Corporate sourcing and procurement organizations should always look for opportunities to introduce efficiencies, reduce costs, as well as negotiate desirable terms with vendors and suppliers. These opportunities are revealed in a number of different ways, such as demand aggregation, improved supplier performance assessment, assurance of regulatory compliance, determination of rebates and refunds, and identification of noncompliant spend.

However, few companies have the ability to gain a comprehensive perspective of the products and services purchased and their associated providers. This confounds the ability to identify opportunities for improvement, and wasteful and dupl...