Procurement management platform Levelpath secures $30M
In 2014, Stan Garber and Alex Yakubovich launched Scout RFP, a cloud-based sourcing solution to streamline the request for proposals (RFP) process. Workday acquired Scout RFP in 2019, and Garber and Yakubovich stayed under Workday’s management. However, they encountered significant procurement challenges at Workday, including chasing the appropriate approvers, finding vendors for swag, and creating non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
These obstacles led the pair to develop Levelpath, a software-as-a-service platform that manages various enterprise procurement services. The company recently raised $30 million in a Series A round led by Redpoint, following a $14.5 million seed round. According to a Harvard Business Review study, roughly 60% of business leaders believe that a lack of transparency between finance and procurement functions poses a risk to their business. Procurement teams commonly need help with data quality and governance, which impede their ability to monitor procurement processes.
TechCrunch reports that many companies seek to reduce costs and improve their procurement process. Levelpath’s CEO, Yakubovich, believes creating an enjoyable user experience will increase adoption rates, improving efficiency and a rapid return on investment.
Several startups compete in the procurement software market, including Zip, Ramp, Focal Point, Keelvar, and Tropic. Despite the competition, Yakubovich claims that Levelpath stands out due to its mobile-first platform, which he describes as “next-gen” and user-friendly. While Levelpath is suitable for small firms, its tools are designed to meet the needs of large enterprises with hundreds or thousands of vendors and employees, with customized workflows for each company’s approval process.
Procurement requests can quickly become complicated, involving a lot of phone calls and emails to get approval from the right people. For instance, if a marketing executive wants to buy swag for an event, their company may have a filter that requires purchases over $5,000 to be approved by the department head. However, if the purchase is only $3,000, they can order from their list of approved vendors. They may need approval from their department head and the legal team if they’re signing a sponsorship contract. Levelpath helps by guiding responses to the relevant procurement leaders.
Levelpath’s algorithms also provide valuable insights to avoid redundant vendors. Additionally, the company is developing an AI model that understands employees’ purchasing and workflow habits to tailor the procurement experience to their needs. For example, suppose someone in the organization wants to buy software. In that case, Levelpath can identify similar, potentially cheaper vendors that meet their typical criteria.
The company’s ultimate goal is to help companies decide how to consolidate and restructure their services, creating a delightful procurement experience for end-users. According to Yakubovich, Levelpath is the first platform to prioritize the end-user experience in their product roadmap.
Levelpath has an ambitious mission and claims to have secured dozens of enterprise customers, including Ace Hardware, Qualtrics, and Innovacare. The company currently has 26 employees, and they expect this number to double next year. Levelpath plans to expand its go-to-market strategy in 2024 while using its latest funding to focus on product development and research. With companies looking to save money and streamline the procurement process, investing in this space has never been a better idea.