How educational organisations can reduce costs and boost efficiency

The UK’s education sector is under huge pressure. In 2024, unions accepted a fully funded 5.5 per cent pay increase for schoolteachers and a staged approach of up to 5.7 per cent for university lecturers, bringing an end to the crippling strikes that had impacted the sector for many years. But the potential for further industrial action remains, particularly as the cost of living continues to increase.

 

In schools, while mainstream funding has increased by 2.2 per cent, this is below the rate of inflation, and costs are expected to rise by 3.4 per cent during 2025, according to the National Education Union. Many are also in desperate need of maintenance and repair, with some buildings no longer fit for purpose.

 

Universities are also in financial difficulties, with many facing budget shortfalls and announcing plans to cut jobs and even remove courses. The Office for Students suggests 72 per cent could be in financial deficit by 2025-26, and is predicting a shortfall of £1.6 billion across the sector.

 

Colleges, too, face significant cost pressure, and discussions around pay are still ongoing. Unions believe the recent allocation of £300 million in additional funding, earmarked to improve buildings, needs to fund a pay rise for staff.

 

All of this means budgets remain under significant pressure, so procurement professionals in this sector – whether working for just one establishment or across multi-academy trusts – need to do all they can to keep costs as low as possible.

 

This could be for more expensive items such as technology or furniture, but also for lower-value products that can add up to larger amounts, including stationery, toiletries, cleaning products or items required for maintenance and repair. 

 

The extent to which organisations have been able to manage such spend to date has been mixed. Procurement teams are often stretched, and tend to focus on higher-value spend categories, meaning that lower-value items are often overlooked.

 

These may be purchased on credit cards or payment cards by end-users, and claimed back through expenses. In schools, there may not even be a procurement team, with such tasks falling to an office manager, bursar, secretary or even a teacher.

 

The rise of online marketplaces such as Amazon Business, though, means this is starting to change. Procurement professionals – or others tasked with purchasing – can use this to allow authorised personnel to buy items, with pre-arranged limits around spending and supplier selection.

 

This can save time for end-users in researching products, and for those with procurement responsibilities in approving these. “We use Amazon all the time,” says Michelle Curtis, Senior Finance Officer at Unity School Partnership. “Whether it’s stationery, cleaning equipment, safety equipment – you name it, if we can buy it from Amazon, we will. It’s an obvious time-saver and has simplified the process completely.”

 

There is also potential to glean vital information in real time, which can identify opportunities for further efficiencies, providing data on what has been spent and where. Analysis of this might mean it makes sense to buy more items through a single supplier, enabling organisations to take advantage of bulk-buying prices, or could lead to items being redeployed across estates to avoid having to purchase new equipment.

 

It also makes reporting back much easier, enabling organisations to track what has been spent and provide finance departments with the information they require.

 

There’s also the potential to ensure that spend is directed towards suppliers that fit in with organisations’ wider objectives. Amazon Business’s 2025 State of Procurement Report finds almost all (99 per cent) organisations now have specific ESG goals, and in the UK 66 per cent say overarching ESG goals have increased in the past year.

 

Nottingham Trent University is one organisation that has a strong sustainability mandate, having committed to become Net Zero by 2040. “We’ve selected products from East Midlands region suppliers to come up first in the product search results,” says Claire Davies, sustainable procurement manager. “That enables us to support our local economy and allows us to reduce our carbon emissions by reducing the amount of mileage travelled.

 

“By turning on the sustainability certificates against the products we’re going to see a lot more sustainable purchasing taking place.”

 

The ability to direct buyers to particular suppliers can also be applied to local businesses, small firms or those owned by people with certain backgrounds. In the UK, the Procurement Act 2025 places a strong focus on opening up public procurement to small businesses and social enterprises, and encourages authorities to consider social value when making decisions. Being able to demonstrate improvements in this area will help schools, colleges and universities with this.

 

In future, there’s potential for technology and data to play a bigger role in how educational organisations make decisions around procurement.

 

The 2025 State of Procurement Report finds that two-thirds (65 per cent) of organisations already use analytics or tools to understand performance and trends, and 34 per cent of procurement leaders want to see their teams spending more time in this area over the next year. Artificial intelligence is likely to be part of the mix, with 38 per cent looking to invest in this to help with forecasting demand and analysing spend.

 

The use of online marketplaces, combined with the potential of new technologies, means educational establishments can both take control over how money is being spent and create savings and efficiencies. In today’s difficult climate, which shows no sign of easing, this could prove critical to making ends meet and providing an environment in which students can thrive.

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To find out more about how Amazon Business could help your organisation get more control over spend, visit business.amazon.co.uk/en/work-with-us/education