The IT operating spend is divided into "packages" such as hardware maintenance, software maintenance, application support etc, and with further drill-down into "blocks" for different suppliers and technical areas, as shown in figure 1.

The framework is consistently used by all the countries within StarBev Group. This makes consolidation of IT spend and comparison between the countries straightforward.

In addition, the framework distinguishes between one-off, ongoing as well as business growth spend. This allows the IT team to present a true picture of the baseline and extraordinary activities as well as expansionary costs. This is particularly helpful during the annual budget cycle to justify why spend varies from one year to another.

IT spend is measured "at cost" and no artificial or inflated recharges are made between the countries and central IT. This prevents debates between central and local IT teams about fairness and allocation keys.