However, person-hours are limited today, so what can be done to map data to a structured and enriched catalog which will lead to consolidated spending per vendor, improved cost, improved process compliance, and reduced risk?

Best practice recommends developing a project plan to improve data quality by 10% to 20% each year for 3 to 5 years. Doing so will result in spending data that accurately maps to the appropriate commodity codes at a rate in the 65% to 80% range enabling the company to rely on the projected cost savings.

The project plan should include a spend analytics solution with an outsource provider that will provide human assets to assist your team in improving data through an easy-to-use mapping solution so changes can be tracked to recover lost savings and enhance reporting of analytics, thus reducing wasted management effort on analyzing inadequate quality data.

ROI will rely on increased negotiation leverage based on consolidated spending, leading to lower costs, better forecasting of need based on data insights, and improved supplier adherence to KPI, enabling inventory turns, meeting customer KPI, and enhancing the organization’s brand perception.