Strategic Spend Analysis

📊 The Company Was Spending Millions—but Could Not Clearly Explain Where the Money Was Going. A manufacturing company believed it had strong control over procurement costs. Every department managed its own purchases, suppliers, and requirements. But when leadership asked: > “Where are our biggest savings opportunities?” The procurement team did not have a clear answer. So, they conducted a Spend Analysis. The team collected data from: 📄 Purchase Orders 🧾 Invoices 💻 ERP systems 🤝 Supplier records 🏢 Different departments and locations After cleaning and categorizing the data, they discovered: ❌ The same materials were purchased under different names ❌ Multiple departments were buying from different suppliers ❌ The top five suppliers represented 72% of total spend ❌ 18% of purchases were made outside approved contracts ❌ Similar items had significant price differences The company was not lacking data. It was lacking visibility. Procurement converted the data into actionable insights and: ✅ Consolidated spend across departments ✅ Standardized item descriptions ✅ Negotiated category-wide agreements ✅ Reduced unnecessary suppliers ✅ Redirected off-contract spend to preferred suppliers ✅ Identified opportunities for volume discounts Within one year: 💰 Procurement costs reduced by 11% 📉 Maverick spending decreased 📊 Spend visibility improved 🤝 Supplier negotiations became stronger 🎯 Category strategies became more data-driven This is the power of Spend Analysis. Spend analysis is the process of: Collecting → Cleaning → Categorizing → Analyzing → Taking Action It helps answer important questions: 🔹 What are we buying? 🔹 How much are we spending? 🔹 Who are we buying from? 🔹 Which categories consume the most spend? 🔹 Are we using approved suppliers? 🔹 Where are the risks and savings opportunities? Useful spend-analysis methods include: 📌 Spend by category 📌 Spend by supplier 📌 Pareto or 80/20 analysis 📌 Spend-cube analysis 📌 Price-variance analysis 📌 Supplier-concentration analysis 📌 Maverick and tail-spend analysis The lesson? > You cannot manage what you cannot see—and you cannot improve what you do not measure. Spend analysis is not only about finding savings. It supports better decisions, stronger negotiations, improved compliance, reduced risk, and long-term value creation. 💬 What is the biggest challenge in spend analysis: poor data quality, inconsistent descriptions, limited visibility, or decentralized purchasing? ❤️ Like | 💾 Save | 🔄 Repost Follow The Procurement School for practical procurement knowledge, handwritten learning notes, case studies, and career guidance. 💙 Know Your Spend. Control Your Spend. Create More Value. #TheProcurementSchool #SpendAnalysis #Procurement #SpendManagement #StrategicSourcing #CategoryManagement #ProcurementAnalytics #SupplyChain #CostOptimization #ValueCreation

📊 Why Spend Analysis Is the Backbone of Strategic Procurement In procurement, you cannot manage what you cannot see. Spend analysis is not just a reporting exercise — it is the foundation of strategic sourcing, cost optimization, and risk mitigation. Yet many organizations still operate with fragmented visibility. Here’s why spend analysis matters more than ever: 1️⃣ Creates Spend Visibility A structured Spend Cube (Category × Supplier × Business Unit) reveals: Where money is actually going Supplier concentration risks Maverick buying Duplication of vendors Visibility transforms assumptions into facts. 2️⃣ Enables Smart Prioritization (ABC Logic) Not all spend deserves equal attention. Through ABC segmentation: A-items → Strategic intervention B-items → Optimization focus C-items → Process automation This ensures procurement resources are deployed where value impact is highest. 3️⃣ Unlocks Tail Spend Opportunities In most organizations: 20% of suppliers account for 80% of spend The remaining 80% of suppliers create complexity Tail spend fragmentation leads to: Higher administrative costs Weak negotiation leverage Increased risk exposure Rationalization here often delivers quick, measurable wins. 4️⃣ Strengthens Negotiation Power With clean spend data, procurement can: Consolidate volumes Benchmark pricing Identify cost reduction opportunities Build stronger category strategies Data-backed negotiation always outperforms reactive buying. 5️⃣ Supports Risk & Resilience Planning Spend analysis highlights: Single-source dependencies Geographic concentration risks Critical supplier exposure In volatile markets, this visibility becomes a competitive advantage. 6️⃣ Drives Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Spend analysis should not stop at price. It should integrate: Quality performance Logistics cost Inventory carrying cost Lifecycle impact Procurement maturity begins when decisions move from lowest price to optimized TCO. 💡 Leadership Takeaway Spend analysis is not a finance exercise. It is a strategic control mechanism. Organizations that invest in structured spend analytics move procurement from a transactional function to a value-creation engine. In today’s environment of volatility, inflation, and supply chain disruption — visibility is power.

Spending $5M on clicks that lead to low conversion rates and a long payback period is not sustainable. Last week I audited $5M in paid search spend for a client. On the surface, things looked solid: 350K clicks, steady traffic, and positive feedback from the C-suite. But when I took a deeper dive, the reality was a bit diff. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰 High traffic numbers can be misleading. It’s critical to evaluate how that traffic translates into actual business results. Discovery: Despite the $5M spend, we only drove 800 platform conversions, resulting in $3.5M in pipeline and $1.2M in closed-won ARR. → $6.25K per MQL → $15K per qualified opportunity → $50K cost to acquire a single customer, with a 36-month CAC payback period. This wasn’t hitting their growth targets. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 Over $200K was spent without driving a single conversion, revealing inefficiencies that needed immediate attention. Discovery: 50% of the search budget ($2.5M) was allocated to non-branded campaigns, but these only accounted for 25% of total opportunities, with a cost-per-opportunity nearing $40K. → Non-brand CAC: $120K → Brand CAC: $35K Non-branded campaigns were clearly underperforming, costing far more to bring in leads. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗔𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 To resolve this, I recommended reallocating spend and resetting the bid strategy to focus on high-intent keywords. Discovery: A one-size-fits-all budget approach hides inefficiencies. We needed to direct more spend toward keywords and campaigns that consistently generated qualified leads. → Pause keywords that haven’t generated high-intent conversions in the past 90 days. → Optimize the bid strategy for high-intent conversions instead of TOFU metrics. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 The search ads were largely attracting low-intent prospects due to education-based keywords. It’s important to shift messaging to target higher-value audiences. Discovery: “What is” and “how to” queries attract traffic, but they often don’t convert into paying customers. → Focus on intent-driven queries that are aligned with decision-making stages in the buyer’s journey. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 Whenever you make major adjustments to budget allocation and bidding strategies, there’s a stabilization period before performance can be accurately assessed. → Allow a few weeks for algorithms and bid strategies to stabilize before reevaluating results. TL;DR Budget cuts shouldn’t be reactive—they should be strategic.

Most procurement functions cannot pass a basic spend visibility test. Pull last quarter’s spend with your top three suppliers in your largest category. Then ask Finance for the same number from the GL. If the variance is over 5%, you do not have spend visibility. You have a working file. That distinction matters. Many functions buy a spend analytics platform, classify suppliers, build dashboards, and conclude the capability is complete. But what they have built is often only the first 20% of the work — a data warehouse — and then called it intelligence. Under CFO challenge, the working file fails. And the credibility damage from one failed number is larger than the goodwill from twelve months of dashboards. Spend intelligence is a five-layer capability: → Source data — defined, flagged, reconciled → Taxonomy — three levels, MECE, governed centrally → Cube — persistent structure at PO-line granularity, not a refreshed pivot table → Classification — hybrid pipeline with residual spend sized and visible → Outputs — recurring patterns, decision briefs, and monthly GL reconciliation The composite is only as strong as its weakest layer. ML on a poor taxonomy automates the wrong answer. A sophisticated cube without reconciliation produces fast wrong answers. The investment sequence is layers first, AI second. Most functions reverse it. They buy throughput at the cost of credibility. Where in the five layers does your function actually fail first — and is that the layer you are investing in next, or the one you are deferring? #ProcurementExcellence #ProcurementAnalytics #SpendAnalytics #SpendIntelligence #DecisionIntelligence

I see the procurement spend funnel a bit differently than others... Here's how I break down procurement's spend influence: → Total Company Spend This is everything your company spends money on. Salaries, rent, utilities, software, materials - everything. → Addressable Spend All spend where procurement CAN have an influence. Non-addressable = spend where procurement involvement is useless. → Spend Under Management How much of addressable spend is currently formally under procurement's purview (e.g. via your procurement policy's RACI). This varies and depends on your function's maturity, responsibilities and organizational influence. → Spend Under Contract/Strategy Spend that's actively managed from a strategic procurement standpoint. Where competitive negotiation and value creation happens. How much spend are you running through your classic "7-step procurement process"? → Fully Governed Spend Where procurement can link strategy to realized savings through clear purchasing channels (P2P). Very hard to measure without a spend cube and purposeful mapping of your purchasing channels to your spend category (e.g. commodity codes). You need Procurement, Accounting, Operations and IT fully aligned to get "Fully Governed Spend" (You also need a good handle on this to make Intake & Orchestration work, by the way...) Yet, this is where the magic happens. Key Insights: → Addressable comes BEFORE spend under management scope → Just because spend is "addressable" doesn't mean you have jurisdiction/influence over it → Procurement's job is moving spend down the funnel systematically to generate value → Full governance = strategy linked to realized savings in procure-to-pay processes The biggest gap? Most procurement teams measure success on "spend under management" but can't prove value creation. The real question isn't "how much spend touches procurement?" It's "how much spend can we prove we're optimizing?" What does your spend funnel look like? Doesn't matter if it's different... What matters is that you have clear/coherent definitions... And aligned stakeholders 😅 Let me know where you disagree in the comments 👇 _________________________ P.S. I help companies choose and implement ProcureTech solutions for a living. Every Sunday, I send out a free newsletter which documents the best practices, trends and frameworks in ProcureTech. It's read by 13.000+ Procurement professionals (and counting...) Subscribe here for free: https://lnkd.in/g5yXYDqj

What a masterclass in strategic thinking from Flipkart! Instead of competing for high-premium sponsorship on the Indian cricket team (where costs run into hundreds of crores for jersey/logo visibility), Flipkart sponsored the Namibia team during their matches against India in the T20 World Cup. The genius lies in the economics: Namibia sponsorship reportedly cost a fraction — estimates range from ~₹1 crore to ₹40 crore (less than 1–10% of equivalent Indian team exposure). Yet the visibility was near-identical: same matches, same broadcast cameras, same massive Indian viewership during high-stakes games. Outcome? Prime logo placement, viral buzz (250M+ social views), and top-of-mind recall — at a dramatically lower cost. This isn't just clever marketing. It's textbook smart procurement: In sourcing and category management, the most expensive option (the "obvious" or premium supplier/asset) rarely delivers proportional value. The real edge comes from identifying asymmetric opportunities — under-the-radar suppliers, alternative geographies/markets, or non-traditional partners — that deliver comparable (or even superior) outcomes at a fraction of the cost. Key procurement takeaways: Focus on total value, not headline price — Visibility/impact per rupee spent matters more than brand prestige. Challenge the default path — Don't default to the biggest player; scout for overlooked alternatives that still hit your KPIs. Arbitrage attention & access — Secure high-reach inventory when competition is low and pricing is rational. Timing & context are everything — Off-peak or unconventional slots often yield outsized returns. In procurement (just like in marketing), winning isn't about spending the most — it's about spending intelligently, at the right place and time. Have you spotted (or executed) a similar "Namibia move" in your sourcing strategy — where a non-obvious choice delivered outsized ROI? Would love to hear your examples in the comments #Procurement #StrategicSourcing #ValueOptimization #SmartSpending #SupplyChainStrategy #CostEfficiency #Negotiation #ProcurementLeadership

This week, I spoke with a few 7-figure brands facing challenges in reaching the 8-figure mark.📈 A recurring theme for these brands was that their top ASIN accounted for most of their sales, yet its organic keyword ranking hovered around positions 10–15. Surprisingly, despite its sales share, it wasn’t receiving as much ad spend as other catalog items. For brands looking to scale, your top-selling products are key drivers of immediate growth. Expecting a newly launched product with no reviews or established buyer base to hit $50,000/month overnight is unrealistic. But refining your strategy around your top performers can quickly add an extra $50,000 in monthly revenue. 🚀 Here's what I recommended to those brands: 𝟏. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟑𝟎 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐍. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧, 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬. 𝟐. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐬: 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝-𝐭𝐨-𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐍. 𝟑. 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡? 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝟒. 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐳𝐞 𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐒 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐍: 𝐀 𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐒 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟓% 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝟓. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐊𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝-𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟏 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟎–𝟐𝟎 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. Remember, the goal isn’t short-term efficiency. It’s about reaching the top of search, where organic sales will naturally boost your efficiency & revenue. 💼✨ By understanding your sales drivers, spending patterns, and strategic spend adjustments, you can unlock that 8-figure run rate you’re aiming for! #Amazon #digitalmarketing #ecommerce #digitaladvertising #strategy

One spending problem we see all the time with our clients: Unused subscriptions eating into their profit margins. Behind each recurring charge, there's usually a past business decision... The question is: Does that decision still make sense? You have to turn "passive" spending into strategic investment: → Audit recurring charges, no matter how small or insignificant you think they are → Map each expense to specific business functions → Calculate ROI for every subscription → Test whether services still align with your goals Without this kind of monthly review things get expensive...fast. Outdated subscriptions multiply, expense categories are blurred, and profit opportunities disappear behind automatic payments. Remember, your credit card statements are a reflection of your business's financial discipline. You want a history of intentional spending, not passive waste. Block one day each quarter for a credit card cleanup... And with any recurring fees, ask yourself: "Would I subscribe to this today?"

You don’t have a “procurement problem.” You have a “we still measure procurement like it’s 1999” problem. If your main KPI is still “cost savings,” your team will remain the department of “no” instead of evolving into a strategic partner. If you work in purchasing, procurement, or finance and feel that gap, this is relevant for you. The real issue is tracking the wrong score. In most purchasing teams, KPIs typically include: - Savings % - % of POs - High-level on-time delivery While these metrics are useful, they do not adequately showcase your real value. Consider these examples: 1. **Approval times per function**: In one company, procurement was blamed for delays. Upon measuring approval times, we found: - Operations: 1.5 days - Finance: 6+ days The bottleneck was Finance, not procurement. By simplifying approvals for low-risk spend, lead times dropped. 2. **Renewals vs. new purchases**: For SaaS renewals: - New tools: 3–4 weeks - Renewals: 7–8 weeks Renewals were treated as administrative tasks. By tracking renewal vs. new deal cycle time, we identified auto-renewals early and renegotiated effectively. 3. **Maverick spend**: We analyzed maverick spend for marketing and IT. Instead of placing blame, we presented: - “Here’s what you paid.” - “Here’s what you could have paid.” We then offered a fast-track route for urgent buys, leading to a decrease in rogue spend. The key takeaway is to stop defining procurement solely by cost savings. Start measuring metrics that reflect your impact on speed, risk, and value. Your next steps: - Choose 3 metrics to focus on this quarter: - Approval time per function - Renewals vs. new purchases - Maverick

A PE portfolio company CFO recently told me: "Our procurement team reports $3.2M in annual savings. Our EBITDA improved by $900K. I have no idea where the other $2.3M went." Six weeks later, we had the answer. And a roadmap to capture it. What we found: ❌ 43% of IT purchases bypassed the preferred supplier program (labeled "urgent exceptions") ❌ The new contract required 7 approvals for purchases over $10K, so teams split orders into $9,900 chunks ❌ 70% of locations never updated their ordering systems to default to the new supplier ❌ Volume projections were off by 35%, but nobody triggered contract renegotiation ❌ Three departments had "unique needs" that meant the strategic sourcing didn't apply to them Each issue seemed small. Collectively, they evaporated 72% of the savings. Here's what happened next: We redesigned workflows to make compliance easy (not just required). We established governance around exceptions and volume tracking. We assigned clear ownership for savings realization. We aligned incentives across procurement, operations, and finance. The result: 12% average reduction in overall purchased part cost. And it showed up in EBITDA. Not just in the procurement dashboard, but in the actual financials. This pattern repeats across industries. The problem isn't negotiation skills. It's operational integration. Strategic sourcing without implementation discipline is just expensive theater. We're opening 4 slots for our zero-risk, no-cost Spend Cube Review in 2026 Q1: In four weeks, you'll get: ✅ Clear visibility into where your spend is going ✅ Quantified opportunity for EBITDA impact ✅ Prioritized roadmap for capturing it 🟢 What we need from you: → NDA (we'll send it) → Access to spend data (we'll provide the template) → 4 weeks of patience while we analyze 🟢 What you get: → Diagnostic of your strategic sourcing effectiveness → No obligation. No sales pitch. Just clarity. 🟢 This works for: → SMBs with $10M+ revenue eager to improve margins → PE portfolio companies focused on EBITDA growth → Mid-market companies ($500M+ revenue) with procurement programs that aren't delivering DM me for details and next steps. Let's find out where your procurement savings are leaking—and lock them in. P.S. If you want to self-diagnose first, take my 5-minute Strategic Sourcing Health Check: https://lnkd.in/epfM3JVh