How can you reduce maverick spending in procurement?
Written by Shivangi Singh, Senior Content Writer · October 17, 2026
How to reduce it
- Make the right way the easy way. Guided buying with catalogues, preferred suppliers and simple request forms. If raising a purchase order takes longer than buying on a card, people will use the card.
- Measure it. Compare invoices and card spend against purchase orders and contracts to find off-contract buying by category, department and supplier. You cannot fix what you cannot see.
- Close the catalogue gaps. Most maverick spend sits in categories with no contract or no easy channel. Add them.
- Set clear policy and limits. Who can buy what, up to which value, through which channel, with consequences that are actually applied.
- Enforce no PO, no pay for categories where a purchase order is required, with a fast exception route for genuine emergencies.
- Bring tail spend under management. The long tail of small purchases from many suppliers is where maverick spend hides. Consolidate suppliers and route it through the same system.
Track the result
Monitor spend under management, PO coverage and contract compliance monthly. Falling maverick spend shows up as rising contract compliance and better pricing on the categories you consolidated.
An e-procurement platform with guided buying and automatic PO matching is the most reliable way to make compliant purchasing the path of least resistance.
Shivangi is a Senior Content Marketer specializing in B2B SaaS, procurement, and enterprise technology. She creates research-driven content that helps procurement leaders and business decision-makers navigate AI, digital transformation, sourcing, and spend management. Her work focuses on turning complex industry developments into clear, practical, and actionable insights.