Why spend analysis is a challenge

This entire section is rather brief but very interesting. Before ERP systems became common it was hard to find data on spend in organizations. This data could be sitting in accounts payable, material requisitions, purchase orders or anywhere! Unless you have all the data by category - you cannot analyze it and you cannot advise or decide where you must focus attention with appropriate value analysis and negotiation.

Data mining modules in ERP systems like SAP and Oracle make it possible to retrieve and analyze  spend data. In addition other supply management softwares like Ariba,i2 also facilitate tracking your spend. In fact major consultants like AT Kearney and Deloitte offer services for analyzing spend.