CPO Rising’s Technology Round-Up series continues this week with fresh supply management technology news and updates covering a few recent major announcements. If you are a sourcing, procurement, or spend management solution provider and you are continually innovating the way that procurement and supply chain leaders and practitioners drive value, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note at info at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!
Accenture Announces Acquisition of Flo Group
NEW YORK and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Accenture announced the acquisition of Flo Group, a leading European consultancy and Oracle business partner specializing in global supply chain logistics.
The company stated that the acquisition further enhances Accenture’s Oracle capabilities in Europe to help clients build more resilient and agile supply chains that provide end-to-end visibility. Flo’s 280 people join the Accenture Oracle Business Group, bolstering its capabilities to help clients design their digital core to be ready for supply chain transformation.
According to Andrea Cesarini, lead of the Accenture Oracle Business Group in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, “Accenture is committed to helping organizations reinvent themselves and build their digital core as a source of competitive advantage,” he said.
“Together with the Flo team — a highly valued Oracle partner with deep skills in designing, building and running complex logistics platforms — we can unlock even more value for our clients in Europe.”
Read the full announcement here.
Airbase Names Mathew Schulz VP of Procurement Strategy
SAN FRANCISCO — Airbase, a leader in procure-to-pay solutions, announced the appointment of Mathew Schulz as vice president of procurement strategy. Schulz brings extensive experience and a track record of driving procurement excellence and technological advancement.
The company stated that Schulz has over two decades of experience in procurement and technology, including prior roles as head of global procurement at Forrester and head of global procurement and corporate services at SS&C Eze.
According to Thejo Kote, founder and CEO of Airbase, “I’m thrilled to welcome Mathew to Airbase. His technological and domain expertise are exactly what we need to continue to build groundbreaking solutions. We’re setting new standards in procurement, and with Mathew, we look forward to accelerating our journey,” he said.
For Schulz, the move to Airbase was a natural next step. “Airbase is uniquely situated to help the next generation of procurement. They’re building technology that meets the demands of an evolving business landscape and empowering procurement and finance professionals,” he said.
“It’s rare to see a solution that understands the needs of the profession. Airbase is creating a competitive advantage for companies by equipping their procurement teams with tech that drives value and saves money and time.”
As Airbase continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in procurement, the addition of Schulz and the latest Guided Procurement module features mark a new chapter in the company’s journey towards procurement excellence. The platform provides robust capabilities in spend management, with many customers achieving over 90% spend under management.
Read the full announcement here.
SpendLab Forms Transformative Partnership with Story Capital
AMSTERDAM, NEW YORK & PALO ALTO, Calif. — SpendLab, a leading AI-enabled accounts payable auditing and recovery platform, announced a transformative partnership with Story Capital through a strategic majority investment from Story.
The company stated that this partnership marks a pivotal step in SpendLab’s journey, accelerating its mission to redefine accounts payable management for global enterprises and the public sector with its market-leading technology solutions. SpendLab has been at the forefront of the AP industry for decades, leveraging over 450 algorithms and proprietary AI models to detect and recover payment inaccuracies across AP processes, VAT, and vendor balance reconciliation.
According to Jos Houben, founder of SpendLab, “We chose Story Capital as our partner because of Story’s unique blend of entrepreneurial experiences, technological value-add in multiple facets such as AI, engineering and product, category expertise, and a shared vision for the future of SpendLab,” he said. “This partnership is our commitment to driving innovation and excellence in the AP space for our current and future customers.”
SpendLab noted that since its inception, the company has analyzed over 1 billion customer invoices, recovering more than €500 million for global enterprise customers across various sectors such as technology, consumer, healthcare, finance, automotive, and public sectors.
Read the full announcement here.
Kinaxis Inc. Expands PartnerLink Program Amidst Growing Supply Chain Volatility
OTTAWA, Ontario — Kinaxis® Inc., a leading provider of supply chain management solutions, announced the expansion of its PartnerLink program to better equip partners to drive end-to-end supply chain orchestration for its joint customers.
The company stated that as new levels of volatility and uncertainty spur unprecedented demand for digital transformation, businesses need access to solutions to deliver agility, predictability, and intelligence at an accelerated pace. Since launching in 2021, the Kinaxis PartnerLink program — which includes System Integrators (SIs), Cloud partners, Solution Extension partners (SolEx), and Value-Added Resellers (VARs) — has grown to more than 170 partners and 2,500+ certified consultants worldwide, making it one of the industry’s largest networks of supply chain transformation specialists.
Amidst increased global trade disruptions, Kinaxis is making a series of significant PartnerLink program investments to empower its rapidly growing community including new program tiers and regional partner-centric events along with a revamped curriculum of training, tools and enablement resources to ensure that they have accelerated path to deployment on our platform.
According to Conrad Mandala, senior vice president, global partner organization at Kinaxis, “With labor disputes, cyber-attacks and the escalation of conflicts in global hotspots like Eastern Europe and the Middle East all threatening the movement of goods globally, businesses have never had a greater need for supply chain solutions that enable them to prepare for and respond to unexpected disruptions,” he said.
“The investments we are making in our PartnerLink program will strengthen our position to capitalize on this demand and deliver on our global growth objectives by ensuring our partner ecosystem has the tools they need to help customers achieve supply chain resiliency no matter what risks appear on the horizon.”
Read the full announcement here.
New eIndustrify B2B e-Marketplace Streamlines Procurement Processes
HOUSTON — eIndustrify, a new B2B e-marketplace platform, launched to streamline procurement processes and reduce lead times for buyers. A company of Prismecs, eIndustrify goes beyond offering simple digital storefronts for suppliers to address the high cost, lack of transparency, and inefficient processes that hamper procurement processes for modern enterprises today.
The company stated that by expanding outreach for suppliers and access for buyers, eIndustrify aims to take the friction out of procurement within the industrial sectors including power generation, oil and gas, metals and mining, renewables, telecom, and data center companies worldwide.
According to Junaid Ali, CEO of eIndustrify and Prismecs, “eIndustrify has already been adopted by industrial giants who were searching for cost savings, transparency, and efficiency,” he said.
“Launching eIndustrify is our response to the exponential growth in demand from buyers — 10 times more growth than traditional procurement methods. With the backing of Prismecs, this new company is coming out of the gate with a bustling marketplace creating benefits for industrial buyers and sellers around the world,” Ali added.
eIndustrify noted that its platform will reduce the barriers to entering the procurement market with instant information on product availability for buyers, making it faster and easier for sellers of all sizes to connect with global purchasers.
Read the full announcement here.
