Category market intelligence is now a key driver of world-class procurement organizations. The importance of category intelligence has solidified through the years as procurement intelligence itself has evolved beyond cost savings and into a strategic business role. Category managers now are expected to deliver value across the supply chain, and as such can no longer lean on the standard cost-saving optimization tactics of direct procurement categories. The realities of today’s business world are that companies are expected to deliver ongoing cost savings and maximize their value over time, and while finding the most competitive commodity prices will take a company somewhere, it definitely will not be sufficient to compete in the marketplace without the best category intelligence services in place.

At SpendEdge, we work with companies across 100+ industries and sectors to deliver a winning category intelligence strategy that is based on actionable, reliable, need-specific business intelligence solutions. Our work spans across all critical components of procurement intelligence such as supply market assessment, supplier identification and capabilities assessment, cost-saving opportunities, risk management, negotiation levers and contracting best practices, and many more. See below for a comprehensive but not exhaustive list of areas covered.

We work with our clients to devise holistic spend optimization strategies, including all categories of spend rather than simply direct spend. Indirect categories of spend (HR, IT, marketing, finance, etc.) have become critical factors in generating value, as many category managers recognize the opportunities for spend and process optimizations. However, they still are some of the most challenging categories to tackle due to in part to the lack of functional expertise on the part of category managers, and in part to the traditional ways of structuring departments in organizations where product and functional stakeholders often planned and strategized in silo. By strategically approaching our clients’ indirect procurement processes, we identify practices that can help enterprises reduce the risks of working with new vendors, quicken onboarding processes, and increase the effectiveness of indirect sourcing practices. In the past 16 years, we have worked with numerous clients who have faced similar challenges, and have written multiple case studies on this topic specifically to aid other companies that might be in a similar situation. Should you be interested in discussing the SpendEdge experience and services with regards to category management and category market intelligence, we’d be happy to assist. Connect with our client services team today.