Automated B2B supply chain platform Opply has raised $4 million to transform the supply chain experience for SME F&B brands
● The deep tech startup revolutionises how brands find, communicate with and order from suppliers
● Opply is the world’s first personalised end-to-end supply chain platform, creating a future-proof supply chain solution
● Backed by Chalfen Ventures and Anthemis Group, the fundraise will be used to further enhance Opply’s technology and expand the global team
Opply, the automated B2B supply chain platform, has raised $4M in seed funding from leading investors Chalfen Ventures and Anthemis Group. Opply’s platform and marketplace connects small to medium-sized food and beverage consumer brands with suppliers.
Launched just eight months ago, Opply revolutionises how SME food and beverage brands find, communicate and order from suppliers. It is the world’s first personalised end-to-end supply platform that covers everything from sourcing to simplified workflows to payment systems.
Opply’s unique technology uses AI to match brands with the right suppliers instantly. By automating the supply chain between the two, the platform saves customers an average of two months – the time it would take to source ingredients, along with a saving of at 20% on costs[1].
Globally, SME consumer goods brands spend an estimated $1.4 trillion annually on the cost of goods, but the market suffers from a lack of transparency and relationships in the supply chain, a situation that was further exacerbated during the pandemic because of fluctuating demand both domestically and internationally due to COVID lockdowns and trading restrictions, along with the inability to transact and ship internationally due to quarantines and brand inexperience. For suppliers, Opply offers the opportunity to connect with thousands of emerging high-growth companies, without the financial risk or loss of time often associated with working with smaller brands.
Opply focuses on the most innovative brands and suppliers, with the aim of becoming the leading platform and data leader in consumer goods innovation, powering anyone to start and scale their own successful brand. It currently works with innovative brands such Bold Bean Co and Acid League and it has the power to help the 25 million consumer goods brands worldwide with $4 trillion of revenue who do not have the access, knowledge or power to create effective supply chains.
Helen Murphy, CEO, co-founded Opply after seeing how challenging it was for brands to find the right suppliers. She spent more than 10 years growing some of the biggest consumer goods brands at P&G, Bain and her own consumer company.
“Opply saves brands and suppliers vital time, allowing them to focus on running their business. The platform takes what was a highly fragmented market and a frustrating, time-consuming process for both parties and brings it firmly into the modern global retail environment,” Murphy commented.
“Starting with food and beverage brands, we have built the world’s biggest and highest-quality supplier database alongside an automated sourcing and ordering process. The platform automates purchasing end-to-end, with personalised quotes from quality global suppliers, a unique dynamic payments system that is perfect for SMEs, and worldwide trackable shipping.”
Mike Chalfen, Founder at Chalfen Ventures, commented, “I like to invest in companies that capture new data, make intelligent automation easily actionable, and so create large new markets. Helen, Martin and team have the drive, vision, domain insight, and data chops to do this for the gigantic food and beverage market. With Opply, brands can source transactable supplier data while managing procurement from sourcing and order management to transaction and financing. This will bring unprecedented liquidity to a trillion dollar global market.”
Sophie Winwood, Principal at Anthemis, added, “While investment pours into consumer brands, no one is focused on the larger and uglier problem of procurement and there has never been a more relevant time to tackle this issue. The Opply team has the perfect combination of experience, passion and skill to help new brands compete on cost and quality. We are thrilled to support the company as it scales to meet a proven demand for a more seamless sourcing and supply chain management platform.”
Alongside the support from Chalfen Ventures and Anthemis, Opply has also received continued support from Entrepreneur First alongside prominent angel investors including founders and teams from GoCardless, Trouva, Farewill and Jamjar. Opply will use the new funding to build out the engineering and commercial teams that will deliver its global go-to-market strategy on the back of work conducted under their pre-seed raise.
