Proxima has formally launched in Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, combining with local consultancy ArcBlue to build what it positions as the most comprehensive specialist procurement advisory in the market.
The move brings Proxima’s 30-year global procurement heritage together with ArcBlue’s well-established Australian footprint, marking what the firm calls a strategic investment in a region poised for accelerated growth and supply chain influence.
“This is an exciting moment for ArcBlue, Proxima and for procurement consulting in Australia,” said Daniel Collings, Executive Vice President, Proxima APAC.
“We’re not just expanding geographically; we’re creating something truly exciting by bringing together Proxima’s proven global methodologies with ArcBlue’s exceptional local expertise and client relationships.”
Collings said the APAC region’s rising economic prominence, coupled with global client demand for end-to-end delivery across markets, created the conditions for the expansion.
“APAC is becoming much more prominent on the global stage in recent years. And it will continue to do so, becoming a global centre of industry and outperforming many larger economies on growth in the process,” he said.
“Our clients are global and want a partner that is also global as they seek to invest in the region.”
He added that the ambition is aligned with parent company Bain & Company’s strategy to build a single global delivery capability under the Proxima brand and “build the world’s best procurement consulting offering.”
Practitioner-led model
Proxima and ArcBlue’s practitioner-consultant DNA underpins the combined proposition. “We are delivery specialists and obsessed with impact,” Collings said.
“That already makes us stand out from more generalist, transformation consumed consulting firms who often see procurement as an enabler for selling other services.”
“For us, procurement is all we do. It’s our sole lever to drive transformation, but also means that we can be uninhibited in giving our clients unfiltered and unbiased advice. Client buyers are trending this way, they want specialists advising them and they want to see results not reports.”
Collings noted the firm will invest to create “the best capability in the region” supported by global knowledge networks, deep category expertise, and tools — including AI-enabled procurement technology.
Focus on cost, resilience, sustainability and AI
Proxima enters the market as Australian businesses face cost pressure, supply chain volatility, and growing ESG demands.
“Australian businesses are facing into enormous cost challenges whilst simultaneously seeking to address increasingly complex procurement challenges, from supply chain resilience to AI adoption, to sustainability mandates,” Collings said in the launch announcement.
Balancing competing priorities will define the next era of procurement, he said.
“The next era will be defined by needing to balance risk, resilience, sustainability, cost and growth, with AI as a key strategic enabler… many of the answers to the challenges that businesses face today are to be able to do things faster, better, cheaper, and AI will be core to making that happen.”
World-class procurement, he added, means being bold in accelerating value.
“It’s about understanding business needs and finding the right suppliers to achieve them… As you get more advanced, it becomes more about working with expert suppliers to anticipate, challenge or innovate those needs.”
Sustainability grounded in commercial realism
Collings acknowledged variability in corporate sustainability appetite amid shifting policies and cost pressures.
“Frankly speaking, some are more interested than others, particularly when there is a cost to being greener,” he said. “
Our role is to understand what businesses value, present the options and, in the case of where ‘greener = more expensive’ try to normalise the costs impact.”
He pointed to “save to invest” approaches, working closely with finance, and collaborating with peers or suppliers to mitigate costs as practical pathways.
Retaining local trust, expanding capability
Existing ArcBlue client relationships will transition under Proxima, with Collings emphasising continuity.
“The best client relationships in this region will still be built around proximity, partnership, and performance,” he said.
“While we amplify the message that the Proxima tie up means global depth and reach, the Proxima ethos remains local.”
The firm will showcase its new offering at the Premier Confex conference.
Success metrics
Looking ahead three to five years, Collings’ goal is straightforward:
“I want the region’s most ambitious Chief Procurement Officers to want to work with Proxima, and the region’s best procurement people to want to work for Proxima.”
“This is positive change for our clients, our own business, and teams,” he said. “It’s the journey that we can take the team and our clients on.”