Guided buying is an approach in which business stakeholders are guided step by step through requisition and ordering, and the system suggests suitable routes, suppliers and contracts.
How it works. Typical elements are catalogues, prepared forms, stored rules, suggestions for preferred suppliers and automatic routing for approval.
Effect. The intended route becomes easier than going around it. This addresses the cause of maverick spend instead of pursuing violations after the fact.
Limits for services. Catalogues fit poorly because the requirement is individual and has to be described first. What gets guided is then not a selection from a catalogue but the description of the requirement.
Where it sits. Guided buying is the principle. Procurement intake is the entry channel, demand intake its AI-supported form.