In a significant advancement within the financial and procurement management sector, Spendesk, renowned for its comprehensive spend management platform, has announced the strategic acquisition of Okko, a French procurement company known for its innovative approach to digitizing procurement processes. This move marks Spendesk’s first acquisition, underlining the company’s aspiration to expand its market presence and enhance the breadth of its service offerings, particularly for mid-sized businesses across Europe.

Combining the technological prowess and resources of Okko with Spendesk’s existing platform heralds the creation of the first European solution capable of fully integrating procurement and spend management. This integration promises a leap forward in efficiency and control for companies managing their spending, transforming the landscape of financial operations for businesses.

Okko’s platform stands out for its user-friendly approach, guiding businesses through every step of the procurement process – from initial need identification to the final purchase order. The platform’s capabilities, including vendor management, collaborative purchase requests, and contract renewal management, support a comprehensive ‘intake-to-procure-to-pay’ solution. This ensures that various departments such as finance, legal, and IT can benefit from a collaborative, automated, and streamlined process to control spending proactively.

The alignment of Spendesk and Okko’s visions—to center the procurement and spend management tools around employee needs—signals a significant development. This acquisition represents Spendesk’s commitment to integrating robust procurement services and expanding its offerings to meet the complex needs of larger companies.

Rodolphe Ardant, co-founder and CEO of Spendesk, emphasized the acquisition’s role in maintaining Spendesk’s leading position in the spend management sector. Ardant highlighted the difficulties facing finance teams due to cumbersome procurement processes and challenged workflows, expressing confidence that the integration with Okko will enhance efficiency for these complex operations.

Julien Chriqui, co-founder and CEO of Okko, expressed excitement about the opportunity for Okko to join forces with Spendesk. Highlighting the shared commitment to client success and the added value for Spendesk’s clients through an expanded feature set, Chriqui sees the acquisition as a positive step forward for both companies’ clients.

Customers of both platforms have welcomed the news, with representatives such as Aurore Teboul from PayFit highlighting the practical benefits. The acquisition is seen as a fusion that could centralize purchasing and expense management on a single, cohesive platform, thereby optimizing coordination among different stakeholders and enhancing visibility of expenses.

Spendesk, with its headquarters in Paris and additional offices across Europe, has established itself as a cornerstone in spend management for businesses ranging from startups to established brands. The platform’s aim to make agile and efficient spending accessible for all employees and ensure complete visibility for finance leaders into company-wide spending has been well-received by thousands of businesses.

Okko, born out of the startup studio Hexa and co-founded by Julien Chriqui and Robin Brissaud, has carved a niche for itself with a SaaS solution that champions simplifying and centralizing the procurement process. By focusing on an employee-centric approach, Okko has played a crucial role in helping companies streamline their procurement processes, mitigate risk, and achieve time and cost efficiencies.

With this strategic acquisition, Spendesk and Okko are poised to redefine the standards of procurement and spend management for businesses, heralding a new era of efficiency and control in corporate financial management.