Procura Flow field notes
Vol. 02 / 2026
16 articles on purchasing, approvals, suppliers, and spend control — all by Aaron Grainger. No gated PDFs, no filler.
Latest field report
8 min read
Software is now one of the largest controllable spend categories. This checklist covers commercial terms, security, data, and exit before you commit.
September 8, 2026 · Aaron Grainger
Sourcing
Three sourcing documents, three different jobs. Choosing the wrong one wastes weeks of supplier time and produces answers you cannot compare.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
AI
An honest look at the procurement tasks AI genuinely improves in 2026, the ones it cannot be trusted with, and how to introduce it without losing controls.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Spend control
Tail spend is high in transaction count and low in individual value. Here is how to reduce its cost without hiring a team to manage it.
Aaron Grainger · 7 min read
Policy
Most procurement policies are too long to follow. Here is a one-page structure covering thresholds, competitive requirements, and exceptions.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Contracts
Auto-renewals quietly remove your negotiating position. A simple renewal calendar and ownership model puts it back.
Aaron Grainger · 7 min read
Accounts payable
AP automation only works if the upstream purchasing process is clean. Here is the sequence that prevents automating a broken workflow at speed.
Aaron Grainger · 7 min read
Analytics
A practical method for classifying spend, finding consolidation opportunities, and producing an analysis your CFO will act on rather than file.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Buying guide
A structured way to compare procurement platforms, including the requirements that matter, the demo questions that reveal gaps, and the costs vendors leave out.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read · updated May 18, 2026
Analytics
The procurement metrics that change decisions, how to calculate them, and the vanity numbers that make dashboards look busy without informing anyone.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Suppliers
A practical onboarding checklist covering due diligence, documents, payment details, and the verification step most fraud slips through.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Approvals
Approval workflows fail when they are designed for the rarest purchase. Here is how to set thresholds, routing, and delegation that hold up day to day.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Spend control
Maverick spend is purchasing that bypasses your agreed process or contracts. Here is how to quantify it honestly and reduce it without adding bureaucracy.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Accounts payable
Three-way matching compares the purchase order, the receipt, and the invoice before payment. Here is how it works and how to stop exceptions from piling up.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Fundamentals
A requisition is an internal request to buy. A purchase order is an external commitment to a supplier. Confusing the two is how budget control quietly breaks.
Aaron Grainger · 8 min read
Fundamentals
Procurement software controls how a company requests, approves, orders, and pays for goods and services. Here is what it does and when a growing business needs it.
Aaron Grainger · 9 min read · updated March 2, 2026