The digital backbone for B2B communication
Most suppliers still work with outdated manual processes today. Since they are dependent on their customers' supplier portals, they have to log into dozens of different portals, navigate through a multitude of user interfaces, manually transfer order data between their own ERP system and the supplier portals, correct prices, or type in invoices. At btov, we firmly believe that it is time for a change and are delighted to lead Procuros' €1 million pre-seed round. Procuros has set itself the task of creating an integration hub that enables suppliers to easily integrate into their customers' supplier portals and process all quotation, order, and invoice documents completely digitally. The product functions as a pure middleware platform that is not directly visible to the end user. The end user can now work seamlessly from within the company's internal ERP system. Procuros facilitates the integration of a supplier's ERP with various procurement software, as shown below.
Suppliers only need to integrate with Procuros once to gain access to all portals integrated with the platform, as opposed to integrating with each individual supplier portal. This results in significant efficiency gains and cost savings for suppliers.
The company was founded in early 2021 by Patrick Thelen and Benjamin Wulff. Both have a background in industrial engineering and have experienced first-hand the pain point of complicated business-to-business integration in corporate supply chains. With Procuros, the team is addressing a key problem in any type of supply chain. Procuros is initially targeting medium-sized suppliers, with a focus on the manufacturing industry and food retail.
Here's why we're particularly excited about Procuros:
- A huge market is ripe for innovation: The B2B communications market is enormous, and the supplier side has remained largely untouched by established companies. On the contrary, the recent wave of new supplier portals has exacerbated the existing pain point on the supplier side of having to work with dozens of procurement platforms simultaneously. In addition, the digitization of European supply chains has accelerated due to macro effects such as COVID.
- A strong and complementary team: We believe that Patrick and Ben are a very strong founding team. Our first phone call with them was one of those magical moments when I wanted to send them a check via Zoom right away—I'm sure you'll understand once you've spoken to them. Both are exceptional communicators, very focused, with great attention to detail and a strong drive for excellence. Through their previous experience at Alfa Laval and Airbus, respectively, they have first-hand experience of the problems Procuros addresses, both on the supplier and buyer sides. They also complement each other very well. Ben has extensive technical experience in developing integrations, and Patrick has the strategic mindset coupled with exceptional sales skills to bring the concisely convey the technical added value of Procuros. Furthermore, its operational successes without financing and without a team demonstrate its outstanding execution and capital efficiency.
- Strong value proposition: Ben and Patrick have identified a value proposition that is crystal clear to suppliers and can deliver a rapid ROI to their customers. In fact, every single market reference we received signaled an acute need for a solution like Procuros.
- Verticalized approach and viral potential: Due to the founders' operational background in the manufacturing sector, Procuros is initially focusing on supply chains in the automotive and mechanical engineering industries, followed by food retail. This initial vertical focus will lead to multidimensional network effects in adjacent networks, as Procuros' customers are likely to have overlapping customers on the buyer side and thus portals. In addition, suppliers can integrate their own suppliers into the platform via the self-service onboarding flow. In this way, Procuros can quickly spread across different industries and along supply chains.
Given all these highlights, we are delighted to welcome Procuros to the btov family and to lead their €1 million pre-seed round. We are supported by carefully selected angels, including Beate Fastrich (former CEO of Estee Lauder), sennder co-founders David Nothacker, Nico Schefenacker, and Julius Köhler, Joachim Drees (former CEO of MAN), Holger Hengstler (former CEO of dress-for-less), Marcell Vollmer (former CIO of SAP Ariba and Celonis), Norbert Winkeljohann (former Global Head of PwC, Advisory Board of Deutsche Bank and Bayer), and Doreen Huber (former COO of DeliveryHero and CEO of LEMONCAT/Caterwings).
To all suppliers: who have to work with dozens of procurement platforms: Contact us if you would like to learn more about Procuros—we will be happy to tell you more and put you in touch with the team!
To all other investors and entrepreneurs: Please feel free to contact us ([email protected] and [email protected]) if you would like to learn more about our view of the market or get in touch with the founders.