So, as the next step in the quest, I'm going to take a giant step backwards tonight. I want to pass along everything I've learned over the last few weeks, in plain English. I want to do this for two reasons. And second, I think it will set the stage for a far more useful industry breakdown than my first effort. Companies buy lots of stuff.
Businesses procure goods and services.
Direct refers to raw materials that go into a company's final products. The simplest examples are from manufacturing. Direct procurement for a candy bar maker, for example, might include chocolate, sugar, peanuts, printed wrappers, and those little cardboard thingies that the bar rests in. If this stuff shows up in the final product, we get on the red phone with the lawyers and the PR people. Businesses have always procured their direct and indirect goods in marketplaces.