About

The work, the route, and why I started Konfide.

A note from the founder.

The work.

I spent six years running procurement and operations at a UK food manufacturer. The business grew from under a million pounds in turnover to over eight million during that time. I built the procurement function from scratch: supplier relationships, sourcing routes, commercial terms, performance management, the lot.

The numbers that matter: 23 per cent off the unit cost of chicken wings, after a full category review and supply route change. 16 per cent off whole lambs and 12 to 13 per cent off primary cuts, after re-tendering. 18 per cent off packaging, after a market sweep and a switch of supplier. Each one with quality maintained and continuity protected. None of them were one-offs.

The work was done with the standard procurement toolkit. Renegotiation. Dual-sourcing. Competitive tendering. Category consolidation. What made it work wasn't the tools. It was running operations and procurement side by side. I knew what the production line needed because I was running it. That changes how you negotiate.

How I got here.

I didn't come up through procurement. I trained in finance. An MBA, an MSc in Finance, and an early career in commercial roles and supplier management across European markets. Before food, I ran supplier relationships and negotiations for a European construction materials retailer, sourcing across categories and countries.

I moved into food in 2020, joining a UK manufacturer as a part-time consultant when it was still small. Over six years I grew with the business through three roles: setting up early operations and supplier infrastructure, then running operations and client relations, then leading procurement and operations across the whole business.

The route matters. Most procurement consultants come up through procurement and only procurement. My background is finance, then commercial, then operations, then procurement. That's why I think about supplier spend the way I do. It isn't a unit-cost conversation. It's about input cost, margin protection, supply resilience, and the commercial position you're actually trying to defend. Procurement is a finance lever first, and a supplier conversation second.

What I do.

Three forms of work. Clients often move between them as their needs change.

The Konfide Review
A free initial sit-down. We look at your business, your recent supplier invoices, and where the spend isn't working as hard as it should. About an hour. The natural starting point.
Project work
A specific outcome delivered. Supplier renegotiation, competitive tendering, category review, supplier replacement, contract restructuring. Four to eight weeks, defined scope, fixed fee, written deliverable.
Ongoing procurement support
A monthly retainer. At the lighter end: price monitoring, supplier performance reviews, renegotiation cycles. At the fuller end: I step in and run the purchasing function for you. Placing orders, managing supplier relationships, handling deliveries, resolving issues, reporting back on what's been done and what it's costing. For operators without an in-house buyer, and who'd rather not hire one.

No commercial relationships on the supply side. No supplier contracts, no commissions, no preferred-supplier deals. The fee comes from you. The recommendations are made in your interest, not anyone else's.

A note from Arnold

Why I started Konfide.

Most independent operators don't have the procurement help they actually need. The ones who do are usually paying for a process rather than a person. The big procurement firms are built for chains and groups. Their fees and frameworks make little sense for an independent restaurant, a 50-bed care home, or a small catering business. The smaller advisors who serve that gap are often more salesperson than operator.

I'm not trying to build the biggest procurement consultancy in the UK. I'm trying to build the most useful one for the kind of businesses that built me. Operators who run hard, watch every pound, and want a single accountable person they can call when their supplier costs start getting away from them.

I work directly with every client. No team behind the scenes. When you call Konfide, you get me.

If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your supplier spend, book a Konfide Review. We'll spend an hour going through it together. If I think I can help, I'll tell you. If I don't, I'll tell you that too.

Delor — Arnold's signature
Founder, Konfide
Ready when you are

The Konfide Review takes about an hour.

If I find savings worth chasing, I'll tell you. If I don't, I'll tell you that too.

Book a Konfide Review