In manufacturing, staying competitive depends on more than just efficient production. Your ability to control and optimise decentralised, or non-procurement, spend management can make or break operational agility. Yet too often, outdated processes and disconnected systems hold teams back.
According to Soldo’s latest Spend Index, costs in the manufacturing sector rose sharply in early 2025, with overall spending increasing by 23% compared to the previous year. Construction-related expenses were up by 20%, while travel and expense spending held steady at 6% growth, reflecting a sector under pressure to do more with less. These increases highlight why many finance teams are urgently looking for ways to regain control over rising costs without slowing operations or burdening employees with extra admin.
So, how can manufacturers simplify spend management and reclaim time without losing control?
Why Spend Management Still Feels So Hard
Soldo’s productivity research revealed a striking gap between perception and reality. While 86% of senior leaders say they trust employees to spend company money responsibly, 76% admit their businesses have missed growth opportunities because employees lacked direct access to budgets.
In other words, old processes keep businesses reactive and slow.
For manufacturers, the impact is particularly significant. When engineers cannot spend promptly for example, to secure materials, repair critical equipment or pay suppliers, the entire operation risks grinding to a halt. Meanwhile, finance teams are left chasing receipts and struggling to reconcile fragmented data across multiple systems.
What If You Could Reduce Finance Admin by 90%?
Imagine a world where expense reports, receipt chasing and manual reconciliations disappear. Where your finance team gains real time visibility across every cost centre, and employees can spend responsibly without delays.
Leading manufacturers are already making this a reality. Sofidel, one of the world’s largest tissue paper producers, eliminated their inefficient petty cash and reimbursement processes by implementing Soldo. The result was that employees now save around 20 minutes per expense claim, while finance has a real time view into spend across 31 plants, all without disrupting operations.
Similarly, Biesse, an international machinery manufacturer, processed over 10,000 expense reports annually before adopting Soldo. By introducing controlled company cards and automating workflows, Biesse gained real time budget visibility and simplified reporting, giving finance the agility to support growth.
Common Pain Points in Manufacturing Finance and How to Solve Them
These challenges are widespread. In a recent survey conducted by Soldo of manufacturing finance, procurement and operations leaders, nearly six in ten respondents said too much time is spent on finance admin. Many cited fragmented spend management across projects and struggled with disconnected systems creating blind spots.
Modern spend management tools are purpose built to tackle these issues. Automating expense capture and reconciliation frees finance teams to focus on value adding work. Giving employees pre-approved budgets and secure cards enables them to act quickly without compromising control. And gaining real time visibility into spend across sites and teams improves forecasting, reduces waste and prevents overspend.
The Impact: Faster Decisions and Tangible Results
Shay Murtagh, a leading precast concrete manufacturer, faced similar obstacles. As their business grew across Europe, managing multiple credit cards and currencies became increasingly challenging. After implementing Soldo, time spent on finance activities was reduced by nearly 90% (from 5 days to 0.5 day), VAT claims were easier and faster, and the finance team became more open to adopting technology to support further expansion.
Ready to Simplify Spend Management in Your Manufacturing Business?
In an industry where every delay has a knock-on effect, moving beyond outdated finance admin systems is essential. Modernising spend management allows manufacturers to save time and costs across every transaction, empower teams to act quickly and responsibly, and gain the visibility and control needed to drive growth.
Discover how Soldo helps manufacturing companies simplify spend management.
