The first year of Procure-IQ came with more “Wow, I did not see that coming” moments than I’d care to admit. Some days, it felt like a live-fire stress test of every assumption I’d ever had about work, risk and procurement.
Like most people, I expected it to be hard. What I didn’t expect was where the hard would show up, or how often it came from the things no one talks about when they tell you to start a business.
If procurement is “getting stuff bought,” strategic sourcing is “deciding the smartest way to buy it, from whom, and why.”
Let’s be honest. Every procurement team, no matter how polished their process documentation or how enthusiastic their sourcing strategy presentations, has a few “mavericks.”
You know who I mean — the lovable rebels who bypass the approved supplier list because they “just needed it quickly,” or the managers who swear they got a “great deal” by buying something with a corporate card and a wink.
At a glance, these little acts of procurement piracy can look harmless. After all, someone’s just getting paper for their printer, or ordering a “temporary” piece of equipment that stays around longer than most contracts.
But underneath that small transaction lies a big, costly problem known as maverick spend — and trust me, it’s draining more than just your budget.
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