What is Maverick Buying (Rogue Buying)?

Maverick buying, also referred to as rogue buying, is a corporate procurement practice in which employees purchase goods or services outside of established procurement policies or negotiated contracts. Maverick buying takes place outside established procurement processes and supplier agreements, often handled by individual employees rather than the procurement team. This type of purchasing can lead to inefficient processes and higher costs.

Maverick buying is the unauthorized procurement of products or services outside of established company guidelines. These are often ad hoc purchases that bypass formal procurement processes and are made without regard to existing contracts or agreements, which leads to fragmentation of the procurement process and can weaken the company’s negotiating position. Employees frequently order materials, C-parts, office supplies, or other items independently, without involving the procurement department.

Such purchases can be made through individual employee decisions or by departments bypassing established procurement channels. Specialist departments in particular often procure independently, without taking into account the procurement department or central processes. In many cases, unapproved purchases arise simply because employees are not fully aware of existing procurement policies or find the formal purchase request and purchase requisition process too cumbersome. Clear communication of responsibilities across departments is therefore essential to prevent maverick buying from taking root.

Typical causes of maverick buying include acting quickly to meet urgent needs, frustration with red tape, a lack of transparency, missing guidelines, unclear processes, or a desire for flexibility.  The consequences range from increased costs, risks, and higher total cost of ownership to a weakened supplier base and compliance issues.

Where does the term Maverick Buying come from?

The term "Maverick" is American and originally referred to unbranded cattle owned by Samuel Maverick, a Texas rancher, during the early 19th century. In a figurative sense, the expression is used for people who do not follow the rules or act unconventionally.

Identifying Maverick Buying

Maverick buying is a widespread problem in many companies, often only recognised late, with sometimes serious consequences for costs, transparency, and procurement efficiency. To identify it early, it is advisable to regularly review existing procurement processes and the strategies being applied. Monitoring purchases across different business units is essential for transparency, as maverick buying can occur in any department. A central tool for detection is the so-called maverick buying rate. It measures the share of purchases made outside approved procurement channels or without adherence to purchasing guidelines, as a proportion of the company’s total procurement volume. A low contract utilization rate is a key indicator that teams are bypassing contracts and making purchases from unapproved vendors.

Typical signs of maverick buying include orders that do not go through the central procurement system, or recurring expenditure with unlisted suppliers. An unusual accumulation of one-off orders for C-parts or services that should be covered by framework agreements can also indicate maverick buying. Comparing purchase orders and purchase requisitions with contracts and approved vendors can help identify off-contract spending and improve procurement compliance.

A key metric for measuring the extent of maverick buying is the maverick spend rate:

Maverick Spend Rate = (Maverick spend / total procurement volume) × 100

A maverick spend rate below 5% of total procurement volume is generally considered acceptable. Alongside this, the compliance rate, which measures the share of purchases that adhere to established procurement guidelines, is a critical indicator. A compliance rate above 95% is considered a sign of effective procurement controls.

Consequences of Maverick Buying

Financial Consequences

Maverick buying poses a challenge for companies as it increases costs and reduces the efficiency of the procurement process. One major consequence is that maverick buying often results in a higher price for goods and services due to the lack of negotiated discounts, leading to missed savings and inflated prices. It also undermines managing budgets by reducing transparency and control over total spend, which can cause issues with cash flow management and financial oversight.

Compliance and Operational Risks

If left unchecked, maverick buying can lead to significant financial and compliance risks, including the erosion of targeted savings as companies miss out on cost reduction opportunities and negotiated supplier discounts. Additionally, maverick buying can damage supplier relationships by purchasing from competitors of preferred suppliers, and it causes delays, errors, and omissions in financial reporting, including inaccurate invoices and untracked expenditures. Over time, this behavior can create a growth of a non-compliant corporate culture within an organization.

Further consequences include risks such as defects, poor quality, lack of transparency, and non-compliance with framework agreements or C-parts management. Adhering to framework agreements and maintaining structured C-parts management are therefore of great importance to mitigate risks and damage. Through deliberate measures to contain this behaviour, such as clear policies, improved communication, and regular training, companies can minimize the negative impact.

How can Maverick Buying be prevented?

1. Procurement Software & Policies

Companies can apply various strategies to prevent maverick buying. Procurement software helps by digitalizing and standardizing the purchasing process. This includes implementing strict purchasing policies and approval processes, promoting transparency in procurement, and training employees on the importance and benefits of following procurement procedures. For procurement professionals, establishing clear purchase requisition workflows and ensuring that purchase orders are always raised through the central system are critical first steps. Embedding these controls into a broader strategic sourcing framework helps align day-to-day purchasing decisions with long-term procurement goals.

It is also helpful to simplify and improve procurement processes to make them more user-friendly, so employees are more inclined to use them rather than act independently. Clear processes, framework agreements, and unambiguous guidelines are essential for ensuring compliance with purchasing policies. By giving procurement teams greater decision making authority and visibility over all purchasing activity, companies can better control off-contract spend.

2. Approved Vendor List

An approved vendor list is another foundational tool for preventing maverick buying. By maintaining a curated roster of pre-vetted suppliers, evaluated for quality, pricing, delivery performance, and compliance, companies can ensure that purchasing decisions remain within established boundaries. Effective C-parts management and a well-structured supplier base complement this approach, with the procurement department and specialist departments playing a central role in maintaining both. Communicating this list clearly to all employees involved in procurement, and embedding it into digital procurement workflows, significantly reduces the risk of off-contract purchases and strengthens supplier relationships over time.

3. Monitoring & Metrics

Compliance with contracts and prices can be supported by metrics such as the price compliance rate and the terms compliance rate. Regular analysis of purchasing data and monitoring of the maverick buying rate help to make uncontrolled purchasing activity visible, allowing companies to take targeted action, minimize risks, and keep costs under control. Transparent and consistent monitoring of procurement processes is therefore an important element of any successful procurement strategy.

Approaches such as fostering trust, enabling flexibility, and considering total cost of ownership are equally important for sustainably preventing maverick buying. An effective procurement strategy that takes employee needs into account can help prevent maverick buying and improve overall procurement efficiency.

4. Corrective Measures

When maverick buying is identified, corrective action should follow quickly. This includes renegotiating terms with suppliers that were engaged outside of established processes, and where appropriate, integrating them into existing supplier structures. Procurement processes may also need to be reviewed and adapted to address the root causes that led to the off-contract purchasing in the first place.

What is an example of Maverick Buying?

Maverick buying could occur, for example, in a large technology company where a project manager decides to purchase computer hardware directly from a new supplier without consulting procurement, believing this will allow faster delivery. Another common scenario is when two departments independently purchase a messaging tool, resulting in duplicate licenses, two contracts, and the need to manage two vendor relationships. This not only increases costs but also creates management complexities and potential security risks. Such situations frequently arise in the procurement of C-parts, office supplies, individual items, or similar products, when employees or departments place orders outside of established processes. However, this can lead to problems if the supplier does not meet company standards or charges higher prices than existing contracts provide for.

Current Developments

The rise of remote work and decentralised working structures has increased the difficulty of controlling maverick buying, as purchasing decisions are made further from central oversight. At the same time, digital procurement platforms and AI-powered tools are creating new opportunities to detect and prevent it. Machine learning algorithms can analyse transaction data in real time, identifying suspicious procurement patterns and flagging deviations from established processes before they escalate.

Conclusion: Maverick Buying

Maverick buying represents a significant challenge for companies, as it undermines transparency and control in the procurement process and often leads to higher costs and risks. Closely related is the issue of maverick spend, which refers to off-contract or rogue purchasing that escapes established procurement channels. Maverick spend can result in savings leakage and increased operational risks, making it a key challenge for procurement leaders.

The causes typically lie in unclear processes, poor communication, and insufficient involvement of the procurement department. To effectively prevent both maverick buying and maverick spend, clear purchasing policies, the use of procurement software, and transparent communication between specialist departments and procurement are essential. Consistent monitoring, spend analysis, and targeted measures help organizations gain visibility, improve compliance, and control off-contract purchasing. Only through these steps can procurement efficiency be improved, costs reduced, and compliance with framework agreements ensured. A structured procurement strategy therefore makes a significant contribution to reducing maverick buying and maverick spend, securing the long-term success of the company.