# Analyze spend and find savings

Categorizes spend and identifies cost-saving opportunities.

- Topic: Projects & Operations
- Framework: RCTFVV
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Leadership, Legal, Productivity, Analyze, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/analyze-spend-and-find-savings

## Prompt

```text
Role: Act as a category manager doing spend analysis for cost optimisation.

Context: Spend data (by supplier, sub-category, business unit, geography, contract vs off-contract, PO vs non-PO): [SPEND_DATA]. Time range and any known data-quality issues: [RANGE_QUALITY]. Contracts in place and their pricing mechanisms: [CONTRACTS]. Demand / specification context (is demand controllable, is the spec gold-plated): [DEMAND_SPEC]. Market conditions for the category: [MARKET]. Constraints (switching cost, business resistance, single-source): [CONSTRAINTS].

Goal: Give procurement leadership a clear picture of where the money goes and a prioritised list of savings opportunities that are real and executable, with the risk of each.

Task: Produce: (1) the spend picture - concentration by supplier and sub-category, contract vs maverick spend, tail spend, price variance for like items across BUs; (2) the savings levers with an estimated range and the basis - consolidation/leverage, renegotiation/benchmarking, specification/demand management, payment terms, process/automation, supplier rationalisation; (3) each opportunity sized, with effort, time to realise, one-off vs recurring, and the business or supply risk; (4) a prioritised plan (value vs effort vs risk) with the first 3 to pursue; (5) what data or benchmark would firm up the estimates.

Constraints: Estimate savings as ranges with the basis stated - never a single confident number. Distinguish addressable spend from committed/contracted spend. Note where a saving creates a supply, quality or relationship risk. Do not assume demand is reducible where the input says it is not.

Examples: Opportunity row: 'Consolidate [sub-category] from 6 suppliers to 2 -> est. 4-8% of $[spend] (~$[range]/yr), based on volume-leverage benchmarks; effort: M; time: 2 quarters; risk: medium (transition, single-source on [item]).'

Format: Sections: Spend picture | Savings levers & opportunities (table) | Prioritised plan & first 3 | Data/benchmark to firm up. ~700 words.

Verification: Show the spend concentration and price-variance figures; flag opportunities based on assumption rather than data, and any distorted by the data-quality issues.

Validation: Pressure-test the top opportunity with the business stakeholder who owns the demand: is the saving real and will they support it, or will it be resisted into nothing? Re-rank accordingly.
```

## What to fill in

- SPEND_DATA
- RANGE_QUALITY
- CONTRACTS
- DEMAND_SPEC
- MARKET
- CONSTRAINTS
- sub-category
- spend
- range
- item

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