Tacto raises €5.3m to fix industrial supply chains
- Munich-based industrial procurement tech startup Tacto raised €5.3m million led by Cherry Ventures together with UVC Partners and Visionaries Club as well as business angels Hanno Renner (Personio), Michael Wax (Forto), Johannes Reck (GetYourGuide) and Torsten Reil (Helsing)
- Founded in 2020, Tacto develops an AI-based software to run industrial procurement helping hidden champions from the Industrial Mittelstand to manufacture products from home appliances to medical technology
- Tacto will use the funding to further scale its software helping more industrial SMEs to mitigate supply chain issues and transform their procurement digitally, intelligently and sustainably
Munich, 22 March 2022 - Munich-based software company Tacto raised € 5.3m to transform industrial procurement. The financing was led by venture capital firm Cherry Ventures together with UVC Partners, Visionaries Club, and Personio’s Hanno Renner, GetYourGuide’s Johannes Reck, Forto’s Michael Wax, and Helsing’s Torsten Reil.
Industrial companies are currently facing huge interruptions and material shortages in their supply chains. While the economy rebounding has filled the order books of most companies, production is halted due to supply chain issues causing more than € 38 billion damage in 2021 with no end in sight [1]. Procurement is the gateway to each companies' supply chain.
“Tacto is partnering with the industrial market leaders of today to build the digital leader of tomorrow. Together we future-proof the backbone of the world economy by running industrial procurement - digitally, intelligently and sustainably," says André Petry, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Tacto.
On average, industrial companies spend around 50% of their revenues on procured goods [2]. As products get more sophisticated and supply chains become more distributed, buyers have to ensure the on-time, on-quality, and in-budget supply of thousands of parts while now also focusing on sustainability. Available tools are usually too expensive for mid-sized companies, implementation takes too long, and outdated technologies lead to employee dissatisfaction.
“With Tacto, we are accelerating the digitalisation of our procurement: we are finally moving away from Excel-based processes towards digital procurement with a solution that is embraced by all employees. Only a few months after implementation, we have already been able to achieve significant savings,” says Matthias Schlotter, Chief Procurement Officer at Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen.
Tacto has partnered up with leading players from the Industrial Mittelstand to jointly co-innovate the future of procurement. The AI-based software gives customers a transparent overview of their procurement activities, algorithmically highlights savings potential and risk, and automates transactional workflows in sourcing and supplier management so they can focus on what matters: shipping products to customers.
“We are confident that Tacto can become a category winning procurement suite for SMEs by helping these businesses to unlock significant savings and create resilient supply chains from day one,” says Christian Meermann, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures. "More so, Tacto's team combines a strong tech foundation with a deep understanding of the industrial world to work on fixing industrial supply chains, one of the most pressing issues of our time. With all of its hidden champions, Germany is the perfect location to build the future leader in procurement tech.”
About Tacto
Tacto develops an intuitive, data-driven, and automated solution for procurement in medium-sized industrial enterprises. The AI-based software gives customers a transparent overview of their procurement activities, algorithmically highlights risk and savings potential, and automates transactional workflows in sourcing and supplier management to focus on what matters. With Tacto customers can focus on strategic work, leverage savings potential, and reduce complexity - without the need for costly IT resources.
About UVC Partners
UVC Partners is a Munich- and Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in European B2B startups in the areas of enterprise software, industrial technologies, and mobility. The fund typically invests between € 0.5m - 10m initially and up to € 30m in total per company. Portfolio companies benefit from the extensive investment and exit experience of the management team as well as from the close cooperation with UnternehmerTUM, Europe’s leading innovation, and business creation center. With over 300 employees and more than 100 industry partners, UnternehmerTUM can draw from many years of experience in establishing young companies. This cooperation enables UVC Partners to offer startups unique access to talent, industry customers, and other financial partners.
Sources
[1]: ifo Institute Munich, https://www.ifo.de/node/65936
[2]: VDMA, https://www.vdma.org/einkauf-materialwirtschaft
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