Shelfware taught procurement to ask whether software was being used. Consumption pricing requires another question: Is the additional usage still worth what we are paying for it?

SaaS renewals should not be treated as an administrative activity. They are leverage events. In many companies, the renewal cycle becomes the only realistic opportunity to reassess platform strategy, challenge pricing structures, eliminate inactive subscriptions (shelfware,) review duplicated functionality, negotiate scale-down rights, benchmark commercial conditions, reconsider sourcing strategy, or reassess vendor dependency.

Ultimately, one of the most important procurement questions is not “Which supplier is cheapest?” but rather “What does the supplier know that we do not?”

And that’s the paradox: you’re buying intelligence, but unless you govern it smartly, it makes your cost model dumber.