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PERFORMANCE PARTNERS
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Cost RecoveryIndirect spend across ~50 categories, tested against the market Revenue ConversionWhere the pipeline leaks before it closes Technology & OperationsWhat you own, what you use, what you pay for anyway
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Nonprofit▸
Hospitals & health systems Human services Senior living & post-acute Community health & outpatient Behavioral health Community & economic development
Manufacturing Healthcare Education Retail & wholesale
Size Your SpendPartnersInsightsAboutStart a Conversation
INSIGHTS · FOLLOW THE BUILD
We are building the benchmark
that does not exist.
Large health systems have access to commercial benchmark data. Many midsize community organizations do not have an equivalent source for indirect spend — especially one built around organizations of similar size, sector and operating model.
So we are building the public version one sector and one category at a time, and making the work freely available.
WHERE THIS GOES
Four stages. We are at the start of the second.
Each stage makes the previous one more useful. None of it requires anyone to become a client.
STAGE ONE · SHIPPED
The sector picture
Six sectors analyzed separately: where category medians sit, how widely organizations vary, and why the variation is often operational before it is commercial.
Live now
STAGE TWO · IN PROGRESS
The category library
A practical reference for each of roughly fifty indirect categories: where the median sits, how the category is typically bought, how the market has moved, and what to check before renewal.
2 of ~50 published
STAGE THREE · TARGET 2027
The comparison tool
Enter your size and sector and see where each category sits against organizations like yours. No account. No sales contact. No gate.
In design
STAGE FOUR · PLANNED
Movement over time
Not only where a category sits, but whether it is moving — by sector, by size and over time. Direction is often more useful than a single-year level.
Planned after the comparison tool
PROGRESS
Two of roughly fifty category notes are published.
The benchmark is being built in the open. This is where it stands.
THE CATEGORY LIBRARY2 of ~50
STAGE ONE
Sector picture
Complete
STAGE TWO
Category library
In progress
STAGE THREE
Comparison tool
In design · target 2027
STAGE FOUR
Movement over time
Planned
THE CATEGORY LIBRARY
Fifty categories. The same structure every time.
Two are published. The next group is in development, and subscribers can choose the sectors and categories they want to receive as each note is released.
Waste & recycling
Published
Merchant card
Published
Telecom & wireless
Next
Insurance brokerage
Next
Fleet & fuel
Next
Energy supply
Queued
Dining & food service
Queued
Janitorial
Queued
Laundry & linen
Queued
Freight & parcel
Queued
Office supplies
Queued
Copiers & print
Queued
Payroll processing
Queued
Software & SaaS
Queued
+ 36 more
WHAT EACH CATEGORY NOTE CONTAINS
Where the median sits
By sector and size, with the peer count shown beside the comparison.
How it is bought
Common contract structures, typical terms and the mechanics that matter.
What to check
The clauses, pricing mechanics and operating details worth examining before a renewal.
When to look
Notice windows and decision timing, because the renewal decision is often made months before the end date.

The benchmark is a reason to ask why, not a conclusion that something is wrong. Operating context still determines whether a category is worth pursuing.

Why we are giving it away
The underlying analysis is already part of how we work
We use this research to understand sectors, categories and organizations before a conversation begins. Publishing the aggregate extends work we are already doing rather than creating a separate research product.
A better-informed buyer is a better client
A finance leader who already understands where a category sits can spend less time on orientation and more on judgment.
It is the argument for how we work
The public research follows the same rules as the private analysis: sourced where possible, bounded by what the record can support, and explicit about what remains unknown.
Follow the build
Receive each category note, sector brief and quarterly research release as it publishes. Choose the sectors and categories that matter to you, and we will send those rather than everything.
We will not sell or share your details, and you can unsubscribe in one click. Subscribing does not start a sales conversation.
THE STATE OF PUBLISHED BENCHMARKING
Good research exists. It rarely reaches the organizations that need it most.
The figures below are real and useful. They are also aimed at enterprise procurement functions, priced accordingly, and built from samples that skew large — which is precisely the gap the benchmark we are building is meant to fill.
A formal measure of indirect spend per $1,000 of revenue reports a median of $92.31.
APQC, sample of 283 companies
Published procurement studies benchmark facilities, professional services, MRO, IT and telecom, office supplies, marketing, legal, utilities, waste, HR services and travel.
Computer Economics / Avasant, 2025
Sector ranges vary from 20–40% to 60–80% of total spend depending on the industry measured.
Efficio, 2026

These describe ranges across industries, drawn from samples that may or may not resemble any particular organization. We publish the source and the sample size for each because a range is useful for orientation even when it cannot be a conclusion. None of them describe you. A midsize community organization is rarely in any of these samples, and rarely able to buy the reports.

© 2026 Wylie Performance PartnersOutcomes, not activity.