Spend Analysis is all about data quality
Unless you have the foundations in place to aggregate, classify and enrich your spend data, precious little can be achieved from analyzing the same. The key to improving Spend Data Quality lies in proper classification (categorization) of every spend transaction, so you have item level visibility into every dollar that you spend.

The challenge is to classify vast amounts of data, consistently, accurately and granularly, at a cost that is affordable. The solution lies in auto-classification software - a tool so powerful that you can 'automatically' classify any kind of spend data (master data, supplier data and transaction data) into granular UNSPSC. No limit on data volumes, no limit on languages, no limit on usage - the TCO just cannot get any lower

Why do I have a spend data quality problem?

• Spending happens through disparate systems in your enterprise, and there is no way to consistently capture the transaction description and category code of purchase, in each system.
• Vendor masters are cleaned via services from a content provider. You get supplier level visibility, but still don’t know what “items” you are buying from these suppliers.
• Transactions descriptions contain material group codes, but often these codes are inconsistent across disparate systems and lack much needed detail.
• Catalog purchases are abysmally low, and most free text requisitions made are not coded properly by buyers.
  

AUTO-CLASSIFICATION – helps 'fix' spend data quality-
It does not matter where you fix your spend data classification problem, as long as you fix it-
POA (point of analysis) – If you are already aggregating your 'historical' data from multiple systems at one central point (data mart or warehouse), ensure that you accurately RE-CLASSIFY all the transaction items, shunting the aggregated data through an auto-classification tool.

POP (point of purchase) – If you would like to address your data classification challenge at source, embed an auto-classification tool that accurately classifies every transaction created on your eProcurement system, catalog buy, punch-out or free text requisitions.

How does this work?
POA - Easy to use auto-classification software plugs into an existing IT infrastructure, and is able to classify thousands of transaction line items in very little time. The software ships with 'built in' model to classify items based on their descriptions, and even learns along the way (leveraging AI)

When embedded within an e-Procurement system, this software intelligently understands what the 'buyer' is trying to purchase, and prompts the correct UNSPSC code on the fly.

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