Pay less for materials, plant and muck away.
Senior buying, estimating and commercial support for groundworks and civils contractors, on a rolling retainer or ad-hoc. Over £1m saved for East Coast Construction in my first 12 months as Head of Procurement.
Plant hire
Excavators from micro to 30t, dumpers, rollers, crushers and sweepers, with or without operator. On-hire and off-hire controlled, so you only pay for days on site.
Aggregates & materials
Type 1, 6F2 capping, clean stone, pipe bedding, sand and topsoil, delivered by the tonne or 20t load, with part-load and waste allowances shown up front.
Muck away
Inert soils, hardcore and mixed waste moved by licensed carriers with 8-wheel tippers or grab hire, with transfer notes from the carrier for every load.
What goes on, in and off your site
- 15+ yrsGroundworks & civils procurement
- CIPS L4Diploma in Procurement & Supply
- 1 callPlant, aggregates & muck away
- 1 dayTo reply to every enquiry
Is that quote a fair price?
Send me one quote or price list for plant, aggregates, muck away or materials. Within 48 hours I'll tell you if it's fair, what I'd expect to pay, and where you could save.
Where money usually leaks
- Merchant prices that have drifted above the agreed price list
- Plant left on hire after the job finished
- Part-load, waiting time and delivery charges nobody checked
- Muck away and aggregates paid per load at the wrong rate
How it works
- 01
Send the quote
Email or WhatsApp a photo or PDF of the quote or price list. It stays confidential and is only used for the check.
- 02
Get my view in 48 hours
A straight answer: fair, high or low, what I'd expect to pay, and anything missing or not firm.
- 03
Take it from there
Use it to go back to your supplier yourself, or I can source a better price for you. No cost, no obligation.
No cost, no obligation. One quote is all it takes to see how I work.
Whose side am I on? Yours. When a supplier pays me commission, I'll tell you, and I'll show you their own price.
Commercial support that keeps your jobs moving.
Pick one service or the lot. Keep us on a rolling retainer or bring us in ad-hoc, and only pay for the help you actually need.
Procurement & buying
Materials, plant and subcontract packages bought at the best rates, first time.
→ 02Estimating & tender support
Drawings checked, take-offs measured, bills priced and master pricing templates built.
→ 03Sales & business developmentNew
Introductions to main contractors and frameworks to keep your order book full.
→ 04Cost management
Value engineering and cost tracking that find real savings before the valuation.
→ 05Aggregates & materials
Type 1, 6F2, clean stone, sand and topsoil, delivered by the tonne or load.
→ 06Plant & tool hire
The right kit at competitive rates, with on-hire and off-hire controlled.
→ 07Muck away & waste
Tippers and grab hire from licensed waste carriers, who provide the transfer notes.
→ 08Subcontract works
Tarmacing and groundworks packages placed with trusted gangs and managed to completion.
→ 09Site security & CCTVNew
Manned guards, CCTV and site security for live sites and compounds, through trusted partners.
→ 10Site & builders cleaningNew
Builders cleans and plot cleaning for housebuilders and contractors, through trusted partners.
→Plant, aggregates and muck away, sorted.
A trusted network of hire firms, quarries and hauliers across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the North East. Every quote checked before it reaches you.
Plant hire Per day / week
- Excavators, micro to 30twith or without operator
- Dumpers and rollers1t to 9t
- Mobile crushers and screenerson-site recycling
- Road sweepersday or shift
- Small plant and toolsdelivered
Recent: crusher, 13t excavator and 9t dumper for about 3,000t of limestone, priced as one package.
Aggregates Per tonne / load
- Type 1 sub-baseprimary or recycled
- 6F2 / 6F5 cappingrecycled
- Clean stone and pipe bedding10, 20, 40mm
- Sharp and building sandbulk or bags
- Topsoilscreened
Delivered by the tonne or the 20-tonne 8-wheeler load, with part-load and waste allowances shown up front.
Muck away Per load
- Inert soils and clay8-wheel tippers
- Hardcore and concreterecycled where possible
- Mixed and contaminatedto permitted sites
- Grab hireno skip needed
- Waste paperworkfrom the carrier
Sourced from licensed waste carriers. The carrier moves the waste and provides the transfer notes.
Products we put on site.
SMC works with UK manufacturers whose products solve real groundworks problems. We help contractors and housebuilders get them specified, priced and delivered.
Green Gravity Walls
Doncaster-based maker of the ECO-MSE bag system · Made in Britain member
ECO-MSE bags build mechanically stabilised earth (MSE) walls. They give you a concrete-free way to retain ground, stabilise slopes, control erosion and build flood defences. Once planted, the wall greens over and supports Biodiversity Net Gain.
One job, start to finish: an ECO-MSE riverbank wall at Bouldon, Shropshire. Photos: Green Gravity Walls.
- 140 g/m²non-woven polypropylene geotextile
- 35kgfilled bag, 340 × 780mm
- 45–85°wall face angle, set by design
- 100+ yrsdesign life
- Built to lastResists UV, chemical and biological attack. Independently tested to ASTM and EN ISO standards for strength, puncture, tear and water flow.
- Filled for the jobGranular-filled bags (clean 20mm gravel) up to high water level, and a soil and compost blend above for planting. Empty bags and retaining plates also available.
- Higher wallsAdd geogrid layers to reinforce taller walls, with design support from GGW's engineers.
- Proven on railDesigned, made and installed at Normanton station for Northern Trains and Network Rail.
How SMC helps: we bring ECO-MSE to contractors and merchants, and get you a price for your job. Try the online ECO-MSE wall builder to size your wall, or read the ECO-MSE design guide for bag sizes, typical wall sections and test data.
Get an ECO-MSE price →One number for what goes on, in and off your site.
Call 07432 216981Ongoing support or one-off help. Your call.
No long-term contract, and you'll know the cost before any work starts.
Rolling retainer
Fixed monthly feeAgreed up front, based on the days you need
- A set number of days, on site or remote
- Any mix of my services
- Priority on buying, pricing and tender deadlines
- Scale up for a big job and down between them
- Month to month, cancel any time
Ad-hoc support
£375 a day, or fixed priceQuoted per task before we start, so there are no surprises
- A single tender, estimate or take-off
- One-off plant, muck away or materials packages
- Cover for holidays or busy spells
- No minimum commitment
- Move to a retainer whenever it suits
- STEP 01
Tell us about the job
A quick call or email about your workload and what's slowing you down.
- STEP 02
Pick how you work
Retainer or ad-hoc, with the price confirmed in writing.
- STEP 03
We get started
SMC slots into your team and starts buying, pricing and chasing.
- STEP 04
Review as you go
Check in monthly. Change the days, switch plans or pause any time.
Shane's track record.
Recent jobs through SMC, plus highlights from 15 years buying for contractors. Client names are left out.
East Coast Construction · first 12 months£1m+ savedOver £1m saved in my first 12 months
As Head of Procurement at East Coast Construction, I saved the business over £1m in my first year. I streamlined buying by setting up standard rates and terms across the supply chain, giving the business clear visibility on costs.
Hull · small civils firm15–20% savedMaterial rates cut by 15–20%
A small civils company in Hull saved between 15% and 20% on average across its material rates.
Morecambe · fuel forecourtTender wonJet-wash bay, Morecambe forecourt
Priced the full bill of quantities on behalf of our client: drawings checked, take-offs, supplier and sub-contract enquiries, RFIs and a clear basis and assumptions. The bid won, and the template is ready for repeat forecourt work.
East Midlands · 81 plotsContract wonBuilders cleaning, 81 plots
Won a builders cleaning contract with a national housebuilder in the East Midlands on behalf of our client, covering 81 plots and mobilised on a quick turnaround at the housebuilder's request.
Northumberland · new job7 daysSupply chain from scratch
Set up a client's whole supply chain from scratch for a new job in Northumberland, with suppliers found, priced and in place within 7 days.
Hughes Bros · systemsEque2Eque2 set up to track orders
Set up Eque2 for Hughes Bros to streamline and track orders, invoices and the rest of the buying process in one system.
Major UK airport · confidentialAirport utilities works
Priced the materials package for a utilities contractor working landside, from specialist fittings to pipe protection, against a tight programme.
North East · roads & sewersCommercial retainer
Weekly buying and commercial support: supplier accounts, materials ordering and tender pricing for a growing civils contractor.
Doncaster · residential roadPipe abandonment
Grout filling of about 170m of 150mm pipework across five runs, with manholes left in place. Priced and run as contracts manager.
Lincolnshire · live siteCrushing and screening
About 3,000 tonnes of limestone processed on site. Crusher, excavator and dumper sourced and priced as one package.
Swipe for more jobs →
Shane Milford
Founder, SMC Consultancy
- Qualified
- CIPS Level 4 Diploma
- Sector
- Groundworks, civils, haulage
- Roles held
- Head of Procurement · Procurement Manager · Senior Buyer
- Based
- Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Procurement learned on site, not in a spreadsheet.
Shane has spent more than fifteen years buying for groundworks and civils contractors, rising from Senior Buyer and Procurement Manager to Head of Procurement at East Coast Construction. He knows what a delivery missed at 7am costs, which suppliers pick up the phone and how much margin a well-bought package protects.
SMC Consultancy brings that experience to contractors who want senior commercial support without the full-time overhead. Straight talking, well connected across the regional supply chain and focused on the numbers that reach your bottom line.
South Yorkshire first. Wherever the job is, next.
SMC is based in Doncaster, right on the M18 and A1(M), and works across the region. Remote support means your location doesn't limit what we can buy or price for you.
- Doncaster
- Sheffield
- Rotherham
- Barnsley
- West Yorkshire
- East Midlands
- Humber
- UK-wide, remotely
Got a job that needs buying right?
Tell us what's on your books. We'll come back to you within one working day with where SMC can save you time or money, with no obligation.