Technology innovations, especially those driven by advancements in consumer buying, social technology, and big data management, can now be applied to pull together the complex web of suppliers, intangible deliverables, and inconsistent pricing and processes of indirect spend. These readily available technologies can meaningfully simplify the buying experience while optimizing other aspects of indirect spend cost such as supplier fees, terms and conditions, performance specifications, and performance management. If executed correctly, optimizing indirect spend adds...

It’s no mystery why indirect spend is often ignored. By its sheer nature, optimization has proven to be incredibly challenging. Unlike direct materials which are often highly engineered, associated with a specific set of approved suppliers, and controlled precisely through ERP and MRP technologies, indirect spend is comprised of a highly fragmented group of suppliers that vary by business unit (BU) and plant. These suppliers represent 1000s of sub-categories of goods and services and are...

We recently held a webinar with Spend Matters about ways procurement organizations can put a stop to spend leakage. Before explaining how to stop it however, it is important to define what it is – and why traditional definitions may not be enough. Read on or watch the short clip below to learn about some common definitions of spend leakage from our Chief Strategy Officer, Steve Griffiths, and our VP of Automotive Practice, Amarish Kapadia! ...