What Does GNFR Mean?
GNFR stands for Goods Not For Resale. It refers to every product, material, and service a business purchases for internal operations rather than selling to customers. Also called indirect spend, non-product related (NPR), or simply indirects, GNFR covers everything a company needs to function that never appears on a customer receipt.
In a retail context, GNFR is everything in the store except the inventory on the shelves. The shopping baskets, the coat hangers, the till rolls, the cleaning products, the staff uniforms, the security tags, the store fixtures, and the energy that keeps the lights on — all GNFR.
Key stat: GNFR typically represents 20% of a retailer’s total spend but covers 80% of its supplier base and a disproportionate share of transaction volumes. Despite this, most retailers apply far less procurement rigor to GNFR than to GFR.
GFR vs GNFR: What Is the Difference?
| GFR — Goods For Resale | GNFR — Goods Not For Resale | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Products purchased to sell to customers | Products and services purchased for internal use |
| Examples | Food, clothing, electronics, cosmetics on shelves | Baskets, hangers, cleaning supplies, energy, IT, security |
| Revenue impact | Direct — generates sales revenue | Indirect — supports operations, reduces costs |
| Typical % of spend | 70–80% | 20–30% |
| Supplier count | Fewer, larger suppliers | Many fragmented suppliers (80% of total) |
| Procurement attention | High — dedicated buying teams, regular tenders | Often low — managed locally, inconsistent processes |
| Savings opportunity | Margins already optimized (1–3% improvement) | Significant (10–25% improvement common) |
Common GNFR Categories
Store Operations
- Shopping baskets and trolleys
- Coat hangers (one of the largest GNFR categories by volume)
- Price guns, labels, and ticket holders
- Till rolls and receipt paper
- Cash handling equipment (safes, coin sorters)
- POS systems and barcode scanners
Facilities & Maintenance
- Cleaning equipment and chemicals
- Waste management and recycling services
- HVAC maintenance
- Lighting and electrical
- Pest control
- Store fixtures, shelving, and signage
People & Services
- Staff uniforms and PPE
- Security services and equipment (EAS tags, CCTV)
- Training materials
- Recruitment services
- Office supplies and stationery
Logistics & Packaging
- Carrier bags (paper and plastic)
- Packaging materials (boxes, tape, bubble wrap)
- Pallets and roll cages
- Shipping labels and shipping marks
- Fleet maintenance (delivery vehicles)
Energy & Utilities
- Electricity and gas
- Water
- Telecommunications
- IT infrastructure and software licenses
Why GNFR Is the Biggest Opportunity in Retail Procurement
Most retailers have spent decades optimizing GFR procurement — negotiating buying prices, managing supplier performance, and reducing stock waste. Margins on GFR are already tight. But GNFR is frequently managed with far less discipline:
- Fragmented suppliers. A single retailer might use 500+ GNFR suppliers vs. 50–100 GFR suppliers. Each store manager orders from local preferred vendors with no consolidated pricing.
- No specification standards. Store A buys heavy-duty coat hangers at £0.12 each; Store B buys lighter ones at £0.08. Neither knows which performs better or lasts longer.
- Maverick spend. Without centralized control, 20–40% of GNFR purchases bypass procurement entirely. Store managers buy what they need when they need it, at whatever price is available.
- Contract leakage. Even where central contracts exist, compliance is low. Stores order off-contract from habit or convenience, losing negotiated discounts.
Savings potential: Oliver Wyman research found that retailers who apply structured procurement to GNFR achieve 10–25% cost reduction — equivalent to £10–25M for a retailer spending £100M on GNFR annually. This drops straight to the bottom line.
How to Reduce GNFR Costs
1. Visibility First
You cannot manage what you cannot see. The first step is building a complete picture of GNFR spend:
- Extract all non-GFR purchase orders from ERP/finance systems
- Categorize spend into standard taxonomy (services, facilities, logistics, IT, etc.)
- Identify top 20 categories by spend — these typically cover 80% of GNFR costs
2. Consolidate Suppliers
Reduce from hundreds of GNFR suppliers to a managed panel of preferred partners. Benefits:
- Volume leverage = lower unit costs
- Fewer invoices = lower admin costs
- Better supplier relationships = better service levels
3. Standardize Specifications
Define a single spec for each GNFR item across all locations. Example: one approved coat hanger type, one cleaning product range, one uniform supplier. This eliminates variation and enables bulk pricing.
4. Competitive Tender Key Categories
Run structured RFPs for the top 10 GNFR categories. Many GNFR contracts auto-renew for years without re-tendering. Fresh competition drives 15–30% savings on categories like energy, security, cleaning, and waste.
5. Enforce Compliance
Centralize ordering through procurement platforms. Block maverick spend by requiring PO approval for all purchases above a threshold. Monitor contract compliance monthly.
GNFR in Quality Inspection & Sourcing
For companies that source products from overseas manufacturers, GNFR includes all the operational items that support the supply chain but aren’t part of the product itself:
- Packaging materials — Cartons, poly bags, tissue paper, silica gel, inserts
- Labels and hangtags — Care labels, size labels, brand tags, barcodes
- Quality inspection tools — Measuring equipment, light boxes, testing devices
- Shipping supplies — Pallets, stretch wrap, container desiccants, shipping mark stencils
Treating these as GNFR and sourcing them centrally (rather than letting each factory source independently) reduces costs and ensures consistency across suppliers.
Optimize Your Procurement
AQM BD helps retailers and importers reduce both GFR and GNFR costs through strategic sourcing, supplier consolidation, and quality management.
Explore Cost TransformationFrequently Asked Questions
GNFR stands for Goods Not For Resale. It refers to all products and services a business purchases for internal use — operational supplies, equipment, maintenance items, and services that support the business but are never sold to the end customer.
GFR (Goods For Resale) are products purchased to sell to customers — the inventory on shelves. GNFR (Goods Not For Resale) are everything else: shopping baskets, cleaning supplies, till rolls, uniforms, security equipment, and store fixtures. GFR generates revenue directly; GNFR supports operations.
Common GNFR examples include: shopping baskets and trolleys, coat hangers, price guns and labels, till rolls and receipt paper, cleaning equipment and chemicals, staff uniforms, security tags, store fixtures and shelving, stationery, IT equipment, energy and utilities, maintenance services, and marketing materials like POS displays.
GNFR typically accounts for 20–30% of a retailer's total operating costs but covers 80% of its supplier base. It is often under-managed compared to GFR, meaning significant savings (10–25%) can be achieved through better sourcing, consolidation, and specification management — without affecting products on shelves.
Key strategies include: consolidating suppliers (reduce from hundreds to preferred partners), standardizing specifications (e.g., one type of coat hanger across all stores), competitive tendering on major categories, improving demand forecasting to reduce waste, negotiating longer contracts for volume discounts, and applying the same procurement rigor used for GFR to GNFR categories.