under an extension of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. This framework is dependent on an Executive Order that the Biden administration put in place, and it is entirely possible that it will be revoked by the current administration. If such an action was taken, or if for any other reason the EU decides that adequacy is no longer met (also not unlikely given Herr Schrems has achieved this twice already and has stated he plans to challenge the DPF), then the vendor will no longer be considered compliant. Consideration is Far Wider than Residency Security is far wider than data residency though. This is where point 4 both states the obvious and understates the complexity. Managing risk in the supply chain is inherently difficult. Cloud providers, and particularly SaaS solutions, aggravate this challenge by an order of magnitude. By their nature they are solutions designed for a broad and varied range of customers. This means they will always involve compromise. If they tried to meet the most demanding requirements, they would price themselves out of the scale marketplace. If they went for the lowest common denominator, they would be unable to meet the requirements of the majority. An individual customer can rarely dictate a specific security requirement for themselves. They are also highly opaque. The vendor presents their service as a black box. The features delivered to the customer are defined, but much of the underlying design and the means the vendor uses to manage it in operation are hidden. This makes assessing the risk far more of a judgement call than when the design and delivery is conducted under your control. Depending on the supplier, and the leverage that the customer has over them, it may be possible to get some information and assurances; but the right questions need to be asked, and the answers need to be interpreted correctly. Third party certifications and audits, such as the ISO27000 series of standards or the SOC1, SOC2 and SOC3 reports, can also provide some additional assurances. But only the customer will be able to decide the extent to which they can mitigate the risk, and the confidence they have in the supplier to manage their own. This is a business decision informed by the specifics and nuances of the risks being considered. Summary It is important to minimise the non-functional requirements and keep an open mind about potential solutions and vendors. This includes looking wider than just the UK when national security requirements are not paramount. But this is not something that can be distilled onto a single sheet of A4 in any meaningful way. Yes, there are legal and regulatory issues that need to be reviewed. And geopolitical risk needs to be factored in, considering how you would respond to future external changes that are outside of the UK’s control. But from experience, the greatest challenge is getting comfortable that the vendor’s organisation and their solution have adequate security – this applies equally whether the solution is hosted in the UK or overseas. The SaaS world is opaque, and balances priorities across a broad and varied customer base. The public sector needs to increase its adoption of cloud and SaaS solutions to remain efficient and relevant, in the same way that the private sector has had to. But the route to responsible adoption is more nuanced, requiring candid conversations with suppliers, and ultimately an informed but subjective judgement by the customer’s leadership. Sources/Links: DSIT Guidance for Multi-region cloud and software-as-a-service ↩︎ ICO Guide to International Transfers ↩︎ Executive Order (E.O.)14086 of October 7, 2022, on Enhancing Safeguards for United States Signals Intelligence Activities ↩︎ Note: This article originally appeared on Tom Burton's personal blog at https://digility.net/insights/
Palace of Westminster at night
by Craig Cheney 25 March 2025
The Digital Communities All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) shared the ‘Care to connect: Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) Migration’ report with key parliamentarians on Monday at a launch meeting on Parliament Street. This report highlights key recommendations for managing the ongoing Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) migration, focusing on protecting vulnerable residents and ensuring effective solutions. Here are the major takeaways for local government and communication providers: Data-Sharing Agreements (DSAs) DSAs between communication providers (CPs), local authorities, and telecare providers are crucial for identifying vulnerable residents during the migration. Challenges include inconsistent responses from local authorities and fragmented approaches across CPs. The APPG recommends all local authorities and housing associations sign DSAs, regardless of progress in digital switchover, to promote uniformity and resident safety. Telecare Devices The sale of analogue telecare devices must end, as these can leave residents unsupported during the transition. The government, in collaboration with the TEC Services Association (TSA), should enforce higher standards (TEC Quality’s Quality Standards Framework) across the telecare industry to achieve robust digital migration practices. Financial support for local councils is critical to replace outdated telecare devices and prevent double costs. Battery Backup Solutions Existing guidance from Ofcom, requiring one-hour resilience for power cuts, is insufficient. The APPG recommends increasing power backup requirements to at least 4 hours in homes and 6 hours for fixed networks. Communication and energy providers must jointly create resilient power solutions, particularly for vulnerable residents reliant on telecare devices. A multi-sector priority service register should integrate communications and energy service protection for those at risk. Sunset of 2G and 3G Networks UK mobile network operators plan to stop supporting 2G and 3G networks by 2033, with some networks already switched off. There are cases where local authorities and residents have purchased telecare devices using 2G/3G SIM cards, as a lower-cost, interim solution — these devices will need to be replaced again, posing double replacement costs for local authorities and additional risks to residents. The government should stop the sale of analogue devices and accelerate efforts to prevent the redeployment of outdated telecare alarms. Summary We welcome these recommendations alongside the December 2023 PSTN Charter, the Telecare National Action Plan and the PSTN Non-voluntary Migration Checklist. The conclusions make it clear that coordination between local and central government, industry regulators (such as Ofcom and Ofgem), and communication providers (CPs), as well as significant investment in digital teams at a local level, are essential goals to ensure a safe and inclusive digital switchover for all vulnerable residents and telecare users. Read the full report here: https://digitalcommunities.inparliament.uk/care-to-connect-public-switch-telephone-network-migration-report About the APPG The Digital Communities APPG is a cross-party group of parliamentarians, with the aim to promote the delivery of digitally equipped places that support and foster a connected, healthy, and productive community. This includes the creation and maintenance of sustainable digital infrastructure, as well as providing residents with equal opportunity to thrive in a digital world. The LGA provides the secretariat to the APPG. Cambridge Management Consulting Our Public Sector and PSTN teams can help local councils and other public bodies by providing strategy, financial planning, procurement, and project management services to ensure that you have a comprehensive transition strategy and accurate financial costing for the PSTN switch-off. We can help you follow the recommendations in this report by completing a full audit, signing DSAs with CPs and most importantly, protecting vulnerable service users. Get in touch with Craig Cheney, Managing Partner and lead for Public & Education, to discuss a range of services which might suit your needs: ccheney@cambridgemc.com (or use the form below). Act now, before time and resources run out.
A hazy smog view across a city skyline
by Simon King 20 March 2025
What Do Your Scope 3 Emissions Have to Do with Inflation? Scope 3 emissions cover everything outside your direct operations —the carbon footprint of your supply chain, purchased goods, logistics, business travel, and more. The higher your Scope 3 emissions, the more energy-intensive your supply chain is. And the more energy-intensive your supply chain, the more vulnerable you are to rising costs. Think of it this way: High Production Costs- If your suppliers are heavily dependent on fossil fuels, their production costs are rising fast Price Volatility- If your supply chain lacks efficiency and resilience, price volatility will hit you harder Locking in High Costs- If you’re not actively engaging with suppliers to reduce emissions, you’re locking in long-term cost increases that could have been avoided Without accurate Scope 3 data and a clear engagement strategy , businesses are leaving themselves open to higher prices, lower margins, and greater financial risk . Why Businesses Struggle with Scope 3 A major challenge is that Procurement and Sustainability teams often operate in silos: Procurement teams focus on cost and supplier relationships but often lack deep sustainability expertise Sustainability teams focus on compliance and decarbonisation but aren’t typically measured on financial performance This disconnect means emissions reduction is rarely treated as a financial opportunity —when in reality, cutting carbon from your supply chain is also one of the most effective ways to reduce exposure to cost inflation. The Businesses That Get This Right Will Lower their Costs Leading organisations are already taking action. They are: Gathering detailed Scope 3 emissions data to map out cost risks in their supply chain Engaging suppliers to drive efficiency, reduce emissions, and lower costs Building resilience by shifting towards lower-carbon, more cost-stable alternatives The result? Lower long-term costs, reduced financial risk, and a competitive edge over those stuck with inefficient supply chains. This is not just about sustainability compliance —it’s about smart financial decision-making. If You’re Not Taking Action, You’re Losing Money Every business will feel the impact of rising supply chain costs—but not every business will be prepared for them. If you don’t have accurate Scope 3 emissions data and an effective engagement strategy, you are: Paying more than you need to for essential goods and services Exposing your business to long-term cost inflation Missing out on opportunities to build a stronger, more resilient supply chain The sooner you act, the better the outcome for your bottom line and the planet. Is your business ready to take control of its costs? Get in touch with Cambridge Management Consulting and edenseven today. About edenseven edenseven is the sustainability-focussed sister-company of Cambridge Management Consulting. We work with businesses across all sectors in multiple regions to deliver robust and deliverable net-zero strategies. The success of any strategy relies on its awareness of how changes in policy and subsidies can create both risks and opportunities for a business. If you are a business trying to enter a new market or evolving in an existing market and would like to learn more about how edenseven can support you, please get in touch with the team at edenseven at info@edenseven.co.uk or use the contact form below. Find out more about edenseven on their website: edenseven.co.uk
by Daniel Fitzsimmons 13 March 2025
Peter Drucker wrote in his book The Practice of Management (1954) that ‘it is the customer who determines what a business is’. This sentiment still firmly holds true today, as consumers increasingly expect personalised shopping experiences from aspirational businesses that desire to have a positive impact on the community, country, or world in some way. Across this series of articles, Daniel Fitzsimmons explores the role of customer-centricity as a mechanism to support the delivery of superior customer experience and business profitability. In the first two articles in this Customer Centricity series, Daniel has established the foundations of what makes a truly customer-centric organisation, and how a business can be tailored towards ensured customer satisfaction. In the final article in the series, he takes this further to discuss how technological innovation can amplify these goals. Digital Transformation – Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) Technology is typically the most common interaction point for customers engaging with products, and is especially critical to the service industry. The banking industry has pioneered the digitalisation of services (Dube and Helkkula, 2015), with digital payment services and blockchain solutions. In a fiercely competitive environment, the creation of superior value requires increased insight into how customers experience value (Medberg and Heinonen, 2014). Value can be typically defined as the ‘consumers’ overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given’ (Zeithma, 1988). This concept can be extended to a value definition in the following forms: Total Monetary Value – The amount a customer is prepared to pay for a product Perceived Use Value – Defined by a customer’s perception (utility) Exchange Value – Realised when the product is sold Value can be enhanced through digital capabilities, marking technology solutions, and digital marketing strategies to support user acceptance. Securing User Acceptance One compelling approach to understanding how users may engage with a new technology is the TAM model. The TAM model suggests that Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of USE (PEOU), define how a user will interact with a new product or service, i.e. if the product usefulness and ease of use can be communication, barriers to adoption can be mitigated. When developing new customer solutions, mobilisation of the TAM model is the engagement of consumers in product development, and inclusion of then construct of ‘user intent’ to inform product ideation. Venkatesh et al. formulated the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). This model was found to outperform other models (Adjusted R square of 69 percent), and is worthy of further investigation in terms of its ability to predict user acceptance of new technology solutions. Experimentation Technology should function as an enabling mechanism to support experimentation in the creation of products and services, and increased alignment with prospective customers. Experimentation, which from an engineering perspective represents ‘continuous improvement’, allows businesses to see what does and doesn’t resonate with target personas, iterating towards a value proposition that will drive superior customer engagement and subsequently an increased % of the customer wallet. Booking.com runs more than 1,000 tests simultaneously to fine tune its offering specific to a user profile, behaviours, and characteristics. Experimentation and the subsequent data generated provides a meaningful base from which to make decisions, thereby negating ‘strong opinions or the HiPPO mentality, which is often pervasive in organisations. For experimentation to be successful, leadership needs to create a culture of curiosity in the business, supported by organisational design and the psychological safety to try and fail. Digital continuity provides an exciting opportunity to enhance the customer voice in product development. Real time data availability provides instant insight into consumer preference, which can be used to support product development and increasingly personalised product offers. Through the experimentation cycle, digital prototypes can be rolled out quickly to support the product innovation cycle. For experimentation to be successful, customer requirements should be integrated into business operations to create an industry-aligned value proposition (Ohmae, 1988). Conclusion Throughout this three-part series, I have demonstrated the importance of customer-centricity as a critical way to ensure success. In this article specifically, I have covered how to leverage technology – a power that is already prevalent and constantly evolving – to best support this venture. Building upon the TAM model, technology can be used to facilitate enhanced customer satisfaction, consequently spurring innovation and growth.
Impressionist and colourful depiction of a man surfing a large wave
by Naaz Bax 7 March 2025
Funds donated by Cambridge MC supplied some new equipment, including new boards.
Shelf stacked with gold awards that look like Oscars
by Lucas Lefley 4 March 2025
At Cambridge Management Consulting, we pride ourselves on building a consultancy practice that goes beyond traditional consulting. Our team is composed of specialist practitioners who have reached the pinnacle of their industries, bringing years—often decades—of hands-on experience to guide others in achieving exceptional results. This approach has established Cambridge MC as a consultancy powered by a network of diverse, proven expertise, consistently recognised for its impact and innovation. Our consultants and their work have been honoured with numerous accolades, reflecting the value we bring to our clients and industries. For example, Zoë Webster, an expert in AI, Digital & Innovation, was named one of AI Magazine’s Top 10 AI Leaders in the UK & Europe, celebrated as a pioneer reshaping industries and societies. Similarly, Craig Cheney, Managing Partner, Marvin Rees, Board Advisor, and David White, Associate, were recognised with a World Economic Forum Award for Public Private Collaboration for their contributions to the Bristol City Leap project. Craig Cheney was made an Alderman of the City of Bristol, acknowledging his eminent services to the city; and just recently, Marvin Rees OBE was introduced into the House of Lords. These achievements were further complemented by our success at the Consultancy Awards, where Cambridge MC proudly received awards in every category we were nominated for. The Consultancy Awards The Consultancy Awards, hosted annually by The Consultancy Growth Network, celebrate hard work, commitment, and innovation across the consultancy sector. Cambridge MC was honoured to receive three awards in recent years, recognising our contributions across key areas: Digital Transformation: For our project management of a multinational oil and gas company, coordinating the development of a portfolio of high-priority EV charging hub sites in major cities. Productivity Improvement / Cost Reduction: For delivering £10m in savings for a large UK online retailer in just 13 weeks, leveraging our expertise in procurement, contract, and vendor management. Fastest Growing: Celebrating our 30% growth in revenue, 100% increase in geographies, and doubling the profit we donate to charity to 12%.  These awards are a testament to our commitment to delivering exceptional results for our clients while contributing to the industries we serve. Celebrating Industry Excellence While receiving accolades is always an honour, the opportunity to give back to the industries that shaped us is equally rewarding. Cambridge MC has been privileged to sponsor and judge several prestigious awards, recognising the talent and innovation that drive progress across telecommunications, technology, and connectivity. ITP Telecoms Awards As Platinum Sponsors of the ITP Telecoms Awards, hosted by the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals, we celebrated the achievements of individuals and organisations making significant contributions to the digital industry. Tim Passingham, Founder & Chairman of Cambridge MC, presented the Engineer of the Year award to Mike Mawson, Head of Fibre Innovation at Hyperoptic, recognising his exceptional work in advancing telecommunications. Global Connectivity Awards The Global Connectivity Awards, held at the O2 in London, marked its 20th year of honouring innovation across 40 categories, from technology breakthroughs to regional achievements. Cambridge MC’s Managing Partner, Charles Orsel des Sagets, joined the panel of 30 impartial judges, bringing over 30 years of expertise in fintech, cybersecurity, and connectivity to evaluate the finalists. This event highlighted the ingenuity shaping the connectivity industry and provided a platform to celebrate its brightest minds. World Communication Awards The World Communication Awards, now in its 25th year, continues to recognise excellence across telecommunications. Naaz Bax, Senior Partner and Chief of Staff at Cambridge MC, served as a judge and presented the prestigious Woman in Telecoms Award. This category celebrated the achievements of brilliant women in the industry, with the award going to Josephine Sarouk, Managing Director of Bayobab Group, for her invaluable contributions to telecommunications. DCD>Global Awards The DCD>Global Awards, held at Grosvenor House in London, celebrated talent and achievement in the data centre and telecommunications industries. Duncan Clubb, Senior Partner for Data Centres, Edge & Cloud, brought his expertise to the judging panel, evaluating finalists in categories such as the Edge Data Center Project of the Year. This event showcased the transformative impact of innovation in data centre infrastructure and edge computing. A Legacy of Ingenuity The awards, events, and individuals highlighted here reflect the wealth of expertise, innovation, and achievement that define the consulting, telecommunications, and technology industries. At Cambridge MC, we are privileged to contribute to these industries, whether by delivering impactful projects, receiving accolades, or celebrating the achievements of others. As we look ahead, we remain committed to supporting and shaping the industries we serve, continuing to drive progress and innovation in the years to come.
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