Case Study: Transforming Procurement at Vanquis Banking Group: A P2P Journey to Efficiency and Control

10 Nov
Posted by: Matthew Hardaker
Category: Case Studies
No Comments
Young woman smiling while shopping online, holding a credit card in one hand and using a laptop with the other, sitting in a bright, modern home setting

Vanquis Banking Group faced a pivotal moment in modernising its procurement and expense management processes. By centralising and digitising their systems, they aimed to gain control, visibility, and efficiency across the organisation.

Vanquis Banking Group (formerly Provident Financial plc) is a British bank headquartered in Bradford, England, specialising in credit cards, loans, and consumer vehicle finance. VBG supports 1 in 5 people who cannot access credit through mainstream banks or building societies and also provides fixed-rate and notice savings accounts under Vanquis Savings. The bank is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange.

To drive greater efficiency and control, VBG embarked on a company-wide transformation programme to centralise and digitise its Procure-to-Pay (P2P) supplier and expense management processes and systems.

Challenge

The client faced three key challenges:

  1. Resource constraints: Limited capacity within Procurement and technical teams to provide the governance and transformational support required.
  2. Capability gaps: Finance and Technology teams lacked experience to define clear requirements for optimising their ERP and P2P platforms.
  3. Assurance and expertise: The client needed a partner with both technical knowledge and practical procurement experience to ensure the deployment represented the most effective approach to managing expenditure.

Solution

To meet VBG’s objectives, we provided senior procurement and technical practitioners to supplement in-house ERP/P2P architects. The Barkers team brought extensive experience in delivering complex system changes within highly regulated financial services environments.

Our structured methodology incorporated key enablers such as supplier enablement, change management, and robust project oversight to ensure each stage progressed smoothly and effectively. Core elements included:

  • Platform Solution Architects: Experts in Financial Services and regulated procurement environments.
  • Technical Architects: Subject matter experts in the client’s chosen ERP platform.
  • Project and Change Management: Oversight to guide implementation, adoption, and organisational readiness.

Implementation stages:

  • Mobilise: Initial communications, project kick-off, strategic planning, success metrics, supplier enablement.
  • Model: Business process review, solution design and architecture, functional support, integrations, supplier enablement strategy.
  • Validate: Testing, cutover planning, training strategy, business readiness, supplier enablement execution.
  • Deploy: Production launch, hypercare support, transition to operations, and project wrap-up.

Results

The implementation of the P2P platform delivered measurable improvements across Vanquis Bank’s procurement operations, transforming how the organisation manages costs, compliance, and efficiency. Key outcomes included:

  • Significant Cost Savings: Reduced maverick spending and leveraged group-wide procurement to secure better deals and stronger supplier relationships.
  • Enhanced Visibility & Control: Real-time insights into procurement and spending, with 99% of invoices now PO-backed (up from 25%).
  • Seamless Integration: Fully connected ERP and user controls create an end-to-end, automated procurement-to-payment workflow.
  • Faster, Streamlined Processes: Automation accelerated approvals, reduced paperwork, and cut the requisition cycle to just three days. By March 2023, 60% of invoicing was automated (up from zero in May 2022).
  • Stronger Compliance & Risk Management: Improved governance with robust monitoring, risk assessment, and mitigation tools.
  • Scalable Platform: Designed to support ongoing growth and future expansion across the Group.

Streamline your procurement – see how we can help

Our services

Transforming Procurement at Vanquis Banking Group: A P2P Journey to Efficiency and Control – Case Study

Download Now
Tags: , , ,
Author: Matthew Hardaker
Copyright © 2026 Barkers Procurement
Our Terms & Conditions. Privacy Policy.