In many organizations, a significant share of spend still falls outside procurement processes, despite well-structured frameworks. This phenomenon, referred to as maverick spend or maverick spending, remains difficult to control because it tends to emerge precisely where traditional procurement models reach their limits.
The procurement function plays a central role in structuring external spend. It aims to ensure compliance, cost control and supplier visibility, relying on defined processes, preferred supplier panels and standardized contractual frameworks.
Despite these mechanisms, some expenditures are still carried out outside this framework. These situations are grouped under the term maverick spend, also referred to as rogue spend or off-contract spend.
Maverick spend refers to expenditures made outside defined procurement processes, particularly without going through approved suppliers, validated contracts or formal approval workflows. It does not represent a category of spend, but rather a gap between the procurement framework and how spending is actually executed.
Maverick spend refers to expenditures made outside procurement processes. It typically develops in environments where needs are frequent, diverse and time-sensitive. Reducing it is not only about increasing control, but about adapting processes to operational realities.
What is maverick spend?
Maverick spend is not a type of spend, but a procurement management situation. The same service can be fully compliant when handled within a structured process, or become maverick spend when executed outside established procurement channels.
In practice, this can take different forms:
engaging a supplier directly identified by a business team
launching a project without a formal sourcing process
signing a contract outside standard validation workflows
These situations are not necessarily driven by a lack of discipline. They often arise when existing processes are not adapted to the nature or urgency of the need.
Maverick spend vs tail spend : what is the difference ?
Maverick spend and tail spend are often associated, but they refer to different dimensions of procurement.
Tail spend refers to low-value, high-volume, fragmented and often unstructured expenditures. In professional services, this typically includes short-term assignments, niche expertise or highly specific business needs.
Maverick spend, on the other hand, refers to a deviation from procurement processes, regardless of the type or size of the spend.
The difference is therefore structural:
tail spend is a category of spend
maverick spend is a way in which spend is managed
In practice, the two are closely linked. Because of its fragmentation and volume, tail spend is harder to manage through traditional procurement processes. It therefore creates conditions in which maverick spend is more likely to occur.
In other words, maverick spend is not only a compliance issue, but often a symptom of procurement models that are not adapted to managing tail spend.
For further insights, see our article on tail spend management.
Why is maverick spend increasing in organizations ?
The rise of maverick spend can be explained by several structural changes that are reshaping procurement practices.
A transformation of the supplier market
The first factor is the evolution of the supplier landscape. The number of available providers has significantly increased, particularly with the growth of freelancers and specialized firms. Expertise is now more abundant and accessible, but also more fragmented.
In this context, companies need to be able to quickly identify and mobilize specific skills. However, procurement organizations often still rely on limited supplier panels, which restrict access to the broader market. In some cases, only a fraction of available expertise is effectively leveraged.
Evolving business needs
At the same time, business needs have evolved. They are now more frequent, shorter in duration and more specific. Operational teams must be able to identify and engage the right expertise quickly.
This creates a tension between speed on the business side and compliance requirements on the procurement side.
Procurement models designed for a different context
Finally, procurement processes themselves were designed in a more stable environment. They remain highly effective for structured spend, large contracts and long-term supplier relationships.
However, they are less suited to handling a high volume of short-term, ad hoc requests. In such cases, each request follows a similar process, leading to longer lead times and increased administrative workload.
In many organizations, maverick spend represents a significant share of external spend. Its increase reflects less a discipline issue than a structural difficulty in adapting procurement models to a growing volume of fragmented needs.
What are the impacts of maverick spend ?
Maverick spend has multiple impacts that go beyond compliance concerns.
The first impact is operational. Spend executed outside procurement processes is not always captured in procurement systems, limiting visibility and reducing the ability to analyze spend, identify optimization levers and build a consolidated view.
The second impact relates to compliance and risk. The absence of standardized frameworks can create legal and contractual risks, especially when engagements are not formalized consistently.
Maverick spend also has a structural impact on procurement organizations. The multiplication of unmanaged suppliers increases fragmentation, complicates supplier management and adds operational burden for procurement and legal teams.
Finally, it has a direct strategic impact. The higher the share of spend outside procurement control, the lower the spend under management. This limits procurement’s ability to generate value through negotiation, optimization and supplier strategy.
Maverick spend does not only reduce compliance, it also limits procurement’s ability to drive and create value.
How to reduce maverick spend ?
Reducing maverick spend cannot rely solely on increasing controls. In practice, adding more validation steps often increases lead times and may encourage further workarounds.
A more effective approach is to adapt processes to the diversity of needs.
Adapting processes to different types of needs
Managing maverick spend is less about enforcing stricter controls and more about designing processes that are adapted to different use cases.
Beyond operational adjustments, this often requires evolving the overall procurement model. The objective is not only to improve existing processes, but to ensure they can absorb a high volume of requests that are often short-term, diverse and difficult to standardize.
Not all purchases carry the same level of risk or strategic importance. A differentiated approach allows simple needs to be handled through faster workflows, while maintaining appropriate control for more sensitive situations.
This segmentation reduces operational friction without compromising compliance.
Structuring tail spend management
Tail spend is the primary area where maverick spend develops. By implementing dedicated approaches for this segment, organizations can improve visibility and control.
This involves designing processes that can handle a high volume of requests efficiently, without creating bottlenecks, while maintaining sufficient governance.
It is precisely this ability to bring more spend into a structured framework that enables organizations to increase spend under management. We explore this approach in more detail in our article: Tail spend management: how to effectively increase spend under management.
Accelerating contracting processes
In many situations, the main bottleneck is not identifying the right supplier, but the ability to contract quickly.
For example, a business team identifies an expert for a short assignment. If onboarding that supplier into the preferred panel takes several weeks, the project may be delayed. In such cases, bypassing procurement becomes a practical solution.
Solutions that standardize and accelerate contracting help reduce maverick spend by limiting the need for informal processes.
In this context, umbrella contracting can be particularly relevant. It allows organizations to engage non-approved suppliers quickly, while relying on a compliant and structured contractual framework.
By enabling faster contracting without requiring full supplier onboarding, it helps reconcile operational speed with procurement requirements.
For further insights, see our guide on umbrella contracting.
Expanding access to the supplier market
Ultimately, reducing maverick spend requires better alignment between procurement processes and market realities.
Allowing broader access to suppliers, including beyond existing panels, while maintaining a structured framework, helps respond more effectively to business needs.
In practice, traditional approaches show their limits: they restrict access to the market and make it difficult to onboard new suppliers quickly. To absorb a growing volume of ad hoc needs, organizations need solutions that open access to the market without adding operational complexity.
This is precisely where marketplaces such as LittleBig Connection play a key role. They provide access to a broad pool of expertise, while structuring supplier selection, competition and contracting within a secure framework.
Combined with adapted contracting solutions, they enable procurement teams to respond faster to business needs while maintaining visibility, compliance and control, without generating maverick spend.
The 4 key levers to effectively reduce maverick spend
To summarize, reducing maverick spend does not rely on a single action, but on combining these levers within a coherent operating model.
Adapting processes to different types of needs
→ implement differentiated workflows based on risk levelStructuring tail spend management
→ absorb fragmented spend within a controlled frameworkReducing time to contract
→ accelerate contracting processes to limit workaroundsExpanding access to the supplier market
→ enable business teams to quickly access the right expertise within a structured framework
Towards more adaptive procurement models
Maverick spend reflects a broader transformation in procurement practices, driven by changes in both the supplier market and business needs.
For procurement organizations, the challenge is not only to reduce these expenditures, but to integrate them into a framework that combines visibility, compliance and execution efficiency.
This ability to adapt is key to strengthening long-term control over external spend.
These approaches open up concrete opportunities to structure spending while maintaining the flexibility required by business teams.
