Procurement Alert: Scout’s eSourcing Platform Attracts Next Round of Investment

Scout RFP, a leading cloud-based strategic eSourcing provider, today announced the completion of its Series B round of $15.5 million in financing, bringing total investment in the company to $27.25 million.

The round was led by Menlo Ventures and includes investments from New Enterprise Associates (NEA).

This announcement follows Scout's release of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services procurement industry research, which explores the critical roles that sourcing, procurement, and supply chain management play in enterprise success.

The research paper's findings include that companies that focus on strategic sourcing enjoy not just enhanced profitability, but a range of positive results including improved cash and working-capital performance—results that, in turn, are rewarded by investors.

The dyanamic software-as-a-service sector currently integrates with existing data platforms or other procurement-related applications to centralize vendor data. Companies currently using the Scout platform include Adobe, CEMEX, easyJet, Owens Corning, and Zappos.

Alex Yakubovich, Scout CEO, told SCMR in an interview that this Series B funding round help grow Scout’s team, and expand its international reach, allowing them to develop more innovations within its platform.
“This will translate to better spend management, more robust data analysis, and seamless vendor and stakeholder collaboration capabilities — which, in turn, will increase sourcing’s bottom line impact across the enterprise,” he adds.

Traditionally, sourcing has been hindered by disparate spreadsheets, disorganized email chains, and legacy technologies that inhibit teams' ability to work collaboratively, efficiently, and effectively.

According to spokesmen, Scout addresses this problem with its cloud-based strategic sourcing solutions. Its interface enables companies to streamline supplier selection, centralize data, collaborate cross-functionally, manage contracts, and make more informed purchasing decisions faster.

“Sourcing has long been seen through a purely operational lens, rather than as a function which can truly impact the bottom line. Scout is fundamentally shifting that misconception and delivering value to our customers by helping them to improve business outcomes and increase sourcing's impact across the enterprise,” says Yakubovich.

San Francisco-based Scout was recently recognized as one of Gartner's 2017 “Cool Vendors” in Procurement and Sourcing Technology.

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