Small and medium sized retailers face many problems, especially in today’s economy. One major issue is sourcing products reliably and at wholesale prices that allow them to make a profit while still being competitive. When up against much larger retailers with vast buying power, this can prove extremely challenging. Smaller retailers must work much harder to locate and identify good suppliers, build beneficial relationships with them, negotiate the best possible prices, and after all that has been accomplished, they may find they need to jump the same hurdles when arranging logistics with other companies to bring products to market.
Procurement staff often struggle with a disjointed process that is lengthy, inefficient and complex. A one-stop-shop system that manages all of these issues automatically, could save countless small and medium retailers from failure while boosting global economic growth.
Enter Qogita, emerging from stealth, they built a platform that aims to streamline wholesale procurement akin to shopping on Amazon. London-based Qogita has successfully raised €80 million in a Series B funding round, spearheaded by Dawn Capital. This funding, which includes previous investors like Accel, LocalGlobe, and Bessemer Venture Partners, has propelled the total raised by the company to €119 million, enabling investments in product development and expanding its product categories which has already grown to over €500M in available inventory.
Addressing e-commerce challenges
Established in 2021 in Amsterdam, Qogita aims to revolutionise wholesale procurement, functioning as a one-stop-shop offering branded products at competitive prices. With a significant presence across Europe, the UK, and the US, the platform has garnered substantial interest in an impressively short period.
Born out of recognising the convoluted processes that small e-commerce businesses encounter when sourcing wholesale health and beauty products, Qogita serves as an all-in-one wholesale e-commerce platform. It is designed to simplify procurement without the need for establishing supplier relationships or grappling with supply chain intricacies, allowing retailers to concentrate on growing their brands and stores.
Platform features
Qogita connects buyers and sellers, primarily focusing on the health and beauty sector. Buyers, typically small to medium-sized retailers, can select desired items from popular brands effortlessly. The platform streamlines procurement by identifying the best available prices for each product, sparing customers from comparing deals or negotiating with various sellers. Qogita manages the entire purchase process, including shipping and delivery, streamlining orders for the customers.
A distinguishing feature of Qogita lies in its algorithm-based allocation system. This system matches buyers’ carts with the most optimal mix of sellers, an intricate process nearly impossible to replicate manually. It ensures cost efficiency, quality, and expedited delivery, leveraging dynamic changes in prices, quantities, and parameters for optimal transactions.
Supporting SMBs and sellers
Over the past two years, Qogita has automated and simplified the sourcing process, aiming to be the world’s largest digital wholesale platform. Small and medium-sized businesses gain access to products and prices typically reserved for larger enterprises, thus enhancing their competitiveness. The platform also offers a buy-now-pay-later feature to assist buyers in managing large upfront payments, contributing to business growth.
For sellers, Qogita provides an avenue to expand sales without additional marketing costs. There are zero listing and selling fees, and sellers receive instant and secure payments for orders. Real-time feedback and analytics on stock and products enable sellers to enhance their competitiveness in the market.
Expanding footprint and vision
The platform’s reach spans across twenty-eight countries in Europe and the UK, with over three hundred sellers and more than 10,000 buyers. The team has grown to seventy-five individuals, operating across twelve countries. Manolis Manassakis, former Director of EMEA Operations at Uber, Manassakis joined Qogita as COO in 2021 and was appointed as CEO earlier this year, while founders Danny Toledano and Yaniv Toledano remain board members.
Manassakis emphasised the company’s mission to revolutionise procurement, empowering ambitious e-commerce platforms and mid-sized stores with global buying power and privileges. The company aims to simplify wholesale procurement in line with the convenience experienced in other consumer sectors.
“In an era when everyone is used to ordering goods and services from a meal to a car ride at the push of a button, it is unacceptable how difficult wholesale buying can be for small and medium-sized businesses.” Say Manassakis,” Qogita was founded with a mission to transform procurement and provide the buying power and privileges of a global chain to every ambitious e-commerce platform or mid-sized store. Over the past two years, we’ve been quietly building in service of our buyer and seller customers, and have made great strides so far, but there is of course still more work to be done. We’re delighted to be working with an elite group of visionary investors to revolutionise wholesale procurement.”
Investor perspectives
Investors lauded Qogita’s comprehensive platform addressing the complexities of procurement for SMBs, envisioning the company’s role in transforming the e-commerce market.
“It is remarkable how complex and completely opaque product procurement still is for small and medium-sized businesses targeting the $6 trillion e-commerce market.” Said Flore,” Qogita has built an all-in-one platform to address the entire wholesale procurement process – from product discovery to price optimisation – and we’re excited to see them power a future generation of e-commerce and retail businesses bringing innovation and choice to the consumer.”
Luca Bocchio from Accel commented, “The B2B wholesale market in Europe is huge, but also fragmented and complex. Currently, trade is done in an inefficient, undigitized way, and Qogita has the opportunity to become the digital enabler of the whole value chain, bringing more efficiency and transparency to a notoriously grey market. We look forward to partnering with the team on their journey ahead.”
Finally, George Henry from LocalGlobe commented, “Qogita has built an extremely elegant solution, abstracting the complexity and opacity that small and medium retailers, both physical and digital, face in their procurement process. The magic of Qogita lies in their unique combination of their search algorithm on top of the marketplace building the most optimal cart for every order, allowing them to provide the only solution that truly works for buyers and sellers. We’re looking forward to continuing to be a part of their growth over the next few years”
