What’s the secret to optimizing tail spend? At DPW 2024, Simfoni joined forces with International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Kearney to share how they’re driving procurement transformation with cutting-edge digital solutions and strategic change management. If you missed it, not to worry! Here’s a recap of the key takeaways, with insights you can use to supercharge your procurement strategy.
Understanding Tail Spend: A Hidden Opportunity
What is tail spend, really? For many organizations, tail spend consists of unmanaged purchases spread across countless suppliers and departments. As Remko de Bruijn, Senior Partner at Kearney explained, tail spend often slips through the cracks because it’s decentralized, hard to handle with unstructured data.
For IFF, a global leader in specialty chemicals related to flavors, fragrances, and cosmetic ingredients, tail spend was creating significant inefficiencies, risk, supplier duplication and payment headaches with a sub-optimal user experience from “rogue spend”. Tackling this challenge required a comprehensive approach—not just a new digital platform but a real internal transformation.
The IFF Journey: From Chaos to Control
Bram Heijblom, Senior Manager Procurement Process Improvement at IFF, outlined how IFF’s partnership with Simfoni and Kearney redefined their approach to indirect procurement. Instead of just adding more resources or settling for partial ‘band aid’ fixes like payment cards, IFF sought an end-to-end solution to address the tail once and for all.
Their goals?
- Reduce supplier complexity
- Streamline payment processes
- Improve spend visibility and compliance
- Bring more spend under category management
- Unlock cost savings in unmanaged spend
The decision to partner with Simfoni to achieve these goals was due to its AI-powered platform that delivered rapid ROI, while Kearney’s expert change management ensured global adoption.
Watch the Panel Session: Simfoni & IFF at DPW Amsterdam 2024"
Discover how Simfoni’s digital solution, in partnership with Kearney, helps manage tail spend, reduce supplier risk, and support ESG goals. Learn from IFF’s success in optimizing indirect spend with AI-powered automation for rapid ROI and improved category management.
Read more: Guide to AI in Procurement
Winning Strategies: Simfoni & Kearney’s Recipe for Success
During implementation, IFF’s strategy boiled down to these essentials:
Collaboration Across Teams: Close alignment between procurement, category management, and the Procurement Center of Excellence (COE) to ensure the solution met IFF’s strategic goals.
Change Management: As Remko noted, “It’s all about behavior change.” By addressing stakeholder complexities and engaging end users, IFF was able to scale adoption across its global operations.
Quick Wins for Buy-In: Early savings and happy users created momentum for further rollouts.
Results Worth Talking About
The impact of Simfoni’s solution at IFF has been game-changing:
- Surprising ROI: Significant savings already achieved, with more expected as we activate new territories with strong adoption.
- Simplified Processes: Fewer suppliers, streamlined payments, and enhanced visibility into spend.
- Global Scalability: A phased rollout plan aims to extend the solution across all IFF entities within two years.
As Bram shared, “We’re seeing reduced effort and faster results because we’ve partnered with a specialized solution with Simfoni.”
Lessons for Leaders
For companies looking to tackle their own tail spend, here’s what the panel recommends:e.
- Adopt a Holistic Approach: Tail spend isn’t just a procurement problem—it requires collaboration, change management, and strategic alignment of key stakeholders across departments to get users what they need in the shortest possible time and at the best value.
- Focus on User Experience: A user-friendly platform is key to scaling adoption beyond procurement teams.
- Partner for Success: The right combination of technology and expertise makes all the difference.
Want to Learn More?
This session was packed with insights that could transform your procurement strategy. Curious about IFF’s journey and how Simfoni can help you?
Don’t let tail spend weigh your organization down—take control with a solution that works for your team, helps meet your spend management goals with a rapid ROI. Let’s get started!
