When it comes to procurement intake and orchestration, the biggest hidden tax is re-explaining yourself, over and over again, creating friction and weakening compliance.“ Someone submits a request, then asks for missing information three days later,” says Dmitry Nazarevich, Chief Technology Officer at Innowise.“ The request goes to the wrong queue, and the employee starts again with a different form. The time spent isn’ t included in a cycle-time report, but re-entry and waiting consume hours.” That friction doesn’ t just cost time, it changes behaviour. In multi-site environments, employees learn to route around the official process when it’ s unclear, too slow or doesn’ t match how urgent a request feels to them.
The workaround isn’ t a compliance failure so much as a rational response to a slow front door; a direct Slack message or an off-process email gets the job done, even if it leaves no audit trail behind.“ In my client experience, employees are resourceful, so when technology, approvals or other obstacles slow them down, they find alternative paths. Employees bogged down by delays may resort to off-contract buying, undermining compliance,” says Jonathan Colehower, Managing Director, UST Global Supply Chain Practice.
112 October 2026