Goods Not for Resale (GNFR) management doesn't fall apart due to one or two bad purchases. But it starts to get expensive when small inefficiencies are repeated across dozens or hundreds of stores.
Lack of GNFR spend visibility can tie up thousands of pounds in surplus stock, increase wastage and create unnecessary admin burden. Yet because these consumables don't generate revenue like merchandise does, they often receive far less scrutiny.
Since GNFR accounts for 20–30% of running costs for most retailers, it demands greater attention. It isn't just about paying less for individual products: the bigger opportunity is to save on costs triggered by supply chain complexity, over-ordering, and poor stock management.
Read on for practical advice on how retailers can reduce GNFR spend. Also discover how our single-source online ordering platform, MyAcopia, can bring ordering, budgets, product controls, and store-level spend into one place.
When it comes to consumables, procurement teams often fixate on the lowest unit price, which is understandable. But while a 20p per-unit saving matters, the benefit is lost if that product is over-ordered, stored for months before it's used, or becomes obsolete.
Poor visibility can lead to excess stock, duplicate purchases and teams buying products outside the agreed ranges.
The issue isn't just overspending and waste. It's important not to underestimate the extra administrative burden of poor GNFR management. Multiple suppliers, ordering systems (or lack thereof), deliveries and invoices all create extra work for central and store teams.
If every extra transaction takes 15 minutes in total, even a handful of unnecessary purchases per store can add up to hundreds of lost hours each month across a large retail estate. With employer National Insurance contributions rising to 15% in April 2025, every hour lost to wasted admin now costs more.
So, for procurement and supply chain leaders, the question is not only "how can we spend less on consumables", but "where is complexity and inconsistency in our GNFR processes creating hidden costs?"
Without the appropriate monitoring and controls, this time and cost leakage is difficult to attribute across multiple locations and can quickly become a much bigger issue.
For example, if a store manager orders blue roll from a local supplier at £24 a case instead of the approved £16 contract price, the system flags it straight away. On its own, that’s an £8 overspend. Repeated across 150 stores ordering a case a month, it adds up to over £14,000.
Find out more about GNFR and why it matters to retailers
It starts with recognising the red flags of poor GNFR visibility: consistent overspend, money tied up in excess stock, unnecessary waste and even a dip in team productivity. The biggest frustration for many retailers is knowing this is happening without being able to pinpoint where and how. The only evidence is when the invoices roll in.
Good GNFR visibility requires greater simplicity and more centralised control. It gives leaders the insight to set the right procurement controls and protect margins, and store teams the confidence to purchase what they need without overspending.
So how do you get there? The following five areas are a good basis for your improved GNFR strategy.
Here are five practical ways to improve GNFR visibility and control across your estate. They reflect Acopia’s wider 7 Cs of Retail Consumables, our approach to gaining better control over procurement to reduce waste and achieve lasting cost savings.
Ordering a box of till roll doesn't need to be a head office decision. Local ordering and fragmented purchasing are different things: you can still give stores the freedom to order what they need, as long as you have a system to maintain visibility.
Local flexibility with central control makes it easier to see:
With one system, your central team can set approved product lists, budgets and purchasing limits, with different access and authorisation levels for store teams, head office and finance. Crucially, they can then track GNFR costs, flag any inconsistencies, and act before costs spiral.
Every time a store uses a new supplier, there are tangible and invisible costs attached. It's another account to manage, a new ordering process, more separate deliveries, more data to store, and separate purchase orders and invoices to handle.
Of course, there will be times when a new supplier is appropriate and necessary. In reality, supplier relationships often multiply over time without anyone questioning the complexity it creates.
Greater GNFR visibility requires control and simplicity. Consider putting a process in place to review supplier contracts on a regular basis. Make the goal to consolidate them where appropriate and simplify the supply chain. It's not about consolidating for its own sake. It's about removing processes and transactions that make GNFR harder and more expensive to manage. Acopia can help by giving you one supplier, one portal and one invoice.
Fewer suppliers can:
Read more about single-source procurement versus multiple suppliers.
For a store manager who's run out of branded bags on a busy Saturday, the reaction can be to fill the stockroom with six months' supply. But holding expensive GNFR stock isn't the answer. It ties up cash and valuable storage space, makes stock harder to manage and increases the risk of surplus becoming lost, damaged or obsolete before it's even used.
To reduce waste and unnecessary stockholding, MyAcopia can help you:
Most retailers have sight of what was spent in previous months, but by then it's too late to act upon. The opportunity is to use procurement data to influence what happens in future.
By tracking consumption over time, you can establish what 'normal' looks like across different products and locations. From there, you can put controls in place to manage future ordering.
That could include setting replenishment levels so that products are ordered only when necessary, and automated ordering to reduce the risk of reactive or misjudged purchases.
That gives head office the opportunity to actively question spend. Why do two similar stores have very different consumption levels? Why has one product suddenly started being ordered every month? Why is one location repeatedly reaching its budget earlier than comparable stores?
From there, they can apply agreed budgets and purchasing controls across the estate.
Even if you know exactly what's ordered and when, it can't account for stock being poorly managed in busy back rooms. If stock isn't easy to find or track at store level, it increases the risk of duplicate ordering and unnecessary waste.
That's why physical stock management is important. With defined storage zones, clear labelling and consistent product locations, it makes supplies easier to find and monitor. Regular product checks are also a good idea to help flag and dispose of surplus and obsolete stock.
Standardising back-of-house processes gives you a clear set of best practices and holds stores to account, preventing standards from slipping.
Besides cost-saving opportunities, there is a significant time-saving benefit as well. Teams will spend less time hunting for supplies, tidying cupboards and placing unnecessary orders, and more time on the shop floor.
This starts with a comprehensive back room review to assess stock levels, storage layouts, replenishment practices and ordering patterns.
With the UK committed to net zero by 2050, retailers face growing pressure to reduce their environmental impact. New regulations are adding cost as well as responsibility; for example, under packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), businesses that supply packaging must help pay for its disposal.
Simpler Recycling also requires workplaces in England with 10 or more employees to separate recycling and food waste from general rubbish.
Meeting these obligations, and reducing waste overall, relies on good data. It lets you compare consumption across locations, set sensible usage levels, and spot stores that consistently order more than they need. From there, you can set clearer ordering parameters to reduce reactive purchasing and surplus stock that risks going to waste.
Better visibility can also highlight opportunities to consolidate orders and deliveries, and identify products bought at store level that don’t align with agreed sustainability standards.
Looking further ahead, technology is making GNFR easier to track without burdening store teams. RFID (radio frequency identification) uses small tags that can be read wirelessly, so items are logged automatically as they move through a store or depot. Retailers are already using it to track returnable transit packaging such as roll cages and totes, showing how often they’re reused and where they go missing. Automated replenishment is starting to follow, and both rely on accurate, centralised GNFR data.
Read about how Acopia worked with The Children’s Society, which operates more than 100 stores, to replace single-use plastic donation sacks with reusable alternatives.
MyAcopia is a custom-built online ordering platform that consolidates GNFR purchasing, spend controls and reporting into one place.
Ready to act? Book an Acopia Process Health Check to identify where visibility, purchasing and stock management could be improved. Or book a free MyAcopia demo today.
Considering options? Find out how MyAcopia worksand see how it can support greater control across your retail estate.
Questions? Get in touch via our contact form and let us know how we can help.
Frequently asked questions about GNFR spend visibility
For retailers, the biggest GNFR savings can come from reducing complexity rather than simply negotiating lower prices on individual products.
For sustainable cost savings across the estate, solutions include centralised purchasing, consolidating the supply chain, improving stock management procedures, and tracking consumption data to anticipate needs, set budgets, and implement procurement controls. Read more about how MyAcopia can help retailers achieve more control over GNFR spend and protect margins.
The most reliable way to track GNFR spend across a retail estate is to centralise ordering in one system. This lets central office identify savings opportunities by breaking down spend by location, product category, and budget, comparing stores side by side, and spotting rogue ordering.
