Spend analysis is one of the most important parts of strategic sourcing. Before you can source anything strategically, you have to know how much you're spending, whom you're buying from, how much you are spending with each supplier and what parts, materials and other tools you're getting from each supplier. Theoretically, all that information should be easy to get. Realistically, it often isn't easy. The data can be spread around several departments within a company and can reside in several different databases that may not be compatible. On the following pages, you'll read how others get around these and other problems—and actions they have taken after analyzing their spend.