Sourcefy, an AI-powered supplier discovery and management platform, is transforming the B2B sourcing landscape. By leveraging advanced AI agents, Sourcefy is streamlining supplier searches and ensuring safe and transparent transactions. The company’s innovative approach addresses critical challenges in the industry, setting a new standard for efficiency and reliability.
Pain points in traditional sourcing
- Reliance on traditional B2B platforms:
- Slow Process: Platforms like Alibaba can be flooded with low-quality suppliers, making the search process time-consuming.
- Lack of Accountability: These platforms often lack robust quality assurance, leading to potential disputes and dissatisfaction.
- Reliance on sourcing agents:
- High Costs: Businesses frequently hire expensive sourcing agents due to mistrust in existing B2B platforms.
- Inefficiency: Despite the high costs, sourcing agents often do not improve efficiency significantly.
Both methods are slow, not cost-effective, and lack supplier accountability, which can lead to disputes and frustration for business owners.
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The rise of AI in sourcing
AI technology has revolutionised various industries, including sourcing and procurement. Sourcefy’s AI agents automate the supplier search process, delivering significant benefits:
- Eliminating keyword searches: Traditional B2B platforms require users to manually search for products using keywords, a process that can be inefficient and time-consuming. Sourcefy completely removes the need for keyword searches.
- Streamlined communication: Users no longer need to communicate with multiple suppliers or relay instructions to traditional sourcing agents. This process is often cumbersome and repetitive.
- Efficient job posting: Sourcefy allows users to post their job requirements with detailed information such as project title, description, budget, MOQ, and country. Within 24 hours, users typically receive proposals from suppliers who understand their requirements, significantly reducing sourcing time and eliminating the headache of explaining requirements repeatedly.
Addressing industry challenges
The logistics sector, fundamental to global trade, faces several challenges, including high costs, fraudulent suppliers, and lack of transparency. Sourcefy addresses these pain points through its AI-powered platform, which provides:
- Secure transactions: Business transactions for procurement usually exceed $10,000, and it is in Sourcefy’s interest to protect buyers’ funds. Partnering with Escrow.com, Sourcefy ensures funds are only released upon buyer approval, mitigating risks associated with unfinished or unsatisfactory products. Traditional B2B platforms like Alibaba have numerous reviews from users who lost money on such transactions, highlighting the need for Sourcefy’s secure approach.
- Milestone tracking: Ensuring accountability from start to finish when a deal is struck between a buyer and supplier, such as for thermal flask bottles, Sourcefy encourages users to use the milestone function to divide the project into smaller, manageable stages. For example, the first milestone might involve checking the quality of the bottle by requiring the supplier to send pictures or videos. The second milestone could be verifying the print quality of the bottle, followed by assessing the packaging quality as the third milestone. The final milestone would ensure the items arrive safely to the buyer. Buyers only approve each milestone and release the corresponding funds when they are satisfied, ensuring that suppliers remain accountable throughout the entire process.
- Smart logistics: Smart logistics collaborations with industry leaders like DHL and UPS enhance delivery efficiency and cost savings. Traditional logistics often present several pain points, such as inflated delivery prices imposed by suppliers and the cumbersome process of checking delivery statuses through external URLs. Sourcefy addresses these issues by integrating logistics directly into the platform. This integration allows users to access competitive rates, benefiting from negotiated rates with logistics partners and thereby reducing overall delivery costs. Additionally, users can seamlessly track delivery statuses within the Sourcefy platform, eliminating the need to navigate multiple external websites. These features ensure a more efficient and cost-effective logistics process, further enhancing the user experience on Sourcefy.
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Future outlook
Looking ahead, Sourcefy is poised for significant growth. The upcoming launch of Version 2 in October will see Sourcefy become a fully integrated all-in-one sourcing and procurement platform. This update will allow users to request samples directly from suppliers within the local inbox, track sample orders and deliveries, monitor supplier orders, and check logistics progress—all within the platform.
Additionally, in 2025, Sourcefy plans to move towards an enterprise SaaS model, aiming to help MNCs in the trading sector manage their buyer-seller relationships via Sourcefy’s AI. This feature will facilitate transactions on the Sourcefy platform for a very low fee, further enhancing efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Recent investment and growth
Sourcefy’s recent $250K pre-seed investment from Evergreen Wealth Management, a boutique family office based in Singapore, marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey. This funding will accelerate efforts to enhance the platform’s AI capabilities, expand market reach, and upgrade the overall user experience. Sourcefy remains committed to continuous innovation to meet the evolving needs of its users.
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For more information, visit Sourcefy’s website or contact the team at contact@sourcefy.co for partnerships.
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This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Sourcefy
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