Advanced buys Australian procurement technology firm

Key Takeaways

Advanced has acquired Portt, a leading SaaS provider of procurement and supplier management solutions in Australia and New Zealand, which will enhance Advanced's capabilities in spend management and contract lifecycle management.

The acquisition is expected to double Advanced's footprint in Australia and strengthen its presence in sectors such as public services, education, health, and financial services, complementing its existing offerings.

Both companies are optimistic about the integration, believing it will drive greater business efficiencies and innovations in procurement technology, benefiting a growing customer base across the UK and ANZ.

Advanced, the UK software and services provider, has acquired Portt, the fastest growing provider of SaaS procurement, contract and supplier management solutions in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Portt is an intelligent procurement, contracts and supplier management platform. Its mission is to help customers streamline processes unlocking the strategic potential of procurement and commercial teams. With teams located in Sydney and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, Portt currently manages over 63,000 private and public sector suppliers across ANZ with a fast-growing user base of over 9,000. Its customers include NSW Health, Ministry of Education and Super Retail Group.

The deal will double Advanced’s footprint in Australia, extend its spend management capability centred around eMarketplace, and builds on its recent acquisition of CloudTrade, a data capture and document automation solution, to handle the entire contract lifecycle.

Portt had previously been working in partnership with Advanced in the UK public and private sectors. Its growing customer base resides in sectors complementary to those which Advanced has a strong UK presence in, such as the public sector, education, health and care, financial services and blue light.

Commenting on the acquisition, Gordon Wilson, CEO of Advanced, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Portt to the growing Advanced Family – the integration of their technology will allow our combined customers to realize greater business efficiencies and productivity within their teams, proactively driving business improvement and growth.

“This acquisition represents another significant step in our growth and international expansion strategy, building on our already successful footprint in Australia. This is an extremely complementary acquisition strategically as we focus on building out our complete ERP offering comprising financial, spend and people management in both the UK and ANZ and another significant addition of world class innovative technology for our customers.”

Chris Holmes, co-CEO and co-founder of Portt, added: “We are extremely proud of what we have achieved with Portt. As a rapidly growing sourcing, contract, and supplier management platform, Portt believes heavily in the strength of innovation to drive value for the customer.

“Being part of the Advanced family allows us to be a part of a best-of-breed financial and spend management software organization, with our world class procurement technology, delivering a force multiplier to customers. We’re incredibly excited about working with Advanced to deliver real outcomes and value across the UK and ANZ procurement ecosystem.”