Labeling of category of spend as ‘tail’ is itself a misnomer

While commenting a very good article in Procurement Leaders on the topic “Is it time to outsource tail spend?”, Jonathan Webb mention a school of thought that argues that the labeling of category of spend as “tail” is itself a misnomer.

– Some of the activities which have been considered the preserve of strategic categories, such as innovation or revenue generation, are automatically precluded from the “rubbish”. Indeed, the vocabulary itself seems to exclude creative thought from managing these non-core areas.

Perhaps Tail Spend Management is the new black?