Built in Manchester, for UK contractors who source materials every day
Prolo started with a question: why does sourcing bricks still involve three phone calls, two voicemails, and a spreadsheet? We built a better answer. It works the way contractors actually work.
A problem we saw every day on site
James Morris-Manuel had spent years working in procurement operations for mid-size construction firms in the Northwest. The pattern he kept returning to: site managers burning hours each week on supplier calls, comparing quotes on scraps of paper, with no reliable picture of which merchant had the right stock or the best lead time for the job. In early 2024, he and Sarah Okonkwo started building a direct answer to that problem.
The first version of Prolo was tested with a small group of contractors in Greater Manchester in early 2024. The feedback was consistent: it worked, it saved time, and the suppliers they already knew did not need to change how they operated.
Since then, Prolo has expanded to cover eleven regions across England and Wales, with a verified supplier network that now numbers over 140 merchants, trade specialists, and builders supply companies.
The way we think about procurement
These are not aspirational statements. They are the principles that shape every decision we make about how Prolo works.
No new friction for suppliers
Procurement tools that require your suppliers to change how they work never get adopted. Prolo works through email because that is what suppliers already use. That is not a compromise. It is the right design.
Transparency on both sides
Contractors should be able to see every price they are offered and make an informed choice. Suppliers should know what they are being asked to quote and what happens to their response. No information should be hidden.
Time is a real cost
A contractor spending two hours a week on the phone to merchants is not being efficient. That time has a monetary value. Every feature in Prolo is weighed against whether it reduces that cost or adds to it.
Relationships stay with you
Commercial relationships between contractors and their preferred merchants are valuable and took years to build. Prolo coordinates the mechanics of procurement. The relationship stays where it belongs: between you and your supplier.
Built for UK construction
UK construction procurement has its own norms, tax structure, and commercial conventions. We are not adapting a generic procurement tool for a UK audience. We built Prolo for UK contractors from the beginning.
Honesty about what we are
Prolo is procurement coordination software for building materials. We are not an AI revolution or a supply chain transformation platform. We help you get prices, pick the best one, and confirm your delivery. That is a useful thing to do well.
The people building Prolo
A small team with direct experience in UK construction management and supply chain operations.
James Morris-Manuel
James founded Prolo after years working in procurement operations for mid-size UK construction firms. His background is in the practical mechanics of materials sourcing: managing supplier lists, negotiating lead times, and dealing with the daily friction that slows sites down. He built Prolo to solve the specific problem he kept encountering firsthand.
Sarah Okonkwo
Sarah leads the technical side of Prolo. Her background is in building B2B supply chain tools at a distribution-sector software company. She joined James to co-found Prolo after working together on an earlier project focused on trade purchasing workflows.
Tom Briggs
Tom manages the Prolo supplier network, onboarding new merchants and maintaining quality standards across the platform. He brings over two decades working across construction project management and materials logistics, including time in procurement coordination at a regional builders merchant group. That background means he understands the sourcing relationship from both sides of the trade counter.
Based in the city, building for the whole of the UK
Prolo is headquartered in Manchester. The construction and trade sector in the Northwest is where we tested our first version and still where most of our earliest customers operate.
Our supplier network and contractor base now extends to eleven regions across England and Wales, including Yorkshire, the West Midlands, the South East, and London.
Try Prolo on your next job
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