In our latest edition of Women in Procurement, we’re shining a spotlight on Beth Wallace — Owner and CEO of Wallace Consulting Ltd. With a career spanning both the traditional and evolving sides of procurement consultancy, Beth supports organisations in everything from strengthening core processes, policies, and team capabilities, to offering strategic advice on achieving best value for money aligned to business goals.
In this blog, Beth shares her journey into the world of procurement — what drew her to the profession and the challenges she’s faced along the way. From navigating career crossroads to carving out her place as a leader in a historically male-dominated space, Beth’s story is one of resilience, insight, and drive.
Let’s get into it…
Looking to start your career in procurement? Procurement Industrial placements as part of a degree is a great place to start and potentially kick start your career. It allows students the opportunity to learn different skills and get the benefit of work experience, which back in the mid 80s and even more so today, is so important to differentiate yourself in the busy job market.
This is how my career in Procurement began. My Industrial Placement was in a Glaswegian polythene and paper merchant. I did 9 months in sales, customer services and even cold calling to sell loo-rolls to the local factories and shops. The Procurement lady left suddenly, and I was asked to take her role for the last 3 months of my placement.
If I’m honest, I didn’t have a clue what it entailed other than I couldn’t wait to get away from sales! The Chairman/owner graciously took me under his wing and showed me the ropes of what in essence is supply chain management. It changed my life and yes, lead me to choose Procurement as a career.
I then joined British Aerospace as a trainee buyer in what we’d now call the direct procurement space for commercial aircraft manufacturing: buying bits of planes for a living definitely initially seemed weird: pilots handwheels (steering wheel in layman terms), the avionics (or buttons) you see in the cockpit, through to windscreen wipers (yes they are on planes!) and the starter button (power distribution unit as it is known) which on a plane full of passengers is quite an important bit of kit to get the plane actually moving.
I was in a large function of around 40-50 people and there was only 1 woman in the direct team (before 2 more of us joined on the same day). She’d been there about 18 months and was very clear on day 1 that we’d not to let her down. Looking back, it wasn’t personal or her being superior to us as a newly promoted buyer and us as newbies, it was about her having had to prove her worth in a tough masculine environment and her advice was that we needed to do the same. (Don’t forget, this was before D,E&I was even an acronym!)
So I became a bit of a ladette to fit in! Should I have needed to? Should I have been my “authentic self” as we might say now? I can’t answer that but those 4 years taught me so much about proving my worth as a procurement person (not just a woman but that was a great by-product) and to be respected for me however I am made up. There also is nothing worse than walking up a factory floor with skilled aircraft fitters sitting about with nothing to do because my electronics delivery was late. That had a knack of focusing the mind.
It also gave me a life-long passion to be supportive to everyone, being aware of gender mix but also the massive and positive difference inclusion of all sorts can make to a team (and society as a whole). At one point in my first Head of role, I realised that the team I inherited were all women and I knew instinctively that wasn’t the optimum model. This was around the time I heard a great talk by London School of Business at the inaugural Blueprint Club meeting (Senior Women in Procurement) who shared the stats to back up my gut-feel.
My passion for inclusion continues: I have been a Trustee of Women in Rail and now I am also proud to be a Trustee of the Wilberforce Trust in York for those with visual impairments, other sensory impairments and often with other disabilities. Neither are focused on Procurement per se but the knowledge and learnings from being involved in these wonderful charities cements my view that an all-rounded person either at work or outside, needs to consider all aspects of “community”. In the Procurement world, we might label this now as ESG but it moves us clearly away from the traditional view of some about Procurement just being about cost savings, policies and processes (or even a blocker to progress and innovation) but more about how we can help the greater good.
I thus go back to my time at British Aerospace: with a 2025 lens on it, there were so many aspects that now wouldn’t pass muster and whilst discrimination is absolutely no defence at all, I strongly believe it has shaped me for the better in what I’ve done since to try to ensure others get a more equal chance to achieve their full potential.
Beth’s journey is a powerful reminder of the importance of resilience, adaptability, and staying true to your values in procurement and leadership. Her insights highlight the need for more diverse voices in the industry and the impact that strong, values-led consultancy can have on an organisation’s success. We’re proud to feature Beth in our Women in Procurement series — a platform to share real stories, champion female leaders, and inspire the next generation of procurement professionals.
Be sure to connect with Beth on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/procurementdirectorbethwallace/
