Indirect procurement covers goods and services that support the organization but are not incorporated directly into its primary product or delivery output. Common categories can include facilities, technology, professional services, travel, or office needs. The boundary varies by business, and indirect spend can still carry material financial, operational, security, privacy, and supplier risks.
In plain English
It buys what the organization needs to operate rather than what becomes part of its core product.
Illustrative example
At Northstar Industrial Systems, the team sources cybersecurity services and facility maintenance as indirect categories with different risk and approval requirements.
- Related terms
- Direct procurement; Category management; Tail spend; Services procurement
- Lifecycle stages
- Strategy; Source; Execute
- Stakeholders
- Procurement; Finance; Operations; IT and Security