{"id":43455,"date":"2026-08-06T08:22:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T08:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/?p=43455"},"modified":"2026-08-11T12:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:08:12","slug":"episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 7 &#8211; The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"43455\" class=\"elementor elementor-43455\" data-elementor-settings=\"[]\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-section-wrap\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b54d2ac elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b54d2ac\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-d1c1706\" data-id=\"d1c1706\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f3d49b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f3d49b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_61 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" >Inhaltsverzeichnis<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #000000;color:#000000\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#The_What_What_Are_Maverick_and_Tail_Spend\" title=\"The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend? \">The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend? <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#The_Why_Why_Does_This_Matter\" title=\"The Why: Why Does This Matter? \">The Why: Why Does This Matter? <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#The_Where_Where_Does_This_Spend_Usually_Hide\" title=\"The Where: Where Does This Spend Usually Hide? \">The Where: Where Does This Spend Usually Hide? <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#The_How_How_Do_You_Identify_It\" title=\"The How: How Do You Identify It? \">The How: How Do You Identify It? <\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#The_Payoff\" title=\"The Payoff \">The Payoff <\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_What_What_Are_Maverick_and_Tail_Spend\"><\/span>The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend? <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-18923bb elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"18923bb\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-71410ba\" data-id=\"71410ba\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-51f2907 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"51f2907\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Maverick spend is any purchase made outside the approved process: an unapproved supplier, no purchase order, a corporate card used for something it was never meant to cover. The purchase itself might be reasonable. The way it happened is the problem.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tail\u00a0spend\u00a0is different.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0the\u00a0long list\u00a0of suppliers who each get a small, infrequent order: a specialist part twice a\u00a0year,\u00a0a local vendor used once, a dozen sites all buying\u00a0more or less the\u00a0same paper and toner from different suppliers. No single transaction is worth chasing.\u00a0Added up\u00a0across hundreds of suppliers, it usually is.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The two overlap constantly. A one-off purchase from an unapproved supplier is both at once: small enough to be tail spend,\u00a0off-process\u00a0enough to be maverick spend. But\u00a0they&#8217;re\u00a0not the same problem, and they\u00a0don&#8217;t\u00a0take the same fix. Maverick spend responds to compliance controls and guided buying. Tail spend responds to consolidation and catalogues. Treat them as one\u00a0thing\u00a0and\u00a0you&#8217;ll\u00a0apply the wrong fix to at least half of what you find.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e955aae elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e955aae\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-9544294\" data-id=\"9544294\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d7c9395 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d7c9395\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Why_Why_Does_This_Matter\"><\/span>The Why: Why Does This Matter? <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4c0464a elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"4c0464a\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-08ca21e\" data-id=\"08ca21e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-073be08 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"073be08\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Neither one shows up in a review of the top twenty suppliers, which is exactly why both go unmanaged for years.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Off-contract purchases mean the pricing and\u00a0terms\u00a0procurement negotiated aren&#8217;t actually being used, which quietly erodes savings that were already claimed as won. A supplier base padded with hundreds of low-value vendors costs money in onboarding, invoicing, and admin long before you get to\u00a0what&#8217;s\u00a0actually being\u00a0bought. And a category running\u00a0twenty five\u00a0or forty suppliers for broadly the same thing is a clear sign demand has never been aggregated, which means procurement has never negotiated from its real volume in that category.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">None of\u00a0it\u00a0is dramatic on its own.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0the kind of leakage that only becomes visible once someone goes looking for it.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e43cf38 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e43cf38\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-fdc9543\" data-id=\"fdc9543\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-11fb6e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"11fb6e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Where_Where_Does_This_Spend_Usually_Hide\"><\/span>The Where: Where Does This Spend Usually Hide? <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-eeba9e6 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"eeba9e6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-c7b73c1\" data-id=\"c7b73c1\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d973a9e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d973a9e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Corporate cards<\/strong><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Purchases made outside procurement&#8217;s view entirely, often the\u00a0first place\u00a0maverick spend accumulates.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong>Split transactions<\/strong><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Purchases broken into smaller amounts to stay under an approval threshold, sometimes deliberate, often just habit.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong>Unapproved or duplicate suppliers<\/strong><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> The same supplier entered under three slightly different names across systems, which also fragments spend data and hides true supplier concentration.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong>Categories with too many suppliers<\/strong><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Twenty five vendors for office supplies or forty for maintenance is rarely a sign of choice. It&#8217;s usually a sign nobody has ever compared notes across sites or business units.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong>Similar purchases under different descriptions<\/strong><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> &#8220;Printer paper,&#8221; &#8220;A4 copy paper,&#8221; and &#8220;office printing paper&#8221; are likely the same requirement, recorded three ways, each reset back to looking like small, disconnected demand.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><strong>One-time suppliers<\/strong><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> Vendors used once and never reviewed again, individually harmless, collectively a large share of the supplier base.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-aa11443 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"aa11443\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-6769c87\" data-id=\"6769c87\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a10e7ad elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a10e7ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_How_How_Do_You_Identify_It\"><\/span>The How: How Do You Identify It? <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-380291d elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"380291d\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-7f26ca2\" data-id=\"7f26ca2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-325500d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"325500d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Pull the data together. Purchase orders, invoices, requisitions, card statements, supplier records, and contract data, in one place, covering enough history to see patterns rather than isolated transactions.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Clean it before\u00a0analysing\u00a0it.\u00a0Standardise\u00a0supplier names, categories, and business units first. Until &#8220;ABC Technologies Ltd,&#8221; &#8220;ABC Tech,&#8221; and &#8220;ABC Technologies&#8221; are\u00a0recognised\u00a0as one supplier, every number downstream is wrong.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Check\u00a0spend\u00a0against approved contracts. Flag anything with no contract reference, an unapproved supplier, or terms that fall outside what was negotiated. A simple compliance rate, spend outside approved channels divided by total addressable spend, tracked by category rather than as one company-wide figure, usually surfaces where the real problem sits.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Look at fragmentation, not just value. A supplier billing a small amount for a\u00a0component\u00a0with no alternative source is strategic, not tail spend. Three hundred suppliers each billing a small amount for interchangeable goods is the opportunity.\u00a0Value and strategic importance have to be weighed together.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ask why, not just who. Maverick spend is rarely deliberate. More often the approved supplier\u00a0didn&#8217;t\u00a0stock what was needed, the requisition process was too slow, or nobody told the requisitioner which supplier to use. Fix the gap and a lot of the maverick spend resolves on its own.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Segment what you find. High-value maverick\u00a0spend\u00a0needs enforcement. Low-value maverick spend needs guided buying. Fragmented tail spend needs consolidation. Strategic tail spend needs to be left alone and managed deliberately, not swept into a cost-cutting exercise.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Reevaluate on a schedule. New suppliers get added, contracts lapse, habits drift. A tail spend review done once and never repeated is out of date within a year.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b984f56 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b984f56\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-9fece0e\" data-id=\"9fece0e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cae0a3d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cae0a3d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Payoff\"><\/span>The Payoff <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3dfc8f6 elementor-section-height-min-height elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-items-middle\" data-id=\"3dfc8f6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated elementor-element elementor-element-6b07247\" data-id=\"6b07247\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b683dbc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b683dbc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW88916727 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW88916727 BCX8\">Maverick and tail spend both hide in the same place: outside the categories anyone is actively managing. Neither requires a new system to find, just clean data, a comparison against what was\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2Themed SCXW88916727 BCX8\">actually negotiated<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW88916727 BCX8\">, and a willingness to look past the suppliers everyone already knows about. Get that visibility once, act on what it shows, and keep checking.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW88916727 BCX8\">That&#8217;s<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW88916727 BCX8\">\u00a0most of what separates spend that stays under control from\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2Themed SCXW88916727 BCX8\">spend<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW88916727 BCX8\">\u00a0that quietly grows back every year.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP Selected SCXW88916727 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend? Maverick spend is any purchase made outside the approved process: an unapproved supplier, no purchase order, a corporate card used for something it was never meant to cover. The purchase itself might be reasonable. The way it happened is the problem. Tail\u00a0spend\u00a0is different.\u00a0It&#8217;s\u00a0the\u00a0long list\u00a0of suppliers who each&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Episode 7 &#8211; The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend?<\/span> weiterlesen<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":123461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-merlin","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Episode 4 : How to Conduct a Supplier Evaluation How to Identify Maverick and Tail Spend in Procurement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Maverick spend and tail spend look similar but need different fixes. Learn how to find both, why they matter, and how to bring them under control\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Episode 4 : How to Conduct a Supplier Evaluation How to Identify Maverick and Tail Spend in Procurement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maverick spend and tail spend look similar but need different fixes. Learn how to find both, why they matter, and how to bring them under control\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MeRLIN\u202f\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MeRLINstrategicsourcing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-06T08:22:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-11T12:08:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/merlin.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"964\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Janani Sankaran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MeRLINsourcing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MeRLINsourcing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Janani Sankaran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Janani Sankaran\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/e567f9e7bcb2417c37726a312e17c7e5\"},\"headline\":\"Episode 7 &#8211; The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-06T08:22:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-11T12:08:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\"},\"wordCount\":835,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Merlin\"],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\",\"name\":\"Episode 4 : How to Conduct a Supplier Evaluation How to Identify Maverick and Tail Spend in Procurement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-06T08:22:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-11T12:08:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Maverick spend and tail spend look similar but need different fixes. Learn how to find both, why they matter, and how to bring them under control\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Episode 7 &#8211; The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/\",\"name\":\"MeRLIN\u202f\",\"description\":\"Strategic Sourcing Simplified\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MeRLIN\u202f\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"MeRLIN\u202f\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MeRLINstrategicsourcing\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeRLINsourcing\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/e567f9e7bcb2417c37726a312e17c7e5\",\"name\":\"Janani Sankaran\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb87511619773166ce688ebdf9432b46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb87511619773166ce688ebdf9432b46?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Janani Sankaran\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/author\/janani-sankaranrheincs-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Episode 4 : How to Conduct a Supplier Evaluation How to Identify Maverick and Tail Spend in Procurement","description":"Maverick spend and tail spend look similar but need different fixes. Learn how to find both, why they matter, and how to bring them under control","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Episode 4 : How to Conduct a Supplier Evaluation How to Identify Maverick and Tail Spend in Procurement","og_description":"Maverick spend and tail spend look similar but need different fixes. Learn how to find both, why they matter, and how to bring them under control","og_url":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/","og_site_name":"MeRLIN\u202f","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MeRLINstrategicsourcing","article_published_time":"2026-08-06T08:22:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-11T12:08:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":964,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/merlin.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Janani Sankaran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MeRLINsourcing","twitter_site":"@MeRLINsourcing","twitter_misc":{"Verfasst von":"Janani Sankaran","Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/"},"author":{"name":"Janani Sankaran","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/e567f9e7bcb2417c37726a312e17c7e5"},"headline":"Episode 7 &#8211; The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend?","datePublished":"2026-08-06T08:22:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-11T12:08:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/"},"wordCount":835,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Merlin"],"inLanguage":"de-DE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/","url":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/","name":"Episode 4 : How to Conduct a Supplier Evaluation How to Identify Maverick and Tail Spend in Procurement","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-06T08:22:18+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-11T12:08:12+00:00","description":"Maverick spend and tail spend look similar but need different fixes. Learn how to find both, why they matter, and how to bring them under control","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/episode-7-the-what-what-are-maverick-and-tail-spend\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Episode 7 &#8211; The What: What Are Maverick and Tail Spend?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#website","url":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/","name":"MeRLIN\u202f","description":"Strategic Sourcing Simplified","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#organization","name":"MeRLIN\u202f","url":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"MeRLIN\u202f"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MeRLINstrategicsourcing","https:\/\/twitter.com\/MeRLINsourcing"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/e567f9e7bcb2417c37726a312e17c7e5","name":"Janani Sankaran","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb87511619773166ce688ebdf9432b46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb87511619773166ce688ebdf9432b46?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Janani Sankaran"},"url":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/blog\/author\/janani-sankaranrheincs-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43455"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43462,"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43455\/revisions\/43462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/merlinsourcing.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}