diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fbb0ed1fd..109efe667 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+## 1.4.0 - 2024-04-02
+### Changed
+- The outbox processor is instantiated once and takes the event as an argument.
+- Added SIGTERM event handling and fixed shutdown behaviour.
+
 ## 1.3.3 - 2024-04-02
 ### Changed
 - add `parent_record` configuration so it can be easily overwritten
diff --git a/Gemfile b/Gemfile
index e85fcd8ec..6c2791be4 100644
--- a/Gemfile
+++ b/Gemfile
@@ -2,5 +2,9 @@
 
 source 'https://rubygems.org'
 
+group :test do
+  gem 'factory_bot_rails'
+end
+
 # Specify your gem's dependencies in eventsimple.gemspec
 gemspec
diff --git a/Gemfile.lock b/Gemfile.lock
index 38920b412..07b61b238 100644
--- a/Gemfile.lock
+++ b/Gemfile.lock
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 PATH
   remote: .
   specs:
-    eventsimple (1.3.3)
+    eventsimple (1.4.3)
       dry-struct (~> 1.6)
       dry-types (~> 1.7)
       pg (~> 1.4)
       rails (~> 7.0)
       retriable (~> 3.1)
+      with_advisory_lock (>= 5.1)
 
 GEM
   remote: https://rubygems.org/
@@ -176,7 +177,7 @@ GEM
       net-imap
       net-pop
       net-smtp
-    marcel (1.0.3)
+    marcel (1.0.4)
     method_source (1.0.0)
     mini_mime (1.1.5)
     minitest (5.22.2)
@@ -189,7 +190,7 @@ GEM
       net-protocol
     net-protocol (0.2.2)
       timeout
-    net-smtp (0.4.0.1)
+    net-smtp (0.5.0)
       net-protocol
     nio4r (2.7.0)
     nokogiri (1.16.2-arm64-darwin)
@@ -205,7 +206,7 @@ GEM
     parser (3.3.0.5)
       ast (~> 2.4.1)
       racc
-    pg (1.5.5)
+    pg (1.5.6)
     polyglot (0.3.5)
     pry (0.14.2)
       coderay (~> 1.1)
@@ -348,6 +349,9 @@ GEM
     websocket-driver (0.7.6)
       websocket-extensions (>= 0.1.0)
     websocket-extensions (0.1.5)
+    with_advisory_lock (5.1.0)
+      activerecord (>= 6.1)
+      zeitwerk (>= 2.6)
     ws-style (7.4.3)
       rubocop-rspec (>= 2.2.0)
       rubocop-vendor (>= 0.11)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index f57e28609..bc2e5651f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -315,12 +315,7 @@ end
 ```ruby
 module UserComponent
   class EventProcessor
-    def initialize(event)
-      @event = event
-    end
-    attr_reader :event
-
-    def call
+    def call(event)
       Rails.logger.info("PROCESSING EVENT: #{event.id}")
     end
   end
diff --git a/eventsimple.gemspec b/eventsimple.gemspec
index 758d9452f..45a8f3d82 100644
--- a/eventsimple.gemspec
+++ b/eventsimple.gemspec
@@ -28,9 +28,9 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.add_runtime_dependency 'pg', '~> 1.4'
   spec.add_runtime_dependency 'rails', '~> 7.0'
   spec.add_runtime_dependency 'retriable', '~> 3.1'
+  spec.add_runtime_dependency 'with_advisory_lock', '>= 5.1'
 
   spec.add_development_dependency 'bundle-audit'
-  spec.add_development_dependency 'factory_bot_rails'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'fuubar'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'git'
   spec.add_development_dependency 'guard-rspec'
diff --git a/lib/eventsimple/event.rb b/lib/eventsimple/event.rb
index 6090bfce8..14394a49b 100644
--- a/lib/eventsimple/event.rb
+++ b/lib/eventsimple/event.rb
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ def drives_events_for(aggregate_klass, aggregate_id:, events_namespace: nil)
       class_attribute :_aggregate_id
       self._aggregate_id = aggregate_id
 
-      class_attribute :_outbox_mode
-      class_attribute :_outbox_concurrency
+      class_attribute :_outbox_enabled
+      class_attribute :_consumer_group_size
 
       class_attribute :_on_invalid_transition
       self._on_invalid_transition = ->(error) { raise error }
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ def create!(*args, &block)
       end
 
       def with_locks(&block)
-        if _outbox_mode
+        if _outbox_enabled
           base_class.with_advisory_lock(base_class.name, { transaction: true }, &block)
         else
           yield
diff --git a/lib/eventsimple/outbox/consumer.rb b/lib/eventsimple/outbox/consumer.rb
index 9773731db..4d4a690c8 100644
--- a/lib/eventsimple/outbox/consumer.rb
+++ b/lib/eventsimple/outbox/consumer.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
+require 'with_advisory_lock'
 require 'eventsimple/outbox/models/cursor'
 
 module Eventsimple
@@ -9,41 +10,52 @@ def self.extended(klass)
         klass.class_exec do
           class_attribute :_event_klass
           class_attribute :_processor_klass
+          class_attribute :_processor
           class_attribute :stop_consumer, default: false
-
-          Signal.trap('SIGINT') do
-            self.stop_consumer = true
-            $stdout.puts('SIGINT received, stopping consumer')
-          end
         end
       end
 
-      def consumes_event(event_klass, concurrency: 1)
-        event_klass._outbox_mode = true
-        event_klass._outbox_concurrency = concurrency
+      def consumes_event(event_klass, group_size: 1)
+        event_klass._outbox_enabled = true
+        event_klass._consumer_group_size = group_size
 
         self._event_klass = event_klass
       end
 
       def processor(processor_klass)
         self._processor_klass = processor_klass
+        self._processor = processor_klass.new
+      end
+
+      def start(group_number: 0, stop_at_end: false) # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize
+        Signal.trap('INT') do
+          self.stop_consumer = true
+          $stdout.puts('INT received, stopping consumer')
+        end
+        Signal.trap('TERM') do
+          self.stop_consumer = true
+          $stdout.puts('TERM received, stopping consumer')
+        end
+
+        run_consumer(group_number: group_number, stop_at_end: stop_at_end)
       end
 
-      def start # rubocop:disable Metrics/AbcSize
-        cursor = Outbox::Cursor.fetch(_event_klass, 0)
+      def run_consumer(group_number:, stop_at_end:)
+        cursor = Outbox::Cursor.fetch(_event_klass, group_number)
 
         until stop_consumer
           _event_klass.unscoped.in_batches(start: cursor + 1, load: true).each do |batch|
             batch.each do |event|
-              _processor_klass.new(event).call
+              _processor.call(event)
 
               break if stop_consumer
             end
 
             cursor = batch.last.id
-            Outbox::Cursor.set(_event_klass, 0, cursor)
+            Outbox::Cursor.set(_event_klass, group_number, cursor)
           end
 
+          break if stop_at_end
           sleep(1)
         end
       end
diff --git a/lib/eventsimple/version.rb b/lib/eventsimple/version.rb
index b2a3f355e..36e112113 100644
--- a/lib/eventsimple/version.rb
+++ b/lib/eventsimple/version.rb
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
 module Eventsimple
-  VERSION = '1.3.3'
+  VERSION = '1.4.0'
 end
diff --git a/spec/dummy/app/components/user_component/consumer.rb b/spec/dummy/app/components/user_component/consumer.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c78ae9c9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/dummy/app/components/user_component/consumer.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+require 'eventsimple/outbox/consumer'
+
+module UserComponent
+  class Consumer
+    extend Eventsimple::Outbox::Consumer
+
+    consumes_event UserEvent
+    processor Processor
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/dummy/app/components/user_component/processor.rb b/spec/dummy/app/components/user_component/processor.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fbdf1242e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/dummy/app/components/user_component/processor.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+module UserComponent
+  class Processor
+    def call(event)
+      # no-op
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/dummy/db/migrate/20240419175459_create_eventsimple_outbox_cursor.rb b/spec/dummy/db/migrate/20240419175459_create_eventsimple_outbox_cursor.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..620675a39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/dummy/db/migrate/20240419175459_create_eventsimple_outbox_cursor.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+class CreateEventsimpleOutboxCursor < ActiveRecord::Migration[7.1]
+  def change
+    create_table :eventsimple_outbox_cursors do |t|
+      t.string :event_klass, null: false
+      t.integer :group_number, null: false
+      t.bigint :cursor, null: false
+
+      t.index [:event_klass, :group_number], unique: true
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/dummy/db/schema.rb b/spec/dummy/db/schema.rb
index d6a9864cd..ac1b67175 100644
--- a/spec/dummy/db/schema.rb
+++ b/spec/dummy/db/schema.rb
@@ -10,10 +10,17 @@
 #
 # It's strongly recommended that you check this file into your version control system.
 
-ActiveRecord::Schema[7.1].define(version: 2022_09_17_150839) do
+ActiveRecord::Schema[7.1].define(version: 2024_04_19_175459) do
   # These are extensions that must be enabled in order to support this database
   enable_extension "plpgsql"
 
+  create_table "eventsimple_outbox_cursors", force: :cascade do |t|
+    t.string "event_klass", null: false
+    t.integer "group_number", null: false
+    t.bigint "cursor", null: false
+    t.index ["event_klass", "group_number"], name: "idx_on_event_klass_group_number_24bcae0807", unique: true
+  end
+
   create_table "user_events", force: :cascade do |t|
     t.string "aggregate_id", null: false
     t.string "idempotency_key"
diff --git a/spec/dummy/spec/components/user_component/consumer_spec.rb b/spec/dummy/spec/components/user_component/consumer_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..79d3018ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/dummy/spec/components/user_component/consumer_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+RSpec.describe UserComponent::Consumer do
+  let(:mock_processor) { instance_double(UserComponent::Processor, :call) }
+
+  before do
+    described_class._processor = mock_processor
+    allow(mock_processor).to receive(:call)
+  end
+
+  it 'consumes events' do
+    expect(described_class._event_klass).to eq(UserEvent)
+  end
+
+  it 'has a processor' do
+    expect(described_class._processor_klass).to eq(UserComponent::Processor)
+  end
+
+  describe '.run_consumer' do
+    before do
+      UserComponent::Events::Created.create!(
+        user: User.new,
+        data: {
+          canonical_id: SecureRandom.uuid,
+          username: 'test-user',
+          email: 'test@example.com',
+        },
+      )
+    end
+
+    it 'records the last processed event position' do
+      cursor = Eventsimple::Outbox::Cursor.fetch(UserEvent, 0)
+      expect(cursor).to be(0)
+
+      described_class.run_consumer(group_number: 0, stop_at_end: true)
+
+      expect(mock_processor).to have_received(:call).once
+
+      cursor = Eventsimple::Outbox::Cursor.fetch(UserEvent, 0)
+      expect(cursor).to eq(UserEvent.last.id)
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/dummy/spec/factories/user_event.rb b/spec/dummy/spec/factories/user_event.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f7d4150ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/dummy/spec/factories/user_event.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+FactoryBot.define do
+  factory :user_event do
+    user { build(:user) }
+    data {
+      {
+        canonical_id: SecureRandom.uuid,
+        username: 'test-user',
+        email: 'test@example.com',
+      }
+    }
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/lib/eventsimple/event_spec.rb b/spec/lib/eventsimple/event_spec.rb
index 74a9969a0..a5268a054 100644
--- a/spec/lib/eventsimple/event_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/eventsimple/event_spec.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@
     end
 
     context 'when entity is stale' do
+      # disable transactional tests so we can test the retry logic
+      def self.uses_transaction?(_method) = true
+      after { UserEvent.delete_all }
+
       it 'retries and successfully writes the event' do
         stale_user = User.find_by(canonical_id: user_canonical_id)
 
@@ -48,7 +52,7 @@
 
     context 'when an event class no longer exists' do
       it 'uses a no-op deleted class' do
-        UserEvent.insert({ type: 'NonExistentEvent', aggregate_id: user_canonical_id })
+        UserEvent.create!(type: 'NonExistentEvent', aggregate_id: user_canonical_id)
 
         event = UserEvent.last
         expect(event).to be_a(UserEvent::Deleted__NonExistentEvent)
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index 7f9514ed1..520c8237a 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -1,9 +1,15 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: true
 
+ENV['RAILS_ENV'] ||= 'test'
+
+require File.expand_path('../spec/dummy/config/environment.rb', __dir__)
+ENV['RAILS_ROOT'] ||= "#{File.dirname(__FILE__)}../../../spec/dummy"
+
+require 'pry'
 require 'eventsimple'
 require 'eventsimple/support/spec_helpers'
-
 require 'retriable'
+require 'rspec/rails'
 
 RSpec.configure do |config|
   config.expect_with :rspec do |expectations|
@@ -18,6 +24,7 @@
   config.filter_run_when_matching :focus
   config.example_status_persistence_file_path = "spec/examples.txt"
   config.disable_monkey_patching!
+  config.use_transactional_fixtures = true
 
   if config.files_to_run.one?
     config.default_formatter = "doc"
@@ -27,11 +34,6 @@
 
   Kernel.srand config.seed
 
-  require File.expand_path('../spec/dummy/config/environment.rb', __dir__)
-  ENV['RAILS_ROOT'] ||= "#{File.dirname(__FILE__)}../../../spec/dummy"
-
-  require 'rspec/rails'
-
   ActiveRecord::Migration.maintain_test_schema!
 
   Retriable.configure do |c|