Specright, an Irvine, California-based software company, enables its customers to control their critical supply chain specifications like packaging, products, and raw materials. The company’s cloud-based SaaS platform for Specification Data Management also helps companies reduce costs, create efficiencies and drive sustainability by sharing, analyzing, and structuring specifications along the supply chain.
Recently, Specright announced it raised $8.8 million in Series A funding led by Pritzker Group Venture Capital (PGVC). Previous investors Okapi Venture Capital, Fika Ventures, and Mucker Capital also participated in this round.
This round of funding will enable Specright to accelerate product development and grow the team from 30 to 75 employees by early 2020. Plus the funding will be used for expanding operations globally as the leader in Specification Data Management (SDM) software.
“It’s hard to believe, but most of the critical data required to make, package, sell, and buy goods typically lives in spreadsheets or on employee hard drives,” said Specright founder and CEO Matthew Wright in a statement. “Specright’s platform provides a foundation for all stakeholders to access specifications, collaborate in real-time, and improve business performance. We’re excited to drive this next wave of supply chain innovation.”
Wright had developed this concept after spending more than 20 years in the packaging industry as an executive and owner of a packaging manufacturer. Plus he also dealt with the inefficiencies and costs related to low-quality specifications. And sometimes the specifications would be completely lacking from customers.
PGVC’s Los Angeles-based Partner Gabe Greenbaum has joined the company’s board in conjunction with the funding round. Greenbaum has also seen inefficiencies firsthand and the resulting negative impact on industries where there has been a lack of supply chain and specification data.
“As investors with deep roots in the manufacturing and supply chain ecosystem, we’ve seen the pain and inefficiencies caused when business units, vendors, and suppliers aren’t on the same page due to the traditional siloing of data,” Greenbaum added. “We believe Specright is creating a multibillion-dollar market within the packaging industry and beyond.”
So how does Specright’s platform work? It essentially enables customers to digitize the critical specifications and ensure data quality within a company across its supply chain. From there, customers can leverage data and workflows for driving the efficiencies.
The single source-of-truth also ensures logical families of machines, raw materials, packaging, and ingredients of products at a deep data level to drive intelligence. Once the specifications are in Specright, the company utilizes its industry knowledge and algorithms for automation recommendations or actions that a company can take for saving money or improving operations.
The focus on intelligence and recommendations is made possible by Specright’s core platform. And it also signals the importance the company places for making data actionable for its customers.
“Over a short period of time, Specright has grown to serve a variety of functions across the supply chain, such as packaging, quality, procurement, marketing, and new product development,” explained Okapi Venture Capital managing director Marc Averitt. “The company has grown a diverse customer base with both Fortune 100 companies and challenger brands taking advantage of its capabilities. We’re very excited to support their growth and help them expand their footprint.”
