Maverick Spend Costing You Millions? These Automated Controls Stop Revenue Leakage

Even with carefully negotiated contracts, there’s usually a hidden leak that few teams catch until it’s too late: maverick spend. Many only realize it after the damage is done, with mistakes that can quietly cost organizations millions a year. Everyone knows it’s happening, yet most teams still struggle to stop it before it starts.

Why does true maverick spend control remain such a widespread, persistent challenge? Because even with the strongest policies and well-run operations, issues like fragmented systems, manual approvals, and inconsistent data can’t keep up with the world of modern procurement. When teams don’t have clear visibility or processes, rogue spending control becomes elusive.

Fortunately, that’s starting to change. With autonomous, predictive intelligence, procurement teams finally get the real-time guidance they need to eliminate maverick spend for good without slowing anyone down.

Why Maverick Spend Happens and How to Control It

Most maverick spend isn’t deliberate. Instead, it shows up when processes, data, or systems aren’t aligned, creating opportunities for spend to go off track. According to the Hackett Group, 29% of indirect spend is off-contract, often because teams lack visibility or unintentionally break policy.

Here are the key reasons this happens:

Fragmented Data and Outdated Pricing

When teams have to piece together information from multiple systems or rely on old pricing, it’s nearly impossible to make the smart, data-informed decisions required in today’s procurement landscape. That’s when unexpected or unapproved purchases happen, and savings opportunities slip through the cracks.

Side Agreements, Outdated Pricebooks, and Manual Processes

Issues like untracked agreements, outdated pricebooks, and slow, manual approval steps create easy openings for rogue purchases. These inefficiencies make it hard to enforce unauthorized purchasing prevention consistently.

Lack of Real-Time Visibility

If teams don’t have up-to-date insight into contracts, suppliers, and approvals, they can’t see where money is going. Luckily, procurement compliance automation changes that by giving buyers real-time guidance and closing gaps before they turn into costly mistakes.

The Gaps in Traditional Procurement Compliance

Even the best policies and manual approval gates can’t stop maverick spend on their own. Traditional compliance methods have limitations that leave gaps, which can quickly become costly. Here’s why:

Controls Are Reactive

Most traditional compliance systems only flag issues after purchases have already happened. By the time finance or procurement notices, the damage is done — making automated procurement compliance a much-needed upgrade.

Procurement Becomes the Bottleneck

​​When manual approvals slow down processes, teams start looking for shortcuts. Those workarounds often skip the approvals process entirely, creating more opportunities for rogue purchases.

Static Systems Leave Room for Mistakes

Rigid systems and outdated workflows can’t keep up with changing contracts, suppliers, or pricing. That’s when mistakes slip through, and consistent compliance becomes a constant struggle.

The Three Sciences Approach to Stopping Rogue Spend

When procurement teams want to truly eliminate maverick spend, they need more than policies and manual approvals. Thanks to Arkestro’s Three Sciences Framework, by combining predictive intelligence with spend governance technology, teams can avoid rogue purchases before they happen. Here’s how it works:

Negotiation Science

Negotiation science keeps every purchase request grounded in realistic pricing. It gives teams the guidance they need to make smart decisions up front, reducing overspending and keeping budgets on track.

Supplier Science

Procurement automatically receives recommendations on the best supplier, so buying stays on track without slowing down the team. It takes the guesswork out of sourcing and makes compliance nearly effortless.

Process Science

Automated controls catch issues before spend goes even the slightest bit off track. Instead of chasing problems after the fact, teams can enforce rules in real time, holding maverick spend elimination to the original source.

Process Science in Action: Automated Controls That Eliminate Unauthorized Purchasing

The key to eliminating spend leakage is staying one step ahead. With Process Science and procurement compliance automation, teams can prevent problems before they occur and significantly reduce unauthorized purchasing.

Here’s what that looks like in day-to-day operations:

• Automatic event creation: Purchasing events are triggered automatically based on demand, so nothing slips through the cracks, and every request is accounted for from the start.
• Real-time price validation: Suggested pricing and live price checks make costs more fair, compliant, and aligned with budgets.
• Preferred supplier routing: Buyers connect with the right suppliers automatically, limiting off-track spending and increasing efficiency.
• No more manual policing: Rules are enforced in real time, keeping spending on track and freeing teams from tedious oversight.

Real-Time Visibility: The Foundation for Rogue Spending Control

Successful maverick spend elimination means gaining complete clarity into contracts, suppliers, and pricing. Without this visibility, money quietly slips through the cracks. That’s why spend governance technology is so important.

Here’s how it makes a difference for procurement teams:

• Unified data: No more duplicate orders and misaligned purchases. With a unified and accurate set of purchasing information, teams can make confident decisions.
• Baselines and benchmarks: Organizations can stop inflated pricing before it happens, keeping spending predictable and within negotiated agreements.
• Predictive controls: Instead of fixing problems after the fact, teams prevent them entirely, protecting millions in revenue each year.

How Leading Enterprises Control Maverick Spend With Arkestro

Top-performing organizations are proving that automated procurement compliance is vital to rogue spending control. By combining automation with predictive guidance, teams can work faster, make smarter decisions, and reduce costly errors. In fact, enterprises using these tools are seeing up to 59% less loss from maverick spend, reclaiming significant revenue that would have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

Here’s how some of the world’s leading enterprises are reducing maverick spend with Arkestro:

Faster Cycle Times

Automation takes over repetitive, manual tasks like approvals, event creation, and routing, so procurement teams can focus on higher-value work. Requests move through the system more quickly, delays are minimized, and buyers get what they need without having to jump through extra hoops. The result is smoother operations and faster turnaround across the enterprise.

Fewer Errors and Higher Compliance

Predictive guidance helps buyers make the right choices every time. They’re automatically routed to approved suppliers, guided to the correct pricing, and encouraged to avoid off-policy purchases. These features cut down on mistakes and increase policy adherence, making it easier to control rogue spending.

Smarter, Cost-Effective Decisions

By combining automation with real-time, predictive insight, organizations can spot potential issues before they happen. Teams reduce unnecessary spend, maintain tighter control over budgets, and increase predictability, making true maverick spend elimination more practical and measurable.

How To Measure Progress and Prove Value

Measuring the impact of your efforts is just as important as putting the controls in place. Here are some clear, easy-to-track metrics that prove the value of maverick spend elimination:

• Percentage of purchases routed through preferred suppliers: The higher the percentage, the fewer off-track purchases slip through, and the more controlled your spend becomes.
• Reduction in price variance: Smaller variance means buyers are following guidelines, preventing overspending, and keeping budgets predictable.
• Number of autonomous vs. manual events: More autonomous events mean fewer errors, faster processing, and a stronger grip on spend governance.

Take Control of Maverick Spend Today

Maverick spend doesn’t have to be a mystery or a drain on your revenue. Some of the world’s biggest companies are using automation, predictive intelligence, and real-time controls to stop leaks before they happen.

Learning how to eliminate maverick spending starts with knowing exactly where your money is at risk. Request a spend analysis with Arkestro today. We’ll help you quantify your maverick spend exposure and build a clear elimination roadmap so you can take control now and turn potential losses into measurable savings.