Maverick Buying - when purchasing bypasses the process
Understand why off-catalog buying happens and how to reduce it systematically
Maverick buying refers to purchasing that bypasses defined procurement processes, contracts, and catalogs. Instead of ordering through the approved catalog, employees buy directly from a supplier. This costs money, transparency, and compliance - but it can be reduced significantly with the right tools.
- Understand the causes
- Assess the risks
- Catalogs & guided buying
- Create spend transparency
What Is Maverick Buying?
Maverick buying is purchasing that bypasses the procurement function: departments order directly from suppliers without using the defined ordering process, existing contracts or approved catalogs. The company loses its negotiated terms, and spend, suppliers and risks only become visible when the invoice arrives.
Forms of Maverick Buying and Related Terms
The term is used more or less broadly. In practice it pays to look at the forms separately, because they have different causes and are measured differently.
| Form | What happens | How to recognize it |
|---|---|---|
| Order without an ordering process | A department commissions by phone, email or web shop; there is no purchase order in the system | Invoice without a purchase order reference |
| After-the-fact purchase order | The purchase order is only created once delivery or invoice has arrived | PO date is later than delivery or invoice date |
| Off-contract purchase | An order is placed properly, but with a supplier other than the contracted one | Volume in a material group outside the contracted suppliers |
| Off-catalog purchase | A free-text request is raised instead of using the catalog item | Free-text items in material groups covered by catalogs |
| Purchase by credit card or expenses | Demand is paid out of pocket or with the company card | Card transactions and expenses in procurement-relevant material groups |
Maverick buying should be distinguished from tail spend. Tail spend describes the many small purchases from many suppliers that together make up only a small share of total spend. It can be fully compliant. The two topics overlap because maverick buying occurs particularly often in tail spend.
Causes: Why People Order Around Procurement
- The official route is more cumbersome than the direct one: too many fields, too many approvals, cycle times that are too long.
- The item cannot be found in the catalog, because it is missing or the search does not surface it.
- Contracts and contracted suppliers are not known in the department.
- It is urgent, and there is no defined fast route for urgent demand.
- The department prefers a familiar supplier or believes its own quote is cheaper.
- New suppliers take a long time to set up, so people order first and formalize later.
- Violations have no consequences, because invoices without a purchase order are paid anyway.
Bad intent is rarely the reason. Maverick buying is usually a sign that the regulated process does not serve the department's needs well enough.
Consequences for Cost, Risk and Transparency
- Negotiated prices and volume tiers go unused; committed volumes under contracts are missed.
- Purchases are made from suppliers that have not been vetted, for example for quality, insurance, data protection or supply chain due diligence.
- Without a purchase order there is no basis for invoice verification; accounts payable has to clarify invoices manually.
- Budget owners only see commitments when the invoice arrives.
- Procurement lacks reliable data on volume per material group and supplier, which weakens the next negotiation.
How to Measure Maverick Buying
The most common metric is the maverick buying rate: the spend procured outside the intended channels divided by the total spend in the area under review. Before calculating it, you have to define what counts as the intended channel, for example every purchase order with prior approval placed with a contracted supplier.
A worked example: in the office supplies material group, EUR 400,000 was spent in one year. Of this, EUR 90,000 went to suppliers without a contract or was invoiced without a purchase order. The maverick buying rate for this material group is therefore 90,000 divided by 400,000, or 22.5 percent. The figures are for illustration only.
Because the rate rarely comes from a single data source, many procurement departments work with several indicators.
| Indicator | What it shows | Data source |
|---|---|---|
| Share of invoices without a PO reference | Purchasing with no ordering process at all | Accounts payable |
| Share of after-the-fact purchase orders | The ordering process is only formally complied with | ERP: PO date compared with invoice date |
| Contract compliance per material group | Share of volume placed with contracted suppliers | Spend analysis by supplier and material group |
| Catalog rate | Share of order items from catalogs versus free text | Procurement system |
| Number of suppliers per material group | Fragmentation of volume, one-time suppliers | Vendor master and turnover |
| Card spend and expenses in catalog material groups | Purchasing through payment channels outside procurement | Credit card and travel expense reports |
Analysis per material group and cost center is the most useful. A company-wide average hides where the problem actually lies.
Countermeasures: What Actually Reduces Maverick Buying
Make the regulated route the easiest one
One entry point for all demand, one search across all catalogs and supplier shops, few mandatory fields. As long as ordering directly from the supplier is faster, people will do it.
Close assortment gaps
Analyze free-text requests and invoices without purchase orders: whatever is requested repeatedly belongs in a catalog or contract.
Align approvals with risk
Catalog items at negotiated prices do not need multi-level approval for small values. Strict approvals for trivial amounts encourage workarounds.
Offer a fast route for urgent demand
A defined process for urgent cases is better than tacitly tolerating after-the-fact purchase orders.
Set rules for invoices without a purchase order
Let suppliers know that invoices need a PO number, and clarify internally who approves exceptions.
Give departments transparency
Cost center owners should regularly see what was procured outside the process in their area.
Allow exceptions deliberately
Not every purchase outside the catalog is a violation. Clearly named exceptions, such as maintenance emergencies, keep the rule credible.
Related Terms and Matching Ovenca Modules
- Free-text order
The regulated route for demand without a catalog item.
- Purchase requisition
The document that is missing or created too late in maverick buying.
- Punchout catalog
Bringing supplier shops into the ordering process instead of using them alongside it.
- Approval matrix
Designing approvals so they do not invite workarounds.
- Catalog management
Keeping catalogs current and complete so that demand can be found.
- Indirect procurement
Where maverick buying occurs most often and how to organize it.
Causes, risks, and countermeasures
How maverick buying arises - and how to bring it under control
Recognize the causes
Maverick buying rarely stems from bad intent. Usually a suitable catalog item is missing, the official process feels too cumbersome, or an order is urgent. Understanding the triggers lets you address the root cause instead of just the symptom.
- Convenience and time pressure
- Missing catalog items
- Urgent requirements
Assess the risks
Orders placed outside the process lead to higher prices because negotiated contracts and volume bundling go unused. At the same time, compliance risks emerge and spend becomes opaque, which makes sound decisions harder to reach.
- Higher costs without bundling
- Compliance gaps
- Poor spend visibility
Reduce maverick buying
The most effective lever is a process that is easier than the workaround. Well-maintained, easily searchable catalogs, guided buying, and appropriate approval workflows steer demand back into orderly channels.
- Easy, searchable catalogs
- Guided buying
- Approval workflows
How Ovenca curbs off-catalog buying
Ovenca is an ERP-agnostic procurement platform that makes it easy for employees to take the right path - with Catalog Shop, governance, and reporting in one solution.
- Easy catalog instead of workaround
- The Catalog Shop with fast search makes ordering through approved catalogs easier than buying directly from a supplier. Punchout via OCI or cXML additionally connects external supplier catalogs, further reducing off-catalog purchases.
- Governance and approvals
- The Admin Governance module lets you manage approval workflows as well as roles and rights. Orders run in a controlled, compliant way without making the process cumbersome for employees.
- Transparency over spend
- With spend and usage reporting, you see where, what, and through which channels procurement happens. This helps you spot patterns of maverick buying early and take targeted action to correct them.
Maverick Buying: Questions and Answers
Related pages
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