The number of Tail Spend items will typically vary widely. A turbine manufacturer might have over 130,000 such items while a bank will have much less. By its volume and complexity, most procurement functions devote little attention to managing tail spend. Typically, this will involve  vast number of transactions, many product categories and  significant largely anonymous supplier base. This level of complexity requires a lot of resources which most sourcing functions don’t have. Additionally, Tail items are not a priority. They are usually procured only 2 to 3 years, so they are often overlooked during discussions with suppliers. Sourcing managers usually focus more instead on the strategic spend; the 20% of suppliers that account for 80% of total Spend volume. Using a professional company with demonstrated performance record for handling Tail Spend can eliminate the entire challenge, it does cut costs, optimize savings and provide better economies of scale.