MRO procurement: Controlling maintenance spend in 2027

Most organisations rely on a steady flow of MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) supplies to keep things running, but because these purchases feel small and urgent, they often happen outside proper procurement channels. According to the 2026 RS and CIPS Indirect Procurement Report, 34% of procurement professionals say making sure employees use preferred suppliers is a daily challenge.

This is particularly true for maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) items, which are frequent, spread across teams, and easy to buy ad hoc. Over time, this leads to inconsistent pricing, poor visibility, and a growing tail spend problem, making MRO procurement difficult to control.

This guide explains how to bring MRO procurement back under control by tightening buying rules and improving visibility.

What does MRO procurement include?

MRO procurement covers the goods organisations need to keep operations running day-to-day. These are the items used to maintain equipment, support teams, and keep sites safe.

Here are some of the most common MRO items:

• Spare parts for repairs and replacements

• Tools used for maintenance and upkeep

• Personal protective equipment (PPE) and other safety equipment

• Cleaning supplies and site consumables

Unlike direct procurement, which covers materials that go into your final product, MRO procurement focuses on keeping operations running smoothly.

Why is MRO procurement difficult to control?

MRO procurement, while uncomplicated, can often be messy. People buy what they need, when they need it, across different teams and locations. A large share of this sits in what's often called tail spend or unmanaged spend: low-value, high-frequency purchasing that happens outside standard controls. Because MRO buying is frequent and driven by immediate needs, it's one of the biggest contributors to this unmanaged indirect spend. Without clear controls, this quickly turns into fragmented spend and inconsistent buying.

Decentralised buying across teams and sites

MRO purchasing is rarely centralised under one team. Engineers, facilities, and office managers all buy what they need, often across different locations. Each team follows its own habits, suppliers, and processes, with little coordination. This decentralised buying behavior makes it harder to apply consistent rules, track spend, and maintain strategic control of procurement.

Urgent needs and off-policy purchases

MRO demand is often reactive. When something breaks, speed matters more than process. People turn to the quickest option, not the approved one. The cost of this maverick spending shouldn’t be underestimated. As McKinsey estimates, reducing off-policy buying can cut value leakage by 10–50%.

Limited visibility into spend

When buying happens across multiple teams and systems, spend becomes fragmented, with no single view of the items, suppliers, or purchasers. This leaves procurement teams piecing together data after the fact, working with gaps and delays that make effective spend analysis difficult.

Part of the problem is technical. According to the Ardent Partners’ CPO Rising 2025 report, only 9% of organisations have fully automated spend analysis, and 28% still rely solely on manual reporting. Without reliable, real-time data, procurement teams can't see where money is going or act on it quickly enough to control costs.

Too many suppliers and inconsistent pricing

MRO categories often involve a wide and fragmented supplier base. Without clear controls, teams buy from different suppliers at varying prices. To improve, you need tighter supplier control and more consistent buying.

When you actively manage suppliers, you reduce variation and make it easier to align purchasing with sustainability and compliance goals, while unlocking measurable value. The State of Flux 2025 Global SRM report highlights that 61% of leaders see at least 4% more financial value from active supplier management.

Practical ways to improve MRO procurement

The biggest MRO procurement improvements ensure that employees make everyday purchases in consistent ways. Start by focusing on the areas where buying is most fragmented:

• Standardise common MRO categories: group frequently purchased MRO items into a defined list and align them to approved suppliers, so teams choose from the same products instead of sourcing ad hoc alternatives.

• Set simple buying rules: set clear guidelines on preferred suppliers, responsible sourcing standards, spend thresholds, and approval mechanisms, so teams know what to do without second-guessing the process.

• Bring purchases into one place: route MRO purchasing through a single tool or workflow, so procurement teams can see activity in one view instead of chasing data across systems.

• Review spend regularly: track MRO spend by category, supplier, and team on a regular basis, so you can spot patterns, address off-policy buying, and optimise spend over time.

Together, these steps help reduce fragmentation, improve visibility, and make MRO purchasing easier to manage day-to-day.

How can digital tools support MRO purchasing?

As MRO purchasing grows across teams, sites, and suppliers, it becomes harder to manage through manual processes alone. Spreadsheets, email approvals, and disconnected systems can only go so far before visibility drops and control becomes reactive.

Digital procurement tools help to structure everyday buying, without adding unnecessary complexity. They make it easier to see what teams are purchasing, guide them toward the right suppliers, and keep spend aligned with your digital procurement strategy.

Where manual tracking falls short

Manual tracking works up to a point. But as MRO spend increases, it starts to create gaps. Procurement teams spend time chasing purchase orders, reconciling invoices, and pulling together reports from different systems. This slows down decision-making and makes it harder to respond to issues quickly.

It also increases the risk of errors. Teams might enter data multiple times, miss information, or report inconsistently. Instead of a clear, real-time view of spend analysis, they end up relying on delayed or incorrect data. Over time, this limits your ability to manage supplier performance, control costs, and prevent unnecessary expenditures.

Manage MRO spend with Amazon Business

Amazon Business’ purchasing solutions help organisations of all sizes, from smaller teams to enterprise functions, centralise MRO procurement. Rather than relying on disconnected systems or ad hoc buying, teams can follow a consistent process while still getting what they need quickly.

Guided Buying (a Prime Business feature) helps set clear rules around preferred suppliers and purchasing behaviour, so teams make better decisions without needing constant oversight.

Automated approvals help keep purchases moving, so teams can order urgent MRO items quickly while still following the right process.

Spend Visibility (a Prime Business feature) gives procurement teams a clearer view of MRO spend, helping them track patterns and improve decision-making without manual effort.

By bringing purchasing, controls, and visibility together, you can reduce fragmented MRO spend, improve cost control, and make everyday buying easier to manage.

Organisations like Leadership Public Schools show the value of this in practice. Leadership Public Schools moved away from manual workflows and disconnected purchasing systems to a more centralised approach. By introducing Guided Buying (a Prime Business feature), automated approvals, and integrated purchasing, they improved compliance, removed reporting delays, and reduced the time spent managing purchases.

Simplify MRO procurement management

Managing MRO procurement becomes easier when everyday purchasing is consistent and visible. Without it, spend remains fragmented and difficult to govern. The goal isn’t to add more processes. But rather to simplify your process so teams adopt it.

Clearer buying rules, a more focused supplier base, and better visibility into MRO spend help bring structure to day-to-day purchasing. This makes it easier to track spend, manage costs, and support better decision-making across your wider procurement strategy.

Digital tools support this by centralising purchasing, approvals, and reporting, so buying can move quickly without procurement teams losing control. Get in touch to learn more about how Amazon Business can help you gain control and visibility over everyday MRO purchasing.

This article was created by professional writers and editors with the assistance of AI-powered tools. AI was used in a supportive capacity only – for example, to aid with translation, content review, and alignment with brand guidelines. All substantive research, editorial decisions, and final approval were performed exclusively by human authors and editors, who retain full editorial responsibility for this publication.