What is Tail Spend?

Tail spend used to be defined as high-volume, low-value transactions that were not managed by procurement, however, the definition has changed over the years. Today, the term better refers to ad hoc spending and uncategorized supplier purchases that are low in volume, frequency or value. Therefore, most companies don’t prioritize tail spend management.

Poor data visibility into the vast number of transactions and the involvement of manual labor make tail spend management tedious and challenging. But with the shift to automation — driven primarily by next-generation digital technologies — companies are starting to look at the significant cost savings that come with end-to-end visibility. Read more to learn about GEP’s tail management services and solutions.