Global spend through vendor management systems and managed service providers increased in 2012 by 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively, according to Staffing Industry Analysts’ annual VMS and MSP Supplier Competitive Landscape report, which discusses the use of technology and managed services when managing contingent labor. Accounting for overlap, total VMS/MSP global spend through survey participants was $100 billion in 2012. VMS spend accounted for $88.3 billion and MSP spend accounted $62.5 billion.

While the overall market remains strong, not all firms flourished. The evolution and increasing sophistication of the contingent workforce management field that helped drive the surge in VMS/MSP over the last few years has also driven significant differentiation among providers, as standards become higher and requirements become more complex, according to the report. Several providers grew by more than 30 percent but others declined in spend.

Allegis Group Services ranked as the largest MSP provider among survey participants with $8.3 billion in spend under management. Fieldglass Inc. ranked as the largest VMS provider with $27.4 billion in spend under management.

The report found that statement-of-work (SOW) VMS spend rose 21 percent in 2012, to $21.9 billion. SOW spend through MSP rose 27 percent to $8 billion in spend.

“Also, VMS providers reported a total of 62 ‘mega-programs’ (programs with more than $300 million of spend in 2012)," said Tony Gregoire, research manager at Staffing Industry Analysts. "The growth in SOW management and the rise in very large programs are related as a majority of SOW spend through a VMS is from programs with more than $300 million of spend.”