Our Partnership with Southgate Global

THE ISSUE

Rapid growth puts pressure on procurement and category management functions. What once worked can quickly become stretched, particularly in fast-growing SMEs where teams are lean and expectations increase quickly.

Without the right structure and capability in place, organisations risk slowing decision-making, creating gaps in coverage, and limiting their ability to scale effectively.

That’s usually the moment when leaders realise the structure that got them here won’t get them where they’re going next.

Acquiring the right talent is the most important key to growth. Hiring was, and still is, the most important thing we do.

THE COMPANY

Southgate Global is a fast-growing UK SME operating in the B2B packaging and fulfilment sector.

Following its appointment as a strategic partner to a major global online retailer, the business entered a period of accelerated growth. This placed increased demand on procurement and category management, prompting a review of how the function was structured and resourced.

A newly appointed Head of Procurement was tasked with ensuring the team was equipped to support both immediate operational demand and longer-term growth.

THE CHALLENGE

Southgate Global required support with a complex, multi-hire programme driven by growth rather than replacement.

The brief involved several connected challenges:

• Multiple senior hires across procurement and category management
• Fully confidential searches, with no advertising
• A non-central location requiring on-site presence
• Highly specific skill requirements, including niche category exposure and international sourcing experience

An incumbent retained recruitment provider was already engaged, but delivery was slow and the quality inconsistent. The business required a more specialist, consultative approach aligned to the realities of a fast-growing SME.

A company should limit its growth based on its ability to attract enough of the right people.

OUR APPROACH

Procurement Heads partnered closely with Southgate Global’s senior stakeholders to design a recruitment strategy aligned to both immediate requirements and future capability.

The first step was reviewing the structure of the category management function. Rather than recruiting a single senior role, Procurement Heads advised a redesign of the team, creating two clearly defined category manager positions to improve coverage, resilience, and succession planning.

All roles were delivered through discreet, headhunted searches, with no advertising. This ensured confidentiality while allowing access to high-calibre candidates within competitor organisations.

Throughout the process, Procurement Heads provided market insight, salary benchmarking, and practical guidance to support informed and timely decision-making.

THE OUTCOME

Over the course of 2025, Procurement Heads delivered a strengthened procurement and category management function to support Southgate Global’s continued growth.

This included:

• Two Category Managers appointed through a confidential search and team redesign
• Three Senior Buyers hired with specialist category and international sourcing experience
• A transition from shared supplier usage to an exclusive retained partnership
• Faster time to hire and improved shortlist quality compared to the incumbent provider
• A scalable procurement structure aligned to ongoing expansion

Southgate Global now partners exclusively with Procurement Heads for its procurement recruitment requirements.

Working with Procurement Heads throughout 2025 has been a real pleasure. The team took the time to understand our business, my needs, and what I was looking for from candidates, consistently putting forward high-calibre individuals who were a strong fit for both our team and culture.
They stepped in when another recruitment consultant let me down, were incredibly responsive, and genuinely understood what we needed. I will definitely be using Procurement Heads again in the future and have shared their details with the wider team.