2023 ProcureTech100 - B2B Marketplaces
The B2B marketplaces category is one of the fastest growing. Particularly in the top marketplaces, where a distinct 'thrive or survive' dynamic can be seen at play.
The pandemic acted as an accelerator for many, as consequently, buyers are now more likely to engage through digital channels, especially where they connect the Supply Chain.
The most notable indicator that digital marketplaces have come of age is the comfort that buyers display when making large purchases online.
There are a growing number of niche, category-specific or vertically-oriented marketplaces, which allow companies to really focus their B2B buying efforts on the area that most suits them. Whilst marketplaces originated in simple commodities within indirect, there is significant growth for the provision of more strategic categories, which are going to move the needle for overall Procurement performance.
Leaders are providing intelligence on products and commodities, to help buyers make smarter business decisions. Many are evolving their product beyond traditional B2C 'buying' capabilities, to include sourcing and selecting suppliers and products, handling requests, contracts, payments and logistics.
As marketplace technologies become homogeneous, marketplace providers are differentiating themselves by the strength and trust of their supplier network. Marketplaces are increasingly promoting sustainable practices and supplier certifications, to help buyers meet their CSR goals.
Integration is another key differentiator. Procurement organisations recognise that there’s a far greater likelihood of adoption if fully integrated into the core stack. So, marketplaces must provide reliable, out-of-the-box integrations to ensure simple implementation at a low cost.
Finally, disruptors to the market are providing marketplace 'infrastructure'. Not only does this lower barriers to entry for providers, but it also acts as a catalyst for the rapid scaling of marketplaces in general.
“The B2B marketplaces category is one of the fastest growing. Marketplaces are moving beyond indirect commodities, and are spun up to support specific verticals with strong, specialised and trusted supplier networks at the core of the offering.” Michael Rooney, Principal, ProcureTech
This year's ProcureTech100 pioneers in the B2B Marketplaces category:
Founded: 1994
Company HQ: USA
There's a better way to buy for business.
Think there’s a better way to buy for business? So do we. That’s why Amazon Business is changing the world of procurement. We simplify the purchasing process to make it easier for our customers to get the products they need. We solve for our customers’ unmet and undiscovered needs — continuously expanding our selection and adding relevant new tools and features. We’re right for any organization at any stage — starting, growing, transforming. And it’s our instinct to invent — we purposefully question what others don’t, creating unexpectedly better ways of getting things done.
Founded: 2020
Company HQ: UK
AI-powered Enterprise Marketplace platform, transforming catalogue sourcing for Buyers, Suppliers & Procurement
Axiom is a revolutionary ProcureTech Solution; an AI-powered Enterprise Marketplace platform that’s transforming the disparate catalogue sourcing environment across corporate organisations.
Global Companies rely on Catalogue Sourcing across nearly 50 areas of spend (from Facilities Cleaning Materials, Office Stationery & Equipment, through IT Consumables, Marketing, Packaging & Promotional Items to specialist areas of Lab Supplies, Chemicals & Equipment, Mechanical & Electrical Supplies and Fire & Safety Supplies). Budgets run into the hundreds of millions, with thousands of suppliers, and thousands of disparate buying points across the organisation, around the world.
Buying is painful, with individual punch-out catalogues or hundreds of static hosted catalogues sitting in the ERP system. Procurement is almost completely detached from the process (apart from some initial onboarding activity and an annual price review), your average Procurement team has no ability to add value, drive any tangible category management strategy or even record savings across these categories. And for Suppliers, it’s a bit “hit & miss” as to who the buyers are or what drives their buying decisions.
All that changes with Axiom’s Procurement-Intelligence© and our AI-powered B2B Marketplace. Rebalancing the playing field for Procurement, Buyers & Suppliers. We’re unleashing the power of Data, AI and Automation to revolutionise the catalogue sourcing experience for Buyers, Suppliers and Procurement.
Giving Buyers the power of personalised search, recommendations and optimisation across their key categories. Unlocking missed opportunities for Procurement, through powerful Insight, controls, automated Actions and measurable Outcomes. Providing Suppliers with a toolkit to ensure their products are visible to the right buyers across the organisation.
Axiom, a next-generation Enterprise Marketplace platform.
Fuelled by DATA, powered by INTELLIGENCE, propelled by INNOVATION
Founded: 2018
Company HQ: USA
Platform for scaling #ClimateAction
Cloverly launched as the world's first API for carbon credits and is now the most advanced digital infrastructure powering the voluntary carbon markets. A critical partner to over 200 global enterprises, Cloverly empowers both the businesses that buy and the businesses that supply carbon removals and credits by providing trust, access, and ease to scale meaningful impact.
Trust - We enable meaningful climate action through transparency, integrity, and partnership.
Access - We remove the friction between supply and demand to accelerate critical action.
Ease - We drive large-scale impact through powerful technology, data, and an ability to rapidly scale and innovate through a single partner.
How Cloverly Empowers Carbon Credit Buyers: Cloverly enables buyers to take immediate action toward reaching climate goals through a comprehensive platform of technology and direct carbon credit purchasing solutions.
How Cloverly Empowers Carbon Credit Suppliers: By providing distribution and software solutions designed to help carbon credit suppliers manage operations, Cloverly delivers the support suppliers need to scale.
Founded: 2013
Company HQ: Netherlands
Hubs, a Protolabs company, makes on-demand manufacturing easy and risk-free, from prototyping to end-part production.
Hubs, a Protolabs company, is an online manufacturing platform that connects engineers to a global network of manufacturing services.
From CNC machining to 3D printing, injection molding to sheet metal fabrication, Hubs makes custom part manufacturing accessible.
Founded: 2011
Company HQ: France
Revolutionize the way you sell online
Mirakl is the global leader in platform business innovation. Mirakl's suite of solutions provides enterprises with a transformative way to drive significant growth and efficiency in their online business.
Since 2012, Mirakl has been pioneering the platform economy, empowering retail and b2b enterprises with the most advanced, secure and scalable technology to digitize and expand product assortment through marketplace and dropship, improve efficiency in supplier catalog management and payments, personalize shopping experiences, and boost profits through retail media.
Founded: 2018
Company HQ: Austria
The B2B Platform for safe secondary raw materials trading
It is SECONTRADE's goal to make the B2B trading in large raw materials as efficient and safe as possible. Ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, plastics, and other valuable materials from recycling processes can be offered risk-free, safely and at little expense.
The Europe-wide trade with processed raw materials from recycling secures higher yields and the desired quick product sale. The safe marketplace for raw materials serves to bring vendors and buyers together more quickly.
Founded: 2015
Company HQ: USA
B2B sales and supply chain software helping CPG brands manage and sell excess and short-dated inventory.
The #1 solution for automating excess CPG sales, Spoiler Alert is a B2B software company helping CPG manufacturers and distributors to manage excess and slow-moving inventory by digitizing the liquidation process. Spoiler Alert provides a digital platform, a connected buyer network, data-driven insights, and a comprehensive markdown playbook to deliver more sales, faster service, and an improved customer experience. Our goal is to help our customers recover value for products that otherwise would be wasted and increase the effectiveness of supply chain managers. Founded by alumni of MIT, Spoiler Alert works with some of the world's largest companies, including Unilever, Campbell Soup Company, Danone North America, HelloFresh, KeHE Distributors, Kraft Heinz, Mondelēz, Johnsonville, and Nestlé, along with a growing network of discount channels committed to increasing affordable food access.
Founded: 2022
Company HQ: Egypt
Restaurants’ Supplies … Simplified
We are a company founded in January 2022 with the mission of optimizing the supply chain of Egypt's rapidly growing F&B sector through the provision of a comprehensive digital solution that bridges the gap between restaurant operators and their suppliers in order to disrupt an untouched market with extreme fragmentation and resolve the problem end-to-end.
Founded: 2015
Company HQ: USA
ZAGENO - The Leading Lab Supply Marketplace in Life Science Research.
ZAGENO accelerates life science research with its award-winning, first-of-its-kind lab supply marketplace. Offering an Amazon-like shopping experience for research materials, ZAGENO expedites research timelines. Scientists benefit from enhanced productivity with consolidated search, order tracking, billing, and insights. The marketplace enhances supply chain resilience, ensuring efficient and reliable access to lab supplies catalyzing breakthroughs in scientific research.
Learn more about the 2023 ProcureTech100.
