Maverick spending—also referred to as maverick buying, occurs when employees make purchases outside approved procurement processes, policies, or supplier contracts. These purchases bypass established sourcing, approval, and compliance controls, often involving non-preferred suppliers or informal buying channels.
While maverick spending is rarely intentional, it typically arises from gaps in procurement accessibility, speed, or awareness, creating cost leakage, compliance risk, and reduced visibility across the procurement lifecycle.
Read more: Five Ways to take Control of Maverick Spend
Why Maverick Spending Matters
Although individual maverick purchases may seem minor, their cumulative impact can be significant. When left unmanaged, maverick spending undermines procurement’s ability to deliver savings, enforce governance, and manage supplier risk.
Uncontrolled maverick spend leads to:
- Higher costs due to off-contract pricing
- Reduced leverage with preferred suppliers
- Increased compliance and audit risk
- Fragmented spend data and poor visibility
- Higher processing effort for low-value purchases
Managing maverick spending is therefore essential to maintaining procurement discipline while supporting business agility.
The Maverick Spending Framework
Maverick spending is best addressed through enablement and governance, not enforcement alone.
| Area | Objective | Outcome |
| Visibility | Identify off-contract purchases | Spend transparency |
| Policy Alignment | Reinforce buying rules | Compliance consistency |
| Demand Enablement | Make compliant buying easier | Reduced bypassing |
| Supplier Control | Enforce preferred suppliers | Cost efficiency |
| Automation | Reduce friction in buying | Faster adoption |
| Continuous Monitoring | Detect and correct behavior | Sustained control |
The Core Maverick Spending Lifecycle
1. Identification and Spend Visibility
The first step in managing maverick spending is visibility. Procurement teams analyze spend data to identify purchases made outside approved suppliers, contracts, or channels.
This stage highlights where policy deviations occur, which categories are most affected, and whether maverick spend is driven by urgency, lack of options, or process complexity.
2. Root Cause Analysis
Not all maverick spend has the same cause. Some purchases bypass procurement due to slow approval cycles, unavailable suppliers, missing catalogs, or unclear policies.
Understanding why employees go off-contract allows procurement to design corrective actions that address friction rather than simply enforcing controls.
3. Policy Reinforcement and Governance
Clear procurement policies define where employees can buy, which suppliers are approved, and what approvals are required. Reinforcing these policies—through communication, training, and embedded controls—helps reduce unintentional non-compliance.
Governance ensures purchasing decisions align with negotiated contracts and risk thresholds.
4. Guided Buying and Demand Enablement
One of the most effective ways to reduce maverick spending is to guide employees toward compliant options at the point of request.
When users can easily find approved suppliers, catalogs, or fast-track buying routes, the incentive to bypass procurement drops significantly.
5. Supplier and Contract Alignment
Maverick spending often signals gaps in supplier coverage. Procurement may respond by expanding preferred supplier lists, onboarding frequently used suppliers, or creating lightweight contracts for recurring purchases.
Aligning demand with supplier availability converts unmanaged spend into governed channels.
6. Automation and Process Simplification
Complex, slow, or manual processes drive maverick behavior. Automation—such as pre-approvals for low-value purchases or simplified requisition paths—reduces friction and encourages compliance without slowing the business.
The goal is to make the compliant path the fastest path.
7. Monitoring, Reporting, and Continuous Improvement
Maverick spending management is ongoing. Procurement teams track off-contract spend trends, policy adherence rates, and supplier usage patterns.
Insights from monitoring inform policy updates, sourcing strategies, and user enablement—creating a continuous improvement loop.
Key Concepts in Maverick Spending
Several principles underpin successful maverick spend management:
- Enablement Over Policing: Reduce friction instead of adding barriers
- Proportional Control: Apply lighter governance to low-risk spend
- Speed with Guardrails: Preserve agility while enforcing policy
- Visibility First: You can’t control what you can’t see
- Behavioral Change: Address user experience, not just rules
These concepts ensure sustainable compliance rather than short-term fixes.
KPIs for Maverick Spending
| Dimension | Sample KPIs |
| Compliance | Maverick spend %, contract adherence rate |
| Cost | Off-contract price variance |
| Efficiency | Requisition cycle time |
| Visibility | % spend classified |
| Adoption | Preferred supplier usage |
Tracking these metrics ensures maverick spending is actively managed and reduced over time.
Maverick Spending in the Procurement Ecosystem
Maverick spending intersects closely with:
- Tail Spend Management (low-value purchases)
- Guided Buying (user enablement)
- Procure-to-Pay (execution control)
- Supplier Management (preferred supplier governance)
When addressed holistically, maverick spending becomes a controlled exception rather than a systemic problem.
Key Terms in Maverick Spending
- Rogue Spending: Informal buying activity that bypasses procurement controls and governance.
- Off-Contract Spend: Spend with suppliers or pricing not covered by negotiated agreements.
- Preferred Suppliers: Vendors approved by procurement for compliant purchasing.
- Policy Adherence: The extent to which purchases follow organizational procurement rules.
- Spend Visibility: The ability to track and analyze purchasing activity across the organization.
- Guided Buying: User-facing controls that steer employees toward compliant purchase options.
- Tail Spend: Low-value, high-volume purchases where maverick behavior commonly occurs.
- Procurement ROI: The measurable financial and operational value delivered by procurement.
- Audit Trail: A traceable record of purchasing decisions and approvals.
FAQs
Q1. What is maverick spending?
Maverick spending occurs when employees make purchases outside approved procurement policies, contracts, or suppliers.
Q2. Why does maverick spending happen?
It typically arises from slow procurement processes, limited supplier options, unclear policies, or urgent business needs.
Q3. How can organizations control rogue spending?
By improving spend visibility, simplifying buying processes, guiding users to approved suppliers, and automating low-risk purchases.
Q4. What is the impact of maverick spending on procurement ROI?
Maverick spending erodes negotiated savings, increases processing costs, and weakens compliance, reducing overall procurement ROI.
Q5. How does guided buying reduce maverick spending?
Guided buying makes compliant purchasing the easiest option, reducing the need for users to bypass procurement.
References
For further insights into these processes, explore Zycus’ dedicated resources related to Maverick Spend:
