PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

IN A CONSTRAINED SUPPLY WORLD

Independent insight and advisory for procurement leaders navigating geopolitical risk, industrial policy, and structural supply constraints.

We start building capability by LISTENING...

...to fully understand your NEEDS.

What Purchasing Practice Is

Purchasing Practice is an independent platform dedicated to helping procurement leaders understand and act on structural shifts in supply markets.

In an era where availability, resilience, and positioning matter more than unit cost, we translate geopolitical developments, industrial policy, and infrastructure realities into clear category strategy implications.

Where the Focus Sits

The work sits at the intersection of:

  • Constrained Supply Markets
  • Industrial Policy & Geopolitical Dynamics
  • Category Strategy & Positioning

These are no longer separate domains.

They are increasingly interdependent—and together determine how supply advantage is created.

Our Approach

A Different Starting Point

Most procurement thinking is still based on:

  • stable markets
  • abundant supply
  • global sourcing flexibility

That model is increasingly outdated.

A Different Perspective

The analysis presented here is grounded in a different set of realities:

  • supply constraints matter more than cost structures
  • policy is shaping markets as much as competition
  • access to supply is becoming a strategic advantage

Procurement is no longer operating within markets—it is operating within supply systems.

What Is Provided

The platform delivers:

  • Strategic insight into how supply markets are structurally changing
  • Frameworks — Practical models for operating in constrained supply environments
  • Briefings — Focused intelligence on critical categories and emerging risks (launching Q3 2026)
  • Advisory — High-level, selective support for complex category strategy and positioning decisions

The emphasis is on clarity, relevance, and applicability—not volume.

Dave Henshall

About

Dave Henshall founded Purchasing Practice after an extensive career in procurement strategy, category management, and supply market analysis.

Drawing on deep operational and strategic experience across complex global categories, Dave provides an independent, research-driven voice focused on structural market realities rather than conventional wisdom or promotion.

His work helps procurement leaders and executive teams interpret emerging shifts — and translate them into actionable strategies in an increasingly constrained world

Context

This is not a view of how procurement worked in the past.

It is a forward-looking perspective on how procurement must operate in an environment defined by:

  • Constrained supply
  • Geopolitical competition
  • Policy-driven markets

The challenge is no longer simply to optimize within markets— but to understand and position within them.

Our Commitment

Purchasing Practice operates as an independent platform — focused on interpretation, not promotion. We prioritize depth over breadth and insight over volume.

Many of the structural shifts shaping procurement are already visible in leading markets. This work exists to help procurement leaders see them early — and act with confidence.