MAT procurement: how to simplify ordering across multiple schools

Why is MAT procurement difficult to manage?

Ordering across a multi-academy trust rarely fails because people are not trying hard enough. It fails because the process has too many moving parts. One school emails a spreadsheet. Another sends screenshots. A third adds extra items after the deadline. Finance teams are left checking budgets, chasing approvals, comparing suppliers and trying to spot duplicated requests before orders are placed. At trust level, that becomes more than an admin problem. It affects value, visibility and consistency. That is why MAT procurement needs systems that reflect how trusts actually operate: central oversight, local requirements, multiple budget holders and tight timelines.

Multi-academy trusts need to balance two competing pressures. On one side, finance directors need consistency, compliance, budget control and value across the trust. On the other, individual schools need flexibility to order resources that fit their pupils, curriculum, phase, building and staff priorities. That tension is normal.

The National Governance Association describes academy trusts as single legal entities overseen by trust boards, with responsibility across all schools in the trust. That structure makes financial oversight and good governance essential. Procurement therefore has to work at two levels:

• Strategic enough for trust-wide control
• Practical enough for individual school use

The problem is that many ordering systems were not designed with this structure in mind. They work for one school. They become messy across six, ten or twenty.

What does simplified MAT ordering look like?

Simplified ordering does not mean removing local choice entirely. It means creating a clearer route from need to approval to purchase. A simplified MAT ordering process usually includes:

• Agreed supplier routes
• Standardised core product lists
• Clear budget ownership
• Shared baskets or order templates
• Simple approval workflows
• Reduced duplicate ordering
• Better visibility across schools
• Fewer manual spreadsheets

ISBL defines procurement as achieving best value from school or trust resources through economy, efficiency and effectiveness, with effective contract management supporting education delivery. That is a useful way to frame MAT procurement. The best process is not just the cheapest. It is the one that saves time, improves control and still supports teaching and learning.

How does GLS Share Basket support MAT ordering?

GLS Educational Supplies understands this reality well. Its Share Basket tool is designed to make collaboration easier by allowing baskets to be shared with colleagues, finance teams, school offices or anyone else involved in ordering. For trusts trying to reduce procurement friction, that kind of functionality can make a practical difference.

GLS Share Basket is a practical tool for trusts because it supports collaboration before an order is placed. Instead of each school sending separate lists, screenshots or emails, a basket can be created and shared with the relevant people involved in the process. GLS describes Share Basket as a way to email your basket instantly to colleagues, finance teams, school offices or anyone else involved in ordering. For MAT finance directors, that matters because many procurement delays happen before checkout.

Share Basket can help trusts:

• Review proposed orders before purchase
• Share baskets between school offices and central finance
• Reduce back-and-forth emails
• Keep product choices visible
• Support approval before spend is committed
• Help schools collaborate on shared requirements

Where do MATs usually lose time in ordering?

Most wasted time is hidden in small tasks. For example:

• Checking whether two schools have ordered the same item differently
• Asking staff to resend product codes
• Rebuilding baskets from emailed lists
• Chasing missing quantities
• Confirming whether a request is approved
• Comparing similar products manually
• Splitting orders by school or budget holder
• Repeating the same order each term

Individually, none of these tasks looks significant. Across a trust, they add up quickly. GLS has positioned its smart ordering tools, including Quick Order, Share Basket, Wishlists and Repeat Order, around saving admin time for schools. For MAT finance teams, the value is not only convenience. It is the reduction of avoidable friction across multiple sites.

What should MAT finance directors standardise first?

The easiest place to start is with high-frequency, low-complexity products. These are the items schools order repeatedly and where variation often creates unnecessary cost or admin. Examples include:

• Exercise books
• Pens and pencils
• Glue sticks
• Whiteboard pens
• Paper
• Cleaning supplies
• Art and craft basics
• Display materials
• Classroom storage
• Everyday office stationery

Standardisation does not mean every school loses choice. It means agreeing default options where variation adds little value. For example, a trust may decide that all schools use a preferred exercise book range, a standard glue stick size and approved whiteboard pens. Schools can still request alternatives where there is a genuine reason. GLS is well placed here because it provides a wide range of school and classroom essentials in one place, with ordering tools designed around school admin realities.

How can MATs keep local school needs visible?

One of the risks of central procurement is that schools feel decisions are being made too far away from the classroom. That can lead to workarounds, late requests or staff buying outside agreed routes. A better approach is to create controlled flexibility. This might include:

• Approved core lists for trust-wide essentials
• School-level baskets for local needs
• Clear reasons for non-standard items
• Termly review of recurring requests
• Shared visibility before approval
• Feedback from school offices and curriculum leads

GLS Share Basket can support this because it allows schools to build a basket based on local need, then share it for review before purchase. That keeps the conversation grounded in actual resources rather than abstract budget lines. For finance directors, it provides oversight. For schools, it preserves a sense of agency.

How can trusts reduce duplicate ordering?

Duplicate ordering is common in MATs because schools often work in parallel. One school may order independently because it does not know another school needs the same items. Another may buy a slightly different product from the same category. A third may reorder something already available elsewhere in the trust. To reduce duplication, MATs can:

• Create shared product lists
• Use basket templates
• Review common orders termly
• Agree preferred product codes
• Encourage schools to share baskets before purchase
• Consolidate orders where practical
• Use repeat ordering for predictable essentials

This is where a tool like Share Basket becomes more than a convenience feature. It creates a visible stage before ordering, giving teams the chance to check, challenge and combine requests.

What role does Findel play in MAT procurement?

Findel’s wider proposition is especially relevant to MATs because trust procurement is about more than fulfilment. It is about strategic scale with local fit. MAT finance directors need suppliers who understand education purchasing, not just bulk ordering. They need service, value, role-specific support and tools that help schools operate more smoothly. Findel’s “Made for Education” approach is built around this idea: support shaped around the realities of schools and trusts, rather than generic procurement systems. GLS brings that to life for SBMs and finance teams by making school supplies easier to find, compare, share and order. The value is not only in what is supplied. It is in how much easier the process becomes.

How can MATs build a better ordering workflow?

A clearer workflow helps everyone understand their role. A practical MAT ordering model could look like this:

Step 1: Agree core trust-wide product lists
Start with everyday essentials where consistency makes sense.

Step 2: Let schools build local baskets
Schools add what they need for their setting, phase or department.

Step 3: Share baskets before approval
Using GLS Share Basket, school teams can share proposed orders with finance, procurement leads or school offices before checkout.

Step 4: Review against budget and preferred products
Finance teams check spend, substitutions and non-standard requests.

Step 5: Approve and place orders
Once reviewed, orders can be processed with fewer changes and less chasing.

Step 6: Review termly
Look at repeat purchases, unusual spend and opportunities to simplify further.

This kind of process reduces last-minute ordering and gives MAT leaders better visibility.

What should MATs avoid when centralising ordering?

Centralisation can create problems if it becomes too rigid. Trusts should avoid:

• Removing all school-level input
• Creating approval routes that are too slow
• Standardising specialist curriculum resources unnecessarily
• Ignoring phase differences
• Overcomplicating low-value purchases
• Using spreadsheets where shared basket tools would be clearer
• Measuring only unit price rather than admin time saved

Good MAT procurement should make life easier, not simply move admin from one team to another. That is why GLS’s Share Basket is useful. It supports collaboration rather than forcing a single model onto every school.

How can MAT procurement support better value?

Value in MAT procurement is not just price. It includes:

• Reduced admin time
• Fewer duplicated orders
• Better budget visibility
• Clearer approval routes
• Consistent classroom essentials
• More reliable supply
• Less off-contract spend
• Better support for school offices

The Department for Education highlights that school business professionals play a vital role in ensuring schools and trusts remain focused on improving educational outcomes, including through finance and procurement. That is the point. Procurement is not separate from education delivery. When ordering is clearer, school teams spend less time chasing supplies and more time supporting pupils, staff and curriculum needs.

How can GLS support MAT finance directors?

GLS is a strong fit for MAT finance directors because it understands school business management as a role, not just as a buying function. Its ordering tools are designed to reduce admin, improve collaboration and make repeat purchasing easier. Share Basket is particularly useful for MATs because it supports the approval and collaboration stage that so often slows trust procurement down.

For finance directors, GLS can help simplify:

• Multi-school ordering
• Shared baskets
• Repeat purchasing
• Core classroom essentials
• Standardised supply lists
• School office collaboration
• Budget review conversations

For Findel, this sits within the broader commitment to supporting schools with resources, tools and services designed around real education needs. MAT procurement will always involve complexity. But the process does not need to feel fragmented. With the right systems, trusts can keep local school needs visible while giving finance teams the control, clarity and consistency they need.