Maverick spending remains one of the most persistent challenges in enterprise procurement. Despite policy documents, training programmes, and management directives, employees across organisations continue to purchase outside approved channels, eroding negotiated savings and introducing unnecessary risk. The solution is not more policy — it is better controls embedded at the point of purchase.
This practical guide outlines a step-by-step approach to reducing maverick spending through catalogue controls in Oracle Fusion Cloud.
Understanding Where Maverick Spending Occurs
Before implementing controls, you need to understand the current state. Maverick spending manifests in several forms, and each requires a different response.
Off-catalogue purchasing. Users create free-text requisitions for items that exist in the catalogue, either because they do not know the item is available or because they find the catalogue difficult to use.
Off-contract purchasing. Users purchase from non-contracted suppliers, often because the contracted supplier is not in the catalogue or because the user has a personal preference for an alternative.
Tail spend leakage. Low-value, high-frequency purchases are made through petty cash, corporate credit cards, or expense claims without going through the procurement system at all.
Scope creep. Users purchase items that are technically in an approved category but at specifications, quantities, or price points outside what the policy intended.
Conduct a Spend Analysis
Start with data. Pull purchasing data from Oracle Fusion and your accounts payable system to quantify the extent and distribution of maverick spending. Look at:
- Total spend through the catalogue versus outside the catalogue
- Free-text requisition volume and value
- Purchases from non-contracted suppliers
- Credit card and expense claim spend on items that could be purchased through procurement
- Categories with the highest concentration of off-contract purchasing
This analysis establishes your baseline and identifies the highest-value opportunities for catalogue intervention.
Step 1: Expand Catalogue Coverage
The most common reason for maverick spending is simple: the item the user needs is not in the catalogue. If your catalogue covers only 40 percent of what people regularly buy, you are effectively forcing 60 percent of purchases off-contract.
Identify coverage gaps. Use your spend analysis to find categories where significant spend occurs outside the catalogue. Prioritise gaps based on spend volume and compliance risk.
Add high-demand items. Work with suppliers to add commonly purchased items that are currently missing. Focus on the items that drive the most free-text requisitions.
Include services. Many catalogues focus exclusively on goods and neglect services — IT consulting, facilities maintenance, temporary staffing, and other service categories. Services often represent a large portion of total spend and are frequently purchased off-contract. Use smart forms and service catalogue entries to bring these categories into the catalogue.
Expand gradually. You do not need 100 percent catalogue coverage on day one. Target 80 percent coverage of addressable spend categories as an initial milestone, then expand from there.
Step 2: Improve the User Experience
If the catalogue is difficult to use, users will find easier alternatives. Invest in making the catalogue the path of least resistance.
Optimise search. Configure search to handle synonyms, abbreviations, and common misspellings. If users search for "laptop" but items are listed as "notebook computer," the search should still return relevant results.
Simplify navigation. Review your category hierarchy from the user's perspective. Can a non-procurement person intuitively find what they need within three clicks? If not, restructure.
Enable favourites and reordering. Allow users to save frequently purchased items and reorder with minimal effort. For consumable items that are purchased regularly, this feature alone can dramatically reduce the temptation to order from external sources.
Provide clear item information. Each catalogue item should have a clear description, an image where practical, accurate pricing, and expected delivery timeframes. Uncertainty drives users to check external sources, and once they are looking externally, the risk of off-catalogue purchasing increases.
The Catalogue solution from Sharpe Project Consulting is specifically designed to deliver this kind of user experience within Oracle Fusion Cloud.
Step 3: Restrict Free-Text Requisitioning
Free-text requisitions are the primary escape valve for maverick spending. While eliminating them entirely may not be practical, you can make them the exception rather than the norm.
Require justification. Configure Oracle Fusion to require a business justification for any free-text requisition line. The simple act of requiring an explanation deters casual off-catalogue purchasing.
Add approval steps. Route free-text requisitions through additional approval layers. If a catalogue-based requisition requires one approval but a free-text requisition requires two or three, users will prefer the catalogue path.
Set value thresholds. Consider blocking free-text requisitions above a certain value threshold. High-value purchases should always go through formal sourcing or catalogue channels.
Monitor and report. Track free-text requisition volume as a key metric. Share reports with department heads showing their team's free-text usage compared to catalogue usage. Visibility creates accountability.
Step 4: Implement Guided Buying
Guided buying uses catalogue intelligence to steer users toward compliant choices.
Preferred item flagging. Mark preferred or best-value items in the catalogue so they stand out in search results. Users are more likely to select an item that is highlighted as the recommended option.
Alternative suggestions. When a user attempts to create a free-text requisition, show them catalogue alternatives that might meet their needs. "Did you know this item is available in the catalogue from an approved supplier?"
Policy reminders. Display relevant policy information at the point of purchase. A simple message like "Your organisation has a preferred supplier agreement for this category" can be enough to redirect behaviour.
Step 5: Address Tail Spend
Tail spend — the long tail of low-value purchases that often escape procurement controls — requires a different approach.
Corporate card integration. If your organisation uses corporate purchasing cards, integrate card transactions with catalogue controls. Some organisations implement virtual card solutions linked to Oracle Fusion that route card purchases through catalogue-based approval workflows.
Marketplace approach. For categories with very high transaction volumes and low individual values, consider a marketplace-style catalogue experience that makes small purchases fast and easy while maintaining visibility and control.
Expense policy alignment. Ensure that expense reimbursement policies align with procurement policies. If an item is available in the catalogue, it should not be eligible for expense claim reimbursement.
Step 6: Measure, Report, and Iterate
Reducing maverick spending is an ongoing effort, not a one-time project. Establish a measurement framework and review it regularly.
Key metrics:
- Maverick spend as a percentage of total addressable spend
- Catalogue adoption rate (catalogue requisitions vs total requisitions)
- Free-text requisition ratio
- Contract compliance rate
- Catalogue coverage percentage
Reporting cadence. Produce monthly dashboards showing trends across these metrics. Share them with procurement leadership, finance, and department heads.
Continuous improvement. Use the data to identify emerging gaps and address them. If maverick spending increases in a particular category, investigate why — is there a catalogue coverage gap, a user experience issue, or a policy enforcement gap?
The Organisational Dimension
Technical controls are necessary but not sufficient. Reducing maverick spending also requires organisational commitment.
Executive sponsorship. Visible leadership support for catalogue-based purchasing signals that compliance matters. When the CFO or CPO communicates the importance of using approved channels, it carries weight.
Change management. Help people understand why catalogue purchasing matters — not just for the organisation, but for them. Faster approvals, fewer rejected requisitions, and simpler purchasing are genuine benefits for end users.
Recognition. Acknowledge departments and teams that achieve high catalogue adoption rates. Positive reinforcement is more effective than punitive measures.
Sharpe Project Consulting has helped organisations across Australia implement comprehensive maverick spending reduction programmes using Catalogue and the broader Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement suite. Our services team brings both the technical expertise and the change management experience needed to make catalogue controls stick.
If maverick spending is a concern for your organisation, get in touch with SPC3 to discuss a practical plan for bringing it under control.