When I started writing this blog in May 2007, one of the reasons was to provide unknown companies such as Coupa, Zycus, and others with a venue through which they could connect with a wider and more direct audience.
“Or as COUPA Founder and President Dave Stephens, in explaining the company’s “see how it works” tagline emphasized in terms of the vendor’s key differentiator, “COUPA is the only On-Demand procurement solution that’s amazingly easy to use.””
“And perhaps this is the basis for the company’s confidence in making the statement that “Innovation and Ease of use is at the core of every Zycus offering.””
In both of the above posts, you can see the elemental roots of the companies’ evolution to where they are today.
Of course, one of the advantages both had is that the service provider market wasn’t as crowded and complex as it is today.
Despite a more accessible and assessable field of players, there was still a potential to miss one or two “future titans.”
In this post, I will talk about the one that I missed. What is even more interesting is that in 2023 they are a company hidden in plain sight with an impressive client list of some of the industry’s biggest and most notable corporations.
The Needle In The Haystack
I want to stress right out of the gate that solution maps serve an important purpose by providing a high-level landscape view of existing and emerging players.
That said, CPOs have told me that because of the sheer volume of company logos, it is challenging to get beyond a feeling of information overload. For example, look at the following solution maps below – which are all great, and tell me who you see and who you don’t see?
How do you decide which one or ones can provide not only the solution, but industry expertise to make their solution work for you? Remember, these maps are not designed to endorse any one vendor nor imply that because they are listed, you should automatically assume they are the best of the best. The maps should only serve as an introductory guideline or research starting point for the practitioner.
For 2024, I am going to be selecting a handful of what I believe are the service providers who warrant investigation beyond the map. One of the advantages of being around for 40-some years is that I have garnered considerable knowledge and experience from all sides of the procurement/supply chain world. In short, I have seen what has and hasn’t worked and, more importantly, understand the why.
Today’s Haystack Needle – Mintec
“Data – For over 40 years, Mintec has been the leading provider of raw material market prices and analysis covering more than 17,000 food ingredients and non-food raw materials. Ensuring they are best placed to reduce costs, manage risk and increase their efficiency, helping to maximise margins.”
In the coming weeks and months, I will be doing an in-depth assessment of Mintec’s offering – with a twist.
Instead of a features, functions, and benefits analysis of their technology, I am going to go behind the logo to provide a glimpse into the expertise that has enabled the company to solve some of the biggest challenges organizations in the food and beverage industry are and will face in 2024 and beyond.
In the meantime, consider this to be a preliminary introduction.
Procurement Insights
In Business Since 1982, A Who’s Who Client List In The Food and Beverage Industry, and Real-Time Market Price Coverage and Analysis – Do You Know Me?
Posted on December 6, 2023
0
When I started writing this blog in May 2007, one of the reasons was to provide unknown companies such as Coupa, Zycus, and others with a venue through which they could connect with a wider and more direct audience.
By the way, here is the very first post about Coupa titled “Moving Procurement Practice Beyond Adjunct Complexity (COUPA Profile).”
“Or as COUPA Founder and President Dave Stephens, in explaining the company’s “see how it works” tagline emphasized in terms of the vendor’s key differentiator, “COUPA is the only On-Demand procurement solution that’s amazingly easy to use.””
Here is the first post on Zycus – “Doing What Comes Naturally: Accessing Zycus Spend Management Innovation Through A Simplified and Practical User Interface (Zycus Inc. Profile)“
“And perhaps this is the basis for the company’s confidence in making the statement that “Innovation and Ease of use is at the core of every Zycus offering.””
In both of the above posts, you can see the elemental roots of the companies’ evolution to where they are today.
Of course, one of the advantages both had is that the service provider market wasn’t as crowded and complex as it is today.
Despite a more accessible and assessable field of players, there was still a potential to miss one or two “future titans.”
In this post, I will talk about the one that I missed. What is even more interesting is that in 2023 they are a company hidden in plain sight with an impressive client list of some of the industry’s biggest and most notable corporations.
The Needle In The Haystack
I want to stress right out of the gate that solution maps serve an important purpose by providing a high-level landscape view of existing and emerging players.
That said, CPOs have told me that because of the sheer volume of company logos, it is challenging to get beyond a feeling of information overload. For example, look at the following solution maps below – which are all great, and tell me who you see and who you don’t see?
How do you decide which one or ones can provide not only the solution, but industry expertise to make their solution work for you? Remember, these maps are not designed to endorse any one vendor nor imply that because they are listed, you should automatically assume they are the best of the best. The maps should only serve as an introductory guideline or research starting point for the practitioner.
For 2024, I am going to be selecting a handful of what I believe are the service providers who warrant investigation beyond the map. One of the advantages of being around for 40-some years is that I have garnered considerable knowledge and experience from all sides of the procurement/supply chain world. In short, I have seen what has and hasn’t worked and, more importantly, understand the why.
Today’s Haystack Needle – Mintec
“Data – For over 40 years, Mintec has been the leading provider of raw material market prices and analysis covering more than 17,000 food ingredients and non-food raw materials. Ensuring they are best placed to reduce costs, manage risk and increase their efficiency, helping to maximise margins.”
In the coming weeks and months, I will be doing an in-depth assessment of Mintec’s offering – with a twist.
Instead of a features, functions, and benefits analysis of their technology, I am going to go behind the logo to provide a glimpse into the expertise that has enabled the company to solve some of the biggest challenges organizations in the food and beverage industry are and will face in 2024 and beyond.
In the meantime, consider this to be a preliminary introduction.
30
Share this:
Related