Tail Spend Management
Send us the small, one-off buys your teams make from hundreds of suppliers. We source, order and deliver them on one PO.
- Calibration weightsLab supplier$186.40
CardOn PO 20431 - Replacement pump sealManufacturer$412.50
Online checkoutOn PO 20431 - Safety signage, set of 12Online store$238.00
Expense reportOn PO 20431 - Battery chargerRegional distributor$864.90
New vendor formOn PO 20431 - Fine-tip tweezersLab supplier$74.30
CardOn PO 20431 - Gasket kitParts dealer$408.50
Expense reportOn PO 20431
became one supplier
Tail spend
The small purchases that add up
Tail spend is the long list of low-value, one-off purchases made outside your main suppliers: the part the warehouse needs today, the tweezers the lab needs this week.
Each one is small. Together they mean hundreds of suppliers, card statements and expense reports, and spend that never shows up in one place.
- 6suppliers hold most of the spend
- 42suppliers make up the tail
- 1Spotbuy request covers it
The hidden cost
Where tail spend costs you
The price of the item is rarely the problem. The cost is in everything around it.
Card charges
Small buys go on purchasing cards, and someone has to match every receipt to a cost center.
Receipts to reconcileExpense reports
Staff buy the part themselves to keep work moving, then wait weeks to be paid back.
Claims to approveNew vendor setup
One purchase can mean a vendor form, a W-9, a bank record and a credit check for a supplier you may never use again.
Records to createOrder follow-up
Tracking, late shipments, wrong parts and returns, chased one supplier at a time.
Orders to chaseBuying outside the system
When an item is not in the catalog, people buy it somewhere else and the spend never reaches your reports.
Spend you cannot seeBuyer time
Your buyers spend hours finding, quoting and chasing purchases worth a few hundred dollars.
Hours off strategic work
How Spotbuy handles it
Hand the whole tail to one team
Spotbuy takes one-off purchases off your desk, from the first request to the final invoice.
- 1
Send the request
A part number, a photo or a rough description. One item or fifty.
- 2
We source it
We search more than 2,500 suppliers, manufacturers and open-market channels.
- 3
Approve one quote
One clear, itemized quote with total cost and lead time.
- 4
PO in your system
You approve and issue the purchase order the way you do today.
- 5
We deliver
We place the order, deliver to the address you name and watch tracking.
- 6
One invoice
You pay one supplier, against one PO. We sort out any issues.
One supplier
One supplier instead of hundreds
Set up Hubzone Depot once. Every small purchase after that comes from the same supplier: one vendor record, one purchase order process, one place to ask about an order.
When a supplier will not open an account for one order, or only sells through an online checkout, we place the order for you. You never set that supplier up.
- Lab supply
- Fasteners
- Signage
- Calibration
- Safety
- Packaging
- Electrical
- Janitorial
- Pumps
- Valves
- Hand tools
- Printing
- Batteries
- Filters
- Hoses
- Bearings
- Uniforms
- Lighting
- Adhesives
- Gaskets
- Cables
- Training kits
- Test meters
- First aid
- Hydraulics
- Welding
- Shelving
- Toner
- Tarps
- Ladders
- Sealants
- Wheels
- Relays
- Gloves
- Labels
- Lab glass
- One vendor record
- One way to pay
- One place to ask about an order
36 suppliers to set up and follow up1 supplier for every small purchase
Two ways to buy
Catalog items and everything else
Repeat items live in the Hubzone Depot marketplace, inside your own procurement system. Anything no catalog carries goes to Spotbuy. Nothing gets bought on the side.
Requests this week
- Nitrile gloves, box of 100Marketplace
- Discontinued relay, photo onlySpotbuy
- Toner for the office printerMarketplace
- Pump seal, needed by FridaySpotbuy
- Fine-tip lab tweezersMarketplace
- Props for a field training exerciseSpotbuy
- Nitrile gloves, box of 100
- Toner for the office printer
- Fine-tip lab tweezers
- Discontinued relay, photo only
- Pump seal, needed by Friday
- Props for a field training exercise
- Requests214
- Spend$143,400
- Suppliers paid1
- Maintenance and repair parts$48,200
- Lab and scientific$31,750
- Safety and PPE$22,400
- Facilities$18,900
- IT and office$12,300
- Training and field supplies$9,850
Reporting
See every small purchase
Every request, quote and order is recorded, so the tail finally shows up in your reports: what was bought, in which category, and what it cost.
Hubzone Depot is an SBA-certified HUBZone and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB), so those purchases also count as certified small business spend toward a prime contractor’s subcontracting goals.
Spotbuy services
More ways Spotbuy takes buying off your desk
Spotbuy
One-off and urgent purchases, sourced from more than 2,500 suppliers and quoted fast.
Non-catalog procurement
Items no catalog carries, bought through your own approvals and purchase orders.
RFQ sourcing services
We write and send the RFQs, compare the answers and bring you one recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
What is tail spend management?
Tail spend management is how an organization controls its low-value, one-off purchases: the many small buys from suppliers it rarely uses. Done well, it cuts the time, supplier records and card transactions those purchases take, and brings the spend back into your reports.
What counts as tail spend?
Purchases that are small, infrequent or outside your usual suppliers: replacement parts, lab consumables, safety items, signage, tools, training supplies, and anything bought once on a card or an expense report.
How does Spotbuy handle tail spend?
Send each request to us with a part number, a photo or a description. We source it from more than 2,500 suppliers and send one quote. Once you issue a purchase order, we place the order, deliver it and invoice you against that PO.
Do we have to set up every supplier?
No. You set up Hubzone Depot once. We buy from the supplier, so you never create a vendor record for a one-time purchase.
Can you deliver to our sites, including government sites?
Yes. We ship to the address you name, including government locations, and watch tracking until the order arrives.
What can you buy?
If a civilian business can buy it, we can source it: parts, equipment, supplies and one-off items that no catalog carries.
Does it work with our procurement system?
Yes. You approve quotes and issue purchase orders in your own system. For repeat items, the Hubzone Depot marketplace works inside 32 procurement systems, including SAP Ariba, Coupa, JAGGAER and Oracle.
Does tail spend through Hubzone Depot count as small business spend?
Hubzone Depot is an SBA-certified HUBZone and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). Purchases from us are purchases from a certified small business, which prime contractors can count toward their small business, HUBZone and WOSB subcontracting goals.
How do we get started?
Book a call and tell us about the small purchases your teams make today. We will show you how to send them to Spotbuy.
More resources
Get in touch
Need personalized assistance? Send us a message and our team will get back to you.
