Spendesk Adds Procurement to Spend Management Platform With Okko Acquisition

Spendesk has acquired Okko to integrate procurement and spend management for mid-sized businesses into its existing spend management platform.

With this acquisition, Spendesk advances its strategy of integrating procurement services that meet the needs of larger companies, the firms said in a Tuesday (April 9) press release.

“While finance teams already use spend management features such as payment methods and budget controls for purchase orders, the procurement process is more laborious,” Rodolphe Ardant, co-founder and CEO of Spendesk, said in the release. “Poor workflows and tools lead to a lack of visibility, additional workloads and cost control difficulties for all teams involved.”

“Now, we can help clients to increase the efficiency of these complex processes,” Ardant added.

The Okko procurement platform acquired by Spendesk helps business digitize the procurement process from the initial need to the final purchase order, according to the press release. It provides a collaborative, automated and frictionless process for finance teams, legal teams, IT departments and others involved in the procurement process.

These capabilities join the Spendesk platform that eases spending for employees and gives finance leaders visibility of company spend, the release said. The spend management platform integrates everyday technologies, automation and an easily adopted approval process.

“The union of Okko with Spendesk brings together two dynamic teams, both with a shared commitment to client success,” Julien Chriqui, co-founder and CEO of Okko, said in the release. “Spendesk’s clients can now access an even broader range of features as they seek to streamline their spend management processes.”

PYMNTS Intelligence has found that the drive to modernize procurement cuts across industries. Sixty-six percent of retailers and 56% of manufacturers said the most important reason they are investing in digital procurement technology is to modernize their business processes, according to “Digital Payments: Modernizing Procurement Processes,” a PYMNTS Intelligence and Corcentric collaboration.

In another recent move, Spendesk said in November that it integrated with global travel management platform TravelPerk to simplify corporate travel expense management. That collaboration enables streamlined processes, improved time management and better budget control for businesses, the company said at the time.