No matter the industry, managing spending is always a fundamental focus for any executive team, and nothing impacts spend as much as variation in the purchase price of goods and services. Purchase price variance (PPV) is one of the key metrics – arguably the most important metric – used by procurement teams to measure the variation in the price of purchased goods and services. It is a prime measure of how effective the procurement team...

Procurement activities and improved spend management have always been competitive factors for an enterprise. Managing key supplier relationships and costs contribute directly to bottom-line profits. Controlling indirect spend can introduce various cost-saving opportunities and help organizations improve their operating costs. Three areas in which companies try to curtail spend management are reduction in spot buys, controlling maverick spend, and managing tail spend. Each one can be optimized to yield better results for organizations, and having...