Why CFOs and CPOs Must Align on Category Taxonomy to Unlock Strategic Savings

By Ravi Pachauri, Procurement Transformation Leader & Coupa Partner

In today’s enterprise landscape, procurement and finance leaders are under pressure to deliver better savings (As per Deloitte- Among top 3 priorities of 71% CFO/ CPO), more transparency, more agility. Yet, one of the most overlooked enablers of strategic impact is also one of the most foundational: a unified category taxonomy.

Whether you’re running SAP S/4HANA, Coupa, Ariba, Oracle, EffiGo or a hybrid stack, inconsistent classification of spend data can quietly erode your ability to forecast, benchmark, and negotiate. It’s not just a data problem – it’s a strategic misalignment.

For Rob, the CFO: Visibility Drives Control

Rob, you’ve likely seen how fragmented spend data across business units and geographies can obscure true cost drivers. Without a standardized taxonomy – like UNSPSC, eCl@ss, or ISO 8000 – your finance team is left reconciling apples to oranges.

A unified classification system enables:

• Accurate spend forecasting and variance analysis
• Audit-ready reporting across ERP platforms
• Clear linkage between financial KPIs and procurement actions

This isn’t just about compliance – it’s about control. And control leads to savings.

For Gavin, the CPO: Structure Enables Strategy

Gavin, your team lives in the complexity of supplier catalogs, guided buying, and sourcing events. But when categories are misaligned across systems, even the best sourcing strategy can fall short.

Standardized taxonomy empowers you to:

• Benchmark supplier performance by category
• Streamline onboarding and catalog enrichment
• Drive guided buying and reduce maverick spend

It’s the connective tissue between tactical execution and strategic impact.

The Business Case for Standard Classification

Choosing the Right Standard

Depending on your industry and systems, different standards offer unique advantages:

From Taxonomy to Transformation

The real value isn’t in the taxonomy itself – it’s in how it’s embedded across your workflows:

• Supplier onboarding templates aligned to standard codes
• Catalog enrichment powered by AI and attribute mapping
• Approval workflow optimisation to involve right stakeholders
• Invoicing rules are tolerances are adjusted to spend categories
• Spend dashboards that speak the same language across finance and procurement

When Rob and Gavin align on taxonomy, they unlock a shared lens on spend. That’s when transformation becomes measurable.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you’re leading procurement digitisation, ERP harmonisation, or supplier intelligence initiatives, now’s the time to invest in taxonomy. Not as a back-office fix—but as a strategic enabler.

Let’s connect if you’re exploring:

• Coupa/ Ariba – SAP S4HANA taxonomy mapping
• Supplier onboarding frameworks
• Approval workflows for sourcing, contracts, purchasing requisitions
• Spend visibility dashboards powered by classification

Together, we can turn structure into strategy and strategy into savings.

Spend Smarter, Grow Faster.