The Shift to Supply-Path Optimization (SPO) for Mid-Market Brands

With programmatic advertising, marketers are able to access improved audience targeting options to optimize their content in real time and to scale campaigns easily. That being said, the efficiency of a campaign still comes down to the number of intermediaries between the advertiser and publisher. In particular, layered ad-tech fees, hidden transaction costs, and supply chain waste lead to a significant loss in budget before ever promoting an ad at all.

As a result of this budget loss, many advertisers are now moving toward supply path optimization (SPO), focusing on ways to establish more transparent (and shorter) paths to inventory. This is particularly important for mid-market brands, which operate with tighter budgets and therefore need to eliminate unnecessary technology platforms and overhead to maximize their return on ad spend (ROAS).

How To Identify and Remove Redundant Intermediaries

One of the most difficult things to do in programmatic advertising is figuring out how many platforms are involved with a single campaign prior to the ad being served to consumers. 

Various platforms might take part in moving that ad to the final endpoint, including:
-Demand-Side Platforms (DSPs)
-Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs)
-Ad Exchanges
-Verification Providers
-Data Vendors
-Authorized Resellers

Optimizing the supply path begins with determining which of these partners offers value and which do not. From there, it is possible to remove those redundant, unnecessary intermediaries, which can save more money. 

Brands starting this process should aim to: 
1. Identify the total number of SSPs and exchanges, as well as other partners
2. Determine which partners improve performance and which ones do little to improve performance, yet increase costs
3. Determine if the same inventory is possible via shorter routes
4. See if certain resellers appear multiple times in campaign reports
5. Determine if inventory is purchased via indirect or direct pathways

Looking at our insights on programmatic performance strategy, brands can see that strong campaign performance is all about being able to see data with transparency. When you, as a brand, can clearly see your data, you’re better able to act on it and optimize your decision-making process. Making the buying path less fragmented and reducing the moving parts can help you along your way to a more streamlined workflow.

To get started with this, a supply path audit can help. This audit helps mid-market advertisers identify low-performing strategies, inventory sources with poor engagement, duplicate buying routes, and excessive reseller activity that end up leading to unnecessary spend. 

The Value of a Shorter Supply Chain

A shorter supply chain provides clearer transparency into where ads are running, helping marketers eliminate low-quality inventory and made-for-advertising (MFA) sites. According to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) research, despite a significant decrease in overall MFA inventory spend, it still accounts for a measurable share of programmatic budgets. This persistent waste underscores the critical need for smoother, cleaner supply paths.

The efficiency gains of this approach are already clear: the ANA reported that surveyed marketers who implemented better transparency and controls successfully cut their MFA ad spend by more than half, dropping it from 15% down to just 6.2%. This dramatic reduction demonstrates that supply chain optimization directly correlates with lower costs, reduced ad waste, and higher inventory quality.

While excessive intermediaries inflate campaign costs, they also introduce several critical blind spots:

Obscured Attribution: It becomes incredibly difficult to track exactly which publishers are delivering your impressions.
Compromised Brand Safety: Checking whether inventory quality aligns with your brand’s standards becomes a guessing game.
Diluted Budgets: It masks how much of your working marketing spend actually reaches the end publisher versus being eaten up by middleman fees.

How To Streamline the Buying Process

Streamlining programmatic buying means that you’ll have to simplify how inventory is accessed. A focus on direct relationships is the key. 

Some of the most effective strategies for SPO include:
-Consolidating your existing SSP partnerships
-Using curated inventory lists
-Reducing your dependency on unauthorized resellers
-Prioritizing direct supply paths
-Regularly auditing and reviewing supply paths

Using this approach, you’ll be better able to ensure your budget is spent on high-impact placements instead of on unnecessary ad-tech layers. 

Why Consolidation Is Key

Consolidating your buying power through direct paths gives mid-market brands the same priority access to top-tier publishers as global spenders. Why? Instead of spreading budgets thin across disconnected vendors, advertisers can concentrate their buying power through a strategic supply relationship. 

What that does is help mid-market brands compete for the placements usually associated with the larger advertisers while improving transparency and reducing ad spend. 

As programmatic advertising continues to change and evolve, SPO will become an integral part of brand workflows. Adding it to your processes now can ensure you’re taking a more direct path to inventory, so your budget reaches real consumers rather than just fees and platform waste.

Ready to update your digital marketing strategy and build your business?
Our experts are here to help.

Contact Us Today!