A presentation at Procurement Solutions & Services | WNS Procurement in in New York, NY, USA by Eileen Franco
Maximizing Spend Under Management: Best Practices for Procurement Visibility and Control Understanding Spend Under Management Spend under management represents the portion of an organization’s total expenditure that procurement teams actively monitor, control, and optimize through formal processes. This critical metric determines how effectively companies can leverage their purchasing power, reduce costs, and mitigate risks across their supply chain operations. Organizations with higher spend under management typically achieve better cost savings, improved supplier relationships, and enhanced compliance with internal policies and external regulations. The challenge lies in capturing and controlling the significant portion of organizational spending that often occurs outside traditional procurement channels. Establishing Comprehensive Spend Visibility Creating complete visibility into organizational spending patterns forms the foundation for effective spend management. This requires implementing robust data collection mechanisms that capture expenditure information from multiple sources, including accounts payable systems, expense management platforms, and credit card transactions. Advanced analytics capabilities enable procurement teams to categorize spending by supplier, commodity, business unit, and project. This granular view reveals hidden spending patterns, identifies maverick purchases, and uncovers opportunities for consolidation. Regular spend analysis helps organizations understand their true buying power and negotiate better terms with suppliers. Implementing Strategic Category Management Effective category management transforms fragmented purchasing activities into coordinated strategies that maximize value across similar goods and services. This approach involves grouping related purchases into logical categories and developing comprehensive sourcing strategies for each segment. Category managers become specialists in their assigned areas, developing deep market knowledge and supplier relationships. They create standardized specifications, negotiate framework agreements, and establish preferred supplier networks. This specialization leads to better commercial outcomes and reduced transaction costs across the organization.
Leveraging Technology for Enhanced Control Modern procurement solutions provide the technological infrastructure necessary to manage complex spending environments effectively. These platforms integrate with existing enterprise systems to create seamless workflows that guide users toward compliant purchasing decisions. Digital procurement platforms offer features such as automated approval workflows, supplier catalogs, and real-time spending dashboards. These tools reduce manual processing, eliminate paper-based transactions, and provide instant access to spending data. The result is improved efficiency, reduced processing costs, and enhanced visibility into organizational spending patterns. Building Stakeholder Engagement and Compliance Success in maximizing spend under management requires active participation from stakeholders across the organization. This involves educating business users about procurement processes, demonstrating the value of centralized purchasing, and making compliance easier than non-compliance. Change management initiatives should focus on showing how proper procurement processes benefit individual departments and the organization as a whole. Training programs help users understand new systems and processes, while clear communication about policy changes ensures smooth adoption. Regular feedback sessions allow continuous improvement of procurement processes based on user experiences. Measuring and Optimizing Performance Establishing key performance indicators enables organizations to track their progress in bringing spending under management. Important metrics include spend visibility percentages, supplier consolidation rates, cost savings achieved, and compliance levels with established procurement policies. Regular performance reviews help identify areas for improvement and celebrate successes. Benchmarking against industry standards provides context for performance levels and identifies opportunities for enhancement. Continuous monitoring ensures that gains in spend under management are sustained over time. Conclusion Maximizing spend under management requires a comprehensive approach that combines technology, process optimization, and stakeholder engagement. Organizations that successfully implement these best practices achieve significant benefits including reduced costs, improved supplier relationships, and enhanced risk
management. The key lies in maintaining focus on continuous improvement while adapting strategies to meet evolving business needs and market conditions.
Discover WNS Procurement’s innovative procurement solutions & services designed to streamline processes and deliver value. Improve efficiency and reduce costs.
