When Swile, the French fintech company founded in 2018, announced its first-ever profitable quarter, it marked a significant milestone in the company's journey. Behind this achievement lies a compelling story of how strategic procurement can become a powerful lever for business transformation. In a recent episode of the "Recommandes" podcast, Éric and Kevin, Swile's procurement leaders, shared their blueprint for building a procurement function that doesn't just cut costs—it drives organizational excellence.

The Perfect Storm: When Procurement Becomes Mission-Critical

Swile's procurement journey began in 2022 during a pivotal moment. The company was finalizing the acquisition of its main competitor, Bimpli, while facing increasingly scarce funding rounds for companies of its size. Like many tech companies during this period, Swile needed to pivot from pure growth mode to sustainable profitability.

"We weren't there for nothing," explains Éric, Director of Procurement and Supply Chain at Swile. "We were there to support a company in its path to profitability." This clear mandate from leadership, communicated directly by founder Loïc Soubeyrand to the entire organization, created the foundation for procurement's strategic role.

The First 100 Days: Mapping the Terrain

Understanding the Landscape

The procurement team's initial approach focused on two critical areas: data analysis and stakeholder engagement. Working closely with the finance team, they leveraged accounting records to reconstruct Swile's spending patterns and used budget forecasts to understand future expenditures.

This dual approach allowed them to answer the fundamental question: "Who spends what with which supplier?" The team applied the classic 80/20 rule, focusing on 80% of spending across 20% of suppliers to maximize impact.

The Strategic Matrix Approach

Using a proven procurement methodology, the team categorized purchases using a two-axis matrix:

• Strategic purchases (high impact, complex supplier market): Requiring careful consideration and long-term planning

• Leverage purchases (high impact, competitive market): Offering immediate cost-saving opportunities

• Bottleneck purchases (low impact, complex market): Focusing on problem-solving and supplier relationship management

• Routine purchases (low impact, competitive market): Suitable for automation and standardization

This framework enabled them to prioritize efforts and demonstrate value quickly—earning credibility with finance through cost savings while building trust with internal stakeholders by solving operational challenges.

The Three Pillars: Buy Better, Buy Less, Buy Cheaper

Buy Better: Optimization Through Integration

The Bimpli acquisition created unique opportunities for operational improvements. Rather than simply imposing Swile's practices on the acquired company, the team identified the best approaches from both organizations.

Key improvements included:

• Tool consolidation: Eliminating duplicate communication tools and office spaces while negotiating better rates for consolidated volumes

• Supply chain optimization: Bringing previously outsourced professional services in-house, leveraging Swile's internal capabilities

• Sustainable practices: Implementing end-to-end card lifecycle management, including recycling programs and local production in France

Buy Less: Focus on the Essential

The "buy less" philosophy centered on eliminating non-essential spending through better governance and accountability. The team implemented several key mechanisms:

Supplier-Level Budgeting: Working with finance to create budgets at the supplier level, giving budget owners clear visibility into their spending patterns.

Delegation of Authority: Moving away from centralized shared service centers to empower department heads with spending authority and accountability.

Purchase Request Process: Implementing approval workflows before purchases occur, rather than after invoices arrive, enabling proactive decision-making rather than reactive validation.

Buy Cheaper: The Art of Negotiation

Perhaps most innovatively, Swile developed an internal negotiation training program that treats all 800 employees as potential buyers. The training uses gamification—including scenarios like prison escapes and end-of-world situations—to make negotiation skills accessible and engaging.

The program follows a structured approach:

1. Preparation phase: Using methodologies inspired by former RAID negotiator Laurent Combalbert

2. Four-step execution: Empathy, courage, negotiation, and closing

3. Practical tools: Including calibrated questions inspired by former FBI negotiator Chris Voss

Technology as an Enabler, Not a Constraint

Swile's approach to procurement technology emphasizes simplicity and user experience. Rather than implementing complex enterprise solutions, they chose agile, modern tools that integrate seamlessly with existing workflows.

Their technology philosophy mirrors their overall approach: tools should serve people, not the other way around. This is particularly important in a tech company where user experience is paramount—internal processes must reflect the same standards of excellence delivered to customers.

The Results: From -€22M to +€36M

The transformation speaks for itself. Swile moved from a €22 million loss in 2022 to a €36 million profit in 2024. While procurement wasn't solely responsible for this turnaround, it played a crucial role in the company's operational efficiency improvements.

More importantly, the procurement function became embedded in the company's culture rather than operating as an isolated department. As Éric notes, "Procurement is not a department—it's a company-wide challenge."

Key Takeaways for Growing Companies

Swile's procurement success offers several actionable insights for other scaling companies:

Start with the right mandate: Ensure procurement has clear executive support and a well-defined mission aligned with business objectives.

Focus on enablement, not control: Rather than acting as gatekeepers, successful procurement teams empower colleagues with tools, training, and frameworks.

Leverage major transitions: Acquisitions, funding changes, or strategic pivots create natural opportunities to implement procurement improvements.

Invest in people development: Building negotiation and procurement skills across the organization multiplies impact far beyond what a small team can achieve alone.

Choose technology wisely: Prioritize user experience and integration over feature complexity.

The Swile story demonstrates that procurement, when properly positioned and executed, becomes a strategic enabler of business transformation. By focusing on empowerment rather than enforcement, and by treating procurement as an organizational capability rather than a departmental function, companies can unlock significant value while building more resilient and efficient operations.