Procurement Case Studies » Bringing Maverick Spend Under Control

Bringing Maverick Spend Under Control

· 5 min read

Representative scenario — a fast-growing mid-market company

In this representative scenario, a growing company curbed maverick spend by routing all buying through a controlled Lapasar Mall catalog with rule-based approval workflows. Enforcing the process recovered negotiated pricing, produced complete spend data and created a clean audit trail — all published platform capabilities.

This representative scenario illustrates how a controlled catalog and approval workflows eliminate maverick spend. It is an illustrative example of published capabilities, not an audited account of a named customer.

The situation

As the company grew, staff bought from whoever was convenient, bypassing negotiated suppliers. This maverick spend forfeited contract pricing, fragmented spend data and created audit headaches — no one could say with confidence what had been bought or why.

The solution

All buying was routed through a controlled catalog with rule-based approval workflows: requisitions require the right approvals against budget and policy before a purchase order is issued, and off-catalog buying is designed out of the process.

Because every purchase now flows through one system, spend data is complete and the audit trail is automatic.

Implementation

The approval rules were built to match how the business actually signs off spend — thresholds, cost centres and approvers — so the compliant path became the easy path rather than a hurdle. A curated catalog covered the goods people buy most.

Staff were moved onto the catalog with the message that requisitioning through the platform is now the only route to a purchase order. Off-catalog requests are handled as exceptions, keeping every purchase inside the audited workflow.

Targeted outcomes

Targeted outcomes, consistent with the platform's public ROI assumptions: a sharp reduction in off-contract buying, recovered negotiated pricing on that spend, and a complete, auditable record of who approved what.

Key takeaways

Results at a glance

Targeted savings

Target: 3–6% recovered on redirected maverick spend

Redirecting off-contract buying back to negotiated catalog pricing recovers margin at the same rate our public ROI calculator assumes. A target, not an audited result.

Illustrative timeline

  1. Weeks 1–2 — Map spend & rules: Map where maverick spend happens and design approval rules to match real policy.
  2. Weeks 3–4 — Curate the catalog: Curate a catalog covering the most-bought goods so the compliant path is easy.
  3. Weeks 5–8 — Move staff onto workflows: Route all requisitions through the platform; handle off-catalog buys as exceptions.
  4. Ongoing — Monitor compliance: Use spend data to spot and close any remaining off-contract leakage.

Key takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

What is maverick spend?

Maverick spend is buying that happens outside the approved process or contracted suppliers. It forfeits negotiated pricing, fragments spend data and creates compliance risk — and it is best solved by making the compliant path the easy path.

Are the figures in this case study real?

The scenario is illustrative. Outcome figures are targets consistent with the platform's public ROI model, not audited results from a named client.

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