Across European aerospace and defence Primes, indirect spend grew by 43% in a single year. That is not incremental drift. It is a structural shift in how the sector buys, and it is happening faster than the controls most organisations have in place to manage it.
This article draws on indirect procurement data from Unite consolidated across UK and European aerospace and defence organisations, spanning major Primes, sovereign aerospace and defence customers and NATO-affiliated bodies.
The growth is concentrated in the highest-risk categories
The categories climbing fastest are the ones with the most compliance exposure.
ICT is up 125% year-on-year, more than doubling across multiple European A&D Primes in a single period. Hardware and software purchased outside managed channels does not just create a visibility problem. In a sector governed by ITAR, export control legislation and stringent cyber supply chain requirements, unmanaged ICT procurement is a direct operational and security risk.
Electrical Engineering and Automation is up 66%, sitting directly adjacent to platform modernisation activity. Components sourced outside controlled channels can introduce non-compliant parts into critical systems.
Occupational Safety and PPE are also up 66%, driven by workforce growth and regulatory requirements. PPE bought through unmanaged channels is a quality and liability issue as much as a procurement one.
What UK aerospace and defence data shows about the scale of the problem
Across UK aerospace and defence organisations, IT is the single largest indirect commodity, accounting for over 60% of total commodity spend. It is also the category with the greatest exposure to unmanaged purchasing behaviour.
79% of indirect procurement orders in UK aerospace and defence go to SME suppliers. That is not a social value figure. It is how sovereign capability is delivered.
The indirect supply chain in UK aerospace and defence already runs on a broad base of national SME suppliers. Unite provides the governed infrastructure through which that supply base is accessed, making sovereign sourcing visible, auditable and operationally consistent at scale.
What managed procurement actually delivers
One European aerospace and defence logistics organisation grew its indirect procurement order volume by 216% over two years. It moved to a managed e-procurement platform. Orders processed correctly, against compliant catalogues, with a full audit trail, at a volume that would be impossible through fragmented purchasing channels.
The question every CPO should be asking right now
Indirect spend in aerospace and defence is growing. Order volumes are rising. The categories accelerating fastest carry the highest compliance and security risk. And the benchmark data from UK and European aerospace and defence organisations shows that dynamic catalogues, SME-heavy supply chains and nationally concentrated sourcing are already the operating standard, not aspirational targets.
The question is not whether your indirect spend is growing. It almost certainly is. The question is whether your procurement infrastructure was built to manage the scale, the risk profile and the compliance obligations that come with it.
Organisations that have invested in managed indirect procurement are processing three times the order volume with the same team. Those that have not are absorbing the risk, often without knowing the precise shape of it.
What’s the solution?
Unite operates across 12 European markets and works with leading public and private sector organisations across the aerospace and defence sector. To understand how Unite supports indirect procurement compliance and spend intelligence in aerospace and defence, speak to our team.