CPO Rising’s Technology Round-Up Series continues this week with fresh supply management technology news and updates covering a few recent major announcements. If you are a sourcing, procurement, or spend management solution provider and you are continually innovating the way that procurement and supply chain leaders and practitioners drive value, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a note at info at cporising dot com. Thanks, and enjoy!
Workday Names Carl Eschenbach CEO
PLEASANTON, Calif. — Workday, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and HR, announced it has named Carl Eschenbach as CEO. Eschenbach was named co-CEO alongside Aneel Bhusri, Workday’s co-CEO, co-founder, and chair in December of 2022.
The company stated that Bhusri will remain integral to the organization as co-founder and executive chair of the Workday Board of Directors. He will serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO, collaborating with Eschenbach and the rest of the executive team to develop strategic plans and growth initiatives that align with Workday’s mission, vision, and values.
According to Eschenbach, “Working alongside Aneel for the last year has been a highlight of my career, and has solidified my belief in the opportunities ahead for Workday,” he said.
“I’m honored to serve as CEO of this incredible company, and to continue working with our world-class leadership team and more than 18,000 Workmates around the globe to build one of the most enduring software businesses of our time.”
Since Eschenbach assumed the co-CEO role in December of 2022, Workday has achieved several accomplishments, including:
- Surpassed 65 million users under contract, and more than 10,000 global customers.
- Counted more than 50% of the Fortune 500, and more than 70% of the top 50 companies in the Fortune 500, among its customer base.
- Saw increased momentum for its EMEA business, reaching over $1 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR).
Bhusri stated, “Workday has never been in a stronger position, thanks in large part to the impact Carl has made in his first year. From the start, he has embodied the company’s core set of values and I am confident that he is the right person to help Workday scale and lead us into our next phase of growth,” he said.
Read the full announcement here.
Accenture Eyes Acquisition of Insight Sourcing, Strengthening Sourcing and Procurement Services
NEW YORK and ATLANTA — Accenture announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Insight Sourcing, a provider of strategic sourcing and procurement services. Insight Sourcing will broaden Accenture’s sourcing and procurement services for private equity companies and the consumer goods, retail, technology, and industrial industries.
The company stated that Insight Sourcing will strengthen Accenture with proven expertise in cost takeout strategy powered by category and supplier market intelligence. Insight Sourcing will add approximately 220 sourcing consultants to Accenture’s Sourcing & Procurement practice within its Supply Chain & Operations function. The acquisition will include Insight Sourcing’s bespoke suite of more than 40 technology procurement tools to help clients capture value faster.
According to Muqsit Ashraf, global lead for Accenture Strategy, “Insight Sourcing will be the latest investment we are making to address growing demands from private equity investors, who seek tailored and repeatable solutions that drive value,” he said.
“Combined with Accenture’s proven expertise across strategy, advisory, technology and managed services, Insight Sourcing will provide critical spend and sourcing capabilities to our private equity clients and their portfolio companies,” Ashraf added.
Read the full announcement here.
Pivot Raises €20M in Series A Funding
PARIS — Pivot, a Paris, France-based procurement automation startup, announced it raised €20M in Series A funding. Backers included Visionaries, Emblem, Anamcara, and Oliver Samwer. This investment comes shortly after a €5M pre-seed funding round in October 2023.
The company stated that it intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach across European markets.
Led by Romain Libeau, Marc-Antoine Lacroix, and Estelle Giuly, Pivot is a consumer-grade procurement software that helps companies keep their spend under control while enhancing their teams. Native integrations with ERPs (including Netsuite) and company tools (such as Slack, Otka, Personio, and BambooHR) allow implementation in a few days, without the need for an integrator.
Romain Libeau stated in an article for Tech.EU, “Our ambition is to provide companies with an innovative tool that will enable them to take full advantage of purchasing as a powerful driver of profitability. The trust placed in us by our customers and investors confirms that we are moving in the right direction.”
Read the full announcement here.
The Smart Cube Upgrades to Amplifi PRO, Boosting Its Procurement Intelligence Solution
LONDON — The Smart Cube (a WNS company), a global provider of strategic research and analytics solutions, announced a revamp of its Commodity Intelligence solution, including new AI Forecasting and Cost Optimization modules, all delivered through a seamless digital interface.
The company stated that The Smart Cube’s custom commodity intelligence and price forecasts are now integrated into the Amplifi PRO procurement intelligence platform. The enhanced user interface will enable client teams to access both deep procurement intelligence and commodity insights in one place, as well as leverage a host of new interactive technology features as part of its Commodity Intelligence solution.
According to Omer Abdullah, co-founder and chief commercial officer for The Smart Cube, “A combination of external factors adding volatility to commodity markets, along with internal challenges around fragmented data and a lack of contextualization, provide a challenging backdrop against which Procurement teams must continue to deliver effective commodity risk management and tangible organizational value,” said Abdullah.
“At The Smart Cube, we transform data into insights and help leading businesses around the world make better decisions. The enhancements to our Commodity Intelligence solution will help Procurement bring together internal and external data more efficiently to underpin robust decision-making and actionable strategies,” he added.
Specifically, new modules will allow clients to access accurate and timely custom intelligence related to the commodities that influence their sourcing strategies and spend.
Read the full announcement here.
Euna Solutions’ Acquisition Expands Procurement Offerings
CHICAGO & TORONTO — Euna Solutions™, a leading provider of purpose-built, cloud-based solutions for the public sector, announced its acquisition of EqualLevel, a Rockville, Maryland-based leader in cloud-based, procure-to-pay management. The platform helps public sector organizations achieve financial success by optimizing spend and reducing costs, all while ensuring legal and contract compliance.
The company stated that the strategic move enhances Euna Solutions’ ability to deliver procure-to-pay automation to public sector agencies. Its Euna Procurement solution is a next-generation eProcurement solution purpose-built for the public sector and designed for smarter, faster sourcing. It manages the entire procurement workflow from purchasing requests to vendor performance.
According to Tom Amburgey, CEO of Euna Solutions, “We are excited to announce our acquisition of EqualLevel, a company that shares our passion for serving the public sector,” he said.
“Adding EqualLevel, especially its marketplace solution, to our already extensive procurement offerings provides the 3,000 agencies we serve an opportunity to leverage more capability to create meaningful, positive change within their communities.”
Read the full announcement here.
Ramp Acquires Venue, Expanding Procurement Capabilities
NEW YORK — Ramp, the finance automation platform, announced the acquisition of Sequoia-backed procurement startup Venue, as well as improvements to its procurement product automations. The announcement represents a significant expansion for Ramp beyond corporate cards as the company tackles inefficiencies across the entire financial tech stack.
The company stated that at Ramp, the Venue team will lead efforts to automate and streamline procurement workflows and vendor management so businesses can control spend before it happens — with initial projects such as customized intake forms, flexible approvals, purchase order management, and AI-powered vendor management.
According to TK Kong, CEO and co-founder of Venue, “With Venue, we built a frictionless purchasing experience for employees and empowered businesses to buy what they needed while staying in-policy,” he said.
“We’re excited to bring our expertise to Ramp and together help enable more efficiency, productivity, and seamless decision-making for our customers.”
In conjunction with the acquisition, Ramp is also launching major improvements to its procurement product that enable more control over and insight into employee spend, accelerate review cycles, and uncover opportunities to save on IT and software spend.
Read the full announcement here.
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