Despite the economic downturn, companies that solve real problems are still successfully raising money. Aravo, a SAAS supplier information management tool, announced today that they closed $7 million in Series D funding.
Headaches with managing vendor information–think SalesForce.com for suppliers, rather than prospects–is a very real problem. Last summer, I worked in supply chain at a small manufacturer, and I remember calling over a hundred suppliers to get e-mail addresses. (Those addresses were never transferred into our ERP system.)
Currently, Aravo claims their GE installation is the largest single SAAS deployment. “We are now managing over 500,000 suppliers and their data in Aravo, and have just gone live in six languages,” said Gary Reiner, CIO of GE.
Aravo’s software hooks directly into SAP & Oracle, and includes options to track ISO certifications, sustainability initiatives, and risk analysis.
Given the cost-cutting emphasis in supply chain, it’s no wonder Aravo continues to grow during a downturn. Surprisingly they do not expect to be profitable until 2010. CEO Tim Albinson told me this latest financing round provided the runway to emphasize growth over profits, and they plan to double in 2009.
Aravo has raised $30 million so far–almost exclusively from individual
investors, with the majority of the firm’s Series A, B, and C investors participating in the Series D
round. The round was lead by Charles Schwab/Big Sky Partners, who made their fourth
investment in the company. Other investors in this round included Stephen Friedman (Retired
Chairman, Goldman Sachs) Tony Mayer (Former CEO, JP Morgan Capital), and a syndicate of
senior partners and C‐level executives from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. A second close on the round is planned for mid January.