In biotech and life sciences, procurement is often laser-focused on big-ticket items, major equipment, strategic supplier contracts, and high-value reagents. But lurking beneath the surface is a hidden challenge that quietly drains time, money, and resources: tail spend.
It’s the kind of spend that doesn’t make headlines but adds up fast. Think lab consumables ordered from dozens of vendors, one-off purchases of maintenance services, or ad-hoc office supplies. These transactions may be small individually, but collectively, they represent a significant portion of your procurement activity and a major opportunity for improvement.
Tail spend refers to the large volume of low-value, infrequent purchases that typically account for 80% of procurement transactions but only 20% of total spend. In biotech and life sciences, this often includes:
Laboratory consumables like pipette tips, gloves, and tubes ordered from multiple vendors.
Specialized reagents purchased occasionally for niche experiments.
Maintenance services for scientific equipment that fall outside of strategic contracts.
These purchases are often made outside centralized systems, by individual researchers or departments, with little oversight. And while they may seem minor, the cumulative impact is anything but.
Without a specialized solution, tail spend often becomes a costly problem. Here’s what it typically looks like:
Hundreds or thousands of suppliers with minimal spend per vendor, making it impossible to manage relationships or negotiate better terms.
Decentralized purchasing decisions, often made by scientists focused on research—not procurement strategy.
Lack of visibility into what’s being bought, by whom, and at what price.
No standardization, leading to inconsistent quality, delivery issues, and missed savings.
High administrative costs relative to transaction value, processing a £50 order can cost more than the item itself.
Maverick spending outside approved channels, increasing compliance risks.
Difficulty enforcing procurement policies, especially in fast-moving lab environments.
In short, tail spend is a silent drain on your procurement function, one that’s hard to track, harder to control, and nearly impossible to optimize without the right tools.
Amici Procurement was built for biotech. It’s not a generic platform, it’s a specialist solution designed to tackle the unique challenges of scientific procurement, including tail spend.
Spend Visibility
Amici centralizes all purchasing activity, giving procurement teams full visibility into tail spend. You’ll see who’s buying what, from whom, and at what price across departments and locations.
Supplier Consolidation
Instead of managing hundreds of low-volume suppliers, Amici consolidates purchasing through a curated network of trusted vendors. This reduces complexity, improves pricing, and strengthens supplier relationships.
Automated Workflows
Amici streamlines the entire procurement process from requisition to approval to order placement. Automated workflows reduce admin burden and ensure every transaction follows your procurement policies.
Compliance Enforcement
With built-in controls and audit trails, Amici helps enforce compliance across all purchases. You’ll reduce maverick spend and ensure every order meets internal and external standards.
Cost Savings
By leveraging the buying power of Amici’s customer network, even small biotech firms gain access to better pricing and terms. Tail spend becomes a source of savings not a cost center.
Biotech-Specific Expertise
Amici’s team understands the nuances of scientific procurement. Whether it’s sourcing niche reagents or managing lab equipment servicing, you’ll get expert support tailored to your needs.
Tail spend may be messy, but it’s not unmanageable. With Amici Procurement, biotech and life sciences organizations can transform tail spend from a chaotic drain into a strategic advantage.
You’ll gain control, improve compliance, reduce costs, and free up your team to focus on what really matters – advancing science.
Explore how Amici Procurement can help your organization streamline purchasing and unlock hidden value.