INDIRECT SPEND SURVEY
52% of organizations estimate more than a quarter of their indirect spend is unmanaged or under-optimized
Indirect categories sit outside most teams’ daily focus, and plenty of value goes unclaimed as a result. To find out how much, Art of Procurement recently surveyed procurement and business leaders on behalf of Una, asking what share of their indirect spend they believe is unmanaged or under-optimized.
Hatched bars mark estimates of unmanaged spend throughout this page.
Key Findings
The bigger the spend, the bigger the gap
The challenge grows with total spend. Among organizations at $25M or more, 61% put the unmanaged share above a quarter, compared with 29% of smaller spenders, and nearly one in four of the larger group puts it above half.
Share of organizations estimating unmanaged indirect spend above each level, by annual indirect spend.
| Unmanaged share | Share of organizations |
|---|---|
| More than 10% unmanaged | 71% |
| More than 25% | 29% |
| More than 50% | 0% |
| Unmanaged share | Share of organizations |
|---|---|
| More than 10% unmanaged | 90% |
| More than 25% | 61% |
| More than 50% | 22% |
The GPO benefits buyers value the most
When asked which benefits would most influence a GPO partnership, buyers put savings first by a wide margin, followed by the visibility and benchmarking that show where the savings are.
Share of respondents ranking each benefit in their top three
| Benefit | Ranked in top three |
|---|---|
| Cost savings | 96% |
| Spend visibility | 67% |
| Supplier benchmarking | 60% |
| A dedicated relationship | 39% |
81% ranked cost savings as their number one benefit, and 37% placed cost savings, spend visibility and supplier benchmarking together in their top three.
Most organizations already use a GPO, and the rest face a familiar set of barriers
Group purchasing is well established among the organizations we surveyed, and many work with more than one partner. For those still without one, the reasons they give for unmanaged spend are largely about capacity.
already work with at least one GPO or purchasing cooperative
have no GPO relationship yet
How many GPO partners organizations work with
| Number of partners | All organizations | GPO users |
|---|---|---|
| Two or more | 42% | 68% |
| Four or more | 15% | 24% |
38%
have no GPO relationship yet. Among them, 55% estimate more than a quarter of their indirect spend is unmanaged, and 23% estimate more than half.
- More than 25% unmanaged55%
- More than 50% unmanaged23%
Why spend goes unmanaged in organizations without a GPO
| Reason | Share of organizations without a GPO |
|---|---|
| Not enough team bandwidth | |
| Lack of spend visibility | |
| No internal mandate or executive priority | |
| Constrained budget for tools or support |
Find the indirect spend your team hasn't had time to manage.
Una membership is free, with no commitments. Our team works as an extension of yours, bringing unmanaged categories under contract and taking sourcing work off your plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
About this research
Source: Art of Procurement survey of 60 respondents, on behalf of Una. Respondents include 25 CPOs and Heads of Procurement, 21 members of procurement leadership teams and 8 in other roles such as CEO, COO and Vendor and Contract Management Director, while 6 did not give a role.
53% work at companies with revenue of $1B or more, and 63% manage $50M or more of indirect spend a year. Percentages are based on the number of respondents who answered each question, and indirect spend figures are respondent estimates.
Una is a group purchasing organization based near Kansas City. Membership is free, with no commitments, and gives organizations access to negotiated supplier contracts across indirect categories.
How to cite this research
Una, “2026 Indirect Spend Survey,” conducted by Art of Procurement, November 2026, https://una.com/indirect-spend-survey/