This document discusses the history and challenges of spend analytics and outlines a vision for the next generation, Spend Analytics 3.0. It describes four key challenges that have made spend visibility difficult to achieve: fragmented data across multiple systems, maverick spending outside of procurement processes, inaccurate categorization, and poor data input practices. The document then outlines the evolution of spend analytics from early spreadsheet-based solutions 1.0 to ERP-focused solutions 2.0. It argues that Spend Analytics 3.0 should feature intelligent automation, expert manual intervention, strategic sourcing insights, and an elegant, easy-to-use interface to optimize spend data and provide spend visibility, compliance management, and category management capabilities.