Maverick purchases — also called spot buys — cover all products and services that companies need on an ad hoc, non-recurring basis to keep their operations running. Buy Made Easy (BME) acts as your single supplier for all purchases outside your regular supplier panel.

Example: during a heavy snowfall, this might mean buying rock salt for de-icing; when organising a corporate seminar, it could mean sourcing chairs; or in anticipation of an epidemic risk, it might involve PPE — gloves, masks, and similar protective equipment.

These maverick purchases are made outside the established procurement policy in most cases, which works against a TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) approach.

TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) analyses the true cost of purchasing a product from a supplier — looking beyond the purchase price alone. TCO aggregates all costs across the product lifecycle, combining direct costs and, crucially, indirect or "hidden" costs.

Digitising the procurement process covers product selection, order transmission, invoice processing, and electronic payment. The purchase request and approval are handled directly in the digital solution (via Punchout), eliminating manual order creation. Orders transmit immediately after hierarchical approval. Invoices are collected online via a supplier portal or EDI. Payment is triggered automatically at due date when compliant. Through this optimised process, the average cost per transaction drops from approximately €120 to €26.

Counter purchases can be useful in extreme urgency situations on a project site. However, in tail spend, urgency criteria should be viewed with scepticism — most are caused by a lack of anticipation resolvable through a solid procurement strategy. BME does offer an Emergency Service enabling real-time remote payment to a counter supplier when project deadlines are genuinely at risk.

This figure breaks down into four main cost components: (1) Initial supplier onboarding cost — sourcing, profile analysis, administrative information collection, and financial risk assessment. (2) Supplier database maintenance — annual status review (active, dormant, etc.), ERP system costs, and external compliance providers. (3) Administrative management imposed by regulations — legal documentation, solvency checks, CSR compliance, and subcontracting requirements. (4) Dispute management — covering product returns and credit notes.

Yes — this approach applies equally to an SME and a large enterprise. The cost can be adjusted downward depending on the company's size, overhead structure, and sector. An SME operating in a highly regulated sector may incur additional administrative costs due to compliance requirements. In every case, centralising spot transactions with a single supplier generates smoother operations and sustainable savings.

Procurement departments most commonly use their own internal classifications (commodities/purchasing categories). Where no internal system exists, they can reference widely used generic classifications such as UNSPSC or eCl@ss. UNSPSC — the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code — is a taxonomy of more than 20,000 categories with a four-level hierarchy: Segment, Family, Class, and Commodity.

We recommend working with a Punchout digital solution, which provides real-time product catalogue updates (live stock availability, product data sheets, etc.) and a far more intuitive user experience. In the context of tail spend, this also prevents maverick buying by giving users easy access to hundreds of thousands of product references.

Start by mapping each step of your ordering process. For each step, identify team members involved, time spent, and the cost to the business. Adding all these costs gives you an estimate of your cost per transaction. Download our White Paper on this topic for a detailed methodology.

This can happen in certain cases — particularly when no minimum order value is specified. The goal is to avoid processing orders where the handling cost exceeds the value of the items ordered. The Sourcing Force solution integrates approval workflows and budget controls to prevent any consumption drift.

Literature reports various estimates of traditional transaction costs ranging from €150 to €250. At Buy Made Easy, we baselined our figure from real-world consulting missions in French companies. We believe a cost per transaction closer to €120 more accurately reflects companies that have already optimised part of their procurement procedures. This remains an estimate that varies by organisational structure.

We have expanded our offering to cover more than 5,000,000 references for businesses of all sizes. Our B2B marketplace covers the full range of business needs: tooling, packaging, handling products, office supplies, office furniture, and more. We also handle all types of off-catalogue references, including services, corporate seminars, and custom fabrication.

Many procurement departments issue corporate cards as a spend-control measure. This seems to simplify employees' lives and contain overall spend. However, to truly optimise tail spend, you need to analyse expenditure by category — by supplier and by product — not just as a global total. Using purchasing cards increases the number of suppliers and works against supplier panel rationalisation.

No — the €26 per-transaction estimate for digitised procurement does not include the initial investment cost of the e-procurement solution. Sourcing Force provides consulting and support for implementing Punchout or hosted catalogue solutions. Unless specific custom development is requested, implementation costs are negligible relative to the per-transaction saving.

Absolutely — communication is critical when implementing a procurement outsourcing action plan. The key is to coordinate a shared communication strategy between the procurement department, Buy Made Easy, the Tier 2 supplier, and end users. The critical point is to anticipate employee resistance to supplier changes — by explaining clearly how the change is being made and why Buy Made Easy is the right answer.

In practice, yes — this is what is commonly referred to as "outsourcing" or externalised referencing. Where the substituted suppliers are existing regular suppliers, BME Consulting's product managers will engage directly with them and onboard them if not already referenced. For order placement, the process remains centralised through BME — giving you a single supplier account for all your spot purchases.