Scoutbee, and the Future of Strategic Sourcing

Jan Miczaika at HV Holtzbrinck Ventures on Scoutbee and the case for software in strategic sourcing — B2B marketplace mechanics applied to industrial procurement.

Notes

• ==Notes==
  • The platform searches through millions of suppliers, evaluates them and then makes supplier recommendations. There are currently over 9m suppliers in the database, at the time of writing. The quality of sourcing massively improves, and what is usually done in a matter of months is reduced to hours.
  • For a few data points, one estimate shows global corporate goods exports at $17trn in 2017, which excludes domestic transactions. SAP Ariba alone processes $1trn in transactions per year in their marketplace. A company like Bosch has 4,500 direct suppliers, with another 40,000 via marketplaces, delivering into 800 globally distributed logistics centres. A pharma company we spoke to sources $1.2bn per year of goods in transactions under $100k. These transactions run through unchecked.
  • Ultimately, Scoutbee’s AI-powered approach will lead to a fairer and more transparent marketplace for both suppliers and purchases. As one co-founder explained, “Scoutbee is doing to B2B sourcing what Linkedin has created for the recruiting industry”.