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Spend categories | Vera AI by VendorBenchmark
Spend categories

Software is where we started. It is not where the desk stops.

The same desk runs eight categories of indirect spend. Pick the one you are working in from the chip in the top bar and the workspace follows you into it: the rail, the tools that lead, the paper the uploader expects, and the suppliers it already knows by name.

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The eight

One desk, eight categories, one set of numbers.

IT is the floor and stays first. The other seven arrive with their own supplier lists, their own contract vocabulary, and their own order of tools, because a freight buyer and a licensing manager do not open the same door first.

IT
Information Technology and Software

Hardware, peripherals, software licences, SaaS, cloud, telecom, and managed services.

On file

1,380 benchmarks across 1,160 vendors

Contract types

Order form, Enterprise agreement, Subscription and SaaS agreement, Cloud commitment.

Tools that lead

The benchmark library, the contract decoder, renewals.

Facilities
Facilities and Office Services

Property and lease, utilities, cleaning, catering, security, maintenance, and office furniture.

On file

29 suppliers on file

Contract types

Facilities management agreement, Property lease, Utilities supply agreement, Cleaning services agreement.

Tools that lead

The contract decoder, spend optimization, renewals, compare.

Services
Professional Services

Management consulting, legal counsel, audit, and tax advisory.

On file

25 suppliers on file

Contract types

Consulting engagement, Statement of work, Legal services engagement, Rate card agreement.

Tools that lead

The SOW agent, the MSA agent, the contract decoder.

Marketing
Marketing and Advertising

Media buying, creative and PR agencies, promotional items, events, and trade shows.

On file

23 suppliers on file

Contract types

Agency master services agreement, Media buying agreement, Public relations retainer, Sponsorship agreement.

Tools that lead

The contract decoder, compare, spend optimization.

HR
Human Resources and Workforce

Recruitment, contingent labour, training, benefits administration, and payroll.

On file

62 suppliers on file

Contract types

Payroll services agreement, Benefits brokerage agreement, Recruitment services agreement, Staffing supplier agreement.

Tools that lead

The instant benchmark, renewals, the contract decoder.

T and E
Travel and Entertainment

Corporate airfare, hotels, ground transport, and conference and client event costs.

On file

25 suppliers on file

Contract types

Travel management agreement, Airline corporate discount agreement, Hotel rate agreement, Car rental agreement.

Tools that lead

The contract decoder, spend optimization, compare.

MRO
MRO and Consumables

Maintenance, repair and operations supplies: safety gear, stationery, and cleaning consumables.

On file

24 suppliers on file

Contract types

Supply agreement, Distribution agreement, Safety equipment agreement, Spare parts and consumables agreement.

Tools that lead

The sourcing project, the contract decoder, spend optimization.

Logistics
Logistics and Fleet

Freight and parcel, warehousing, customs brokerage, and the corporate vehicle fleet.

On file

27 suppliers on file

Contract types

Freight forwarding agreement, Parcel carrier agreement, Warehousing agreement, Fleet leasing agreement.

Tools that lead

The sourcing project, the contract decoder, compare.

What moves

Switch the category and the desk answers in that category’s language.

  • The rail reorders, and the tools that category reaches for first lead the wall.
  • The home screen counts in the right noun: three carrier and fleet agreements on file, not three contracts.
  • The ask bar offers that buyer’s questions, from benchmarking a cleaning contract to checking a hotel rate.
  • The uploader expects that category’s paper, so a freight forwarding agreement files itself as one.
  • The supplier lists are real names in that market, not a software list with the labels changed.
What does not

One workspace, one account, one trail.

  • The benchmark library stays universal. A software benchmark reads the same whichever desk you sit at.
  • Every tool stays reachable. A category leads the order, it never locks a door.
  • Your team, your permissions, and your audit log are one workspace across all eight.
  • Switching is a view, not a migration. Nothing is moved, hidden, or re-filed.
Where the leverage actually is

Four of these categories have no price list to benchmark against, and we say so.

The discount curve library is a software library. Facilities, travel, MRO and logistics are not sold off a published list, so there is no curve to place your deal on and we do not invent one. What the desk brings to those categories is the part that does travel: the paper read clause by clause, the supplier set, the sourcing motion from requirement to award, and an agent that drafts what you send.

Professional services and HR sit in between. A consulting rate card and a payroll agreement are negotiated once and then live for years, so the leverage sits in the scope and the renewal terms rather than in the headline rate.

Bring the category you are actually buying.

All eight are on every plan. Start with one contract and see what the desk makes of it.

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