London-based startup procures $8.2 million to make supply chain management hassle-free and real-time

Despite being core to how all businesses operate, there is far too much friction in the process of procuring goods and services, and companies are often left unaware of the potential risks accompanying their decisions. Taking up the challenge, London-based supplier insight platform Contingent has raised $8.2 million funding to make procurement hassle-free. The round was led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from Connect Ventures, Concentric, Seedcamp, Ascension, and Working Capital Innovation Fund. The company’s total funding has reached $11 million.

The additional capital will be used to build the platform’s range of modular SaaS applications, with a particular focus on meeting the growing demand for more transparent and ethical supply chains. The company is also actively looking to expand into the U.S. and across Europe, and will be rapidly hiring for its product, engineering, and commercial teams over the coming months.

Aiming to change how procurement is done, the platform is helping companies reduce friction while empowering procurement teams to make the right choices. Its SaaS offering provides an up-to-date analysis of suppliers and businesses, thereby helping firms comply with regulation, reducing third-party risk exposure, and improving team efficiency.

Tai Alegbe, co-founder and CEO, Contingent said: “The typical questionnaire process to onboard suppliers is widely accepted to be fundamentally broken. Now, teams want to invest their time and energy in understanding whether the product or service can meet their goals, not on whether the supplier meets internal or external requirements.”

Fred Ellis, investor, Octopus Ventures said: “All over the world, companies are re-thinking how and where they procure goods and services. Supply chains are becoming more interconnected, global, dynamic, and unpredictable, increasing the risk of supply disruption, and associated financial losses.”

The platform is being used by procurement and supply chain teams at companies such as Monzo, Seagate, Huel, Barratt Developments, and HM Government.