Buy well, manage suppliers, win bids.
Commercial advice from people who have worked as buyers and as suppliers. We help organisations buy, manage contracts and recover the ones that have gone wrong, and we help suppliers build bids that score.
For companies, public bodies and suppliers.
Both sides of the table. One straight answer.
If you buy
- Procurement
- Contracts
- Supplier costs
- Recovery
If you sell
- Bid strategy
- Bid writing
- Bid review
- Partnering
What we do
Commercial work for the organisations that buy, and for the organisations that sell to them.
If you buy goods and services
Procurement, start to finish
From strategy and specification to award and mobilisation.
Supplier costs and price rises
Test every increase against the contract and the market, then negotiate.
Contract and supplier management
See what you pay for. Act when you do not get it.
Contract recovery and supplier failure
Stabilise a failing contract and decide: fix, renegotiate, re-procure or exit.
Negotiation and commercial disputes
Prepare your position, negotiate and settle.
Fractional commercial leadership
A senior interim commercial lead for as long as you need one, without a permanent hire.
Commercial functions
Policies, approvals, templates and training that your team can run without us.
If you sell to other organisations
Bids and tenders
Bid/no-bid, win themes, writing and an evaluator-style review from people who have marked bids as buyers.
Negotiation and contract management for suppliers
Protect margin and the relationship through renewals, variations and disputes.
Not sure which applies? Ask for a rapid commercial diagnostic.
Who leads your work
ACS's senior leads have run procurements as buyers and bids as suppliers, in government, regulated and health organisations, councils, housing and the charity sector, and alongside the companies that serve them. Commercial discipline works the same in any organisation with large supplier contracts: know what the contract says, what the market will bear and where your leverage is.
Each engagement has a named lead, and every client deliverable is reviewed by a second senior practitioner before it reaches you. You will know who is doing the work and who is checking it before it starts.
We never act for a buyer and a supplier on the same competition or contract, and we check for conflicts before we accept any work.
Anonymised lead profiles are available on request for agencies, partners and buyers. Ask admin@.
- A named senior leadon every engagement, from scope to handover.
- Two senior viewson every client deliverable before it reaches you.
- Access to over 45 hand-picked senior specialistsbrought in only where the work needs them.
- Buyer and supplier experienceso advice anticipates how the other side will read it.
Five steps, the same on every engagement
Understand
What needs deciding, what evidence exists and who owns it.
Agree
Scope, outputs, acceptance and timescale, in writing before work starts.
Deliver
A named lead runs the work, adding specialists only where needed, with short written updates at an agreed rhythm.
Check
A second senior practitioner reviews every client deliverable before it reaches you.
Two senior views on every deliverableHand over
Documents, templates and contract records stay with your team when we finish.
The ACS family
Commercial is our core. When the work needs more, we bring in programme and PMO, technology and digital, transformation and change, and housing and estates specialists, under the same lead. That is access to over 45 hand-picked senior specialists, brought in only when the work needs them, so the team stays as small as the job allows.
- Commercial
- Programme and PMO
- Technology and digital
- Transformation and change
- Housing and estates
Free, practical checklists
Printable, plain English, no sign-up.
- For buyers
Supplier price rise checklist
10 checks before you accept a supplier price increase.
- For suppliers
Bid readiness checklist
10 checks before you submit a tender.
- For contract owners
Contract health check
A short self-assessment of a live contract: performance, risk, money and exit.
Ways to buy, and what we hold
Buy through
- Bloom
- Constellia
- RM6237 Dynamic Purchasing System
Credentials we hold
- Cyber Essentials certified
- Good Business Charter accredited
- Disability Confident Committed
- Supply Chain Sustainability School Bronze member
- Armed Forces Covenant signatory
Not sure where to start?
Send us the decision, contract or bid in front of you. We will tell you whether we can help, who would lead the work and an indicative cost range, before you commit to anything.