New Zealand procurement startup Cotiss has raised $2.2 million in pre-seed funding.

The round led by Blackbird Ventures, supported by Icehouse Ventures, AfterWork Ventures, Phase One and Co-Ventures.

Cotiss aims to help small and medium-sized procurement teams with simple, intuitive software that improves efficiency and saves money for organizations in industries with strict regulations and compliance, such as government, banking, primary industry and healthcare. It automates repetitive tasks, improves traceability and provides guardrails that prevent non-compliance.

The startup was founded in November 2020 by Harry Wilde, Matt Whiting and Matt O’Halloran and was mainly booted for the first two years.

Wilde said they will use the funding to build out the technical team led by John Gregoriadis, a former Xero chief of engineering. They are also looking to expand Australian and launching in North America later this year.

“We are very happy with the support of such a strong group of investors as we continue to build the Cotiss platform,” he said.

“This investment will enable us to expand our team and accelerate our efforts to simplify and streamline procurement processes for organizations that typically lag behind, ultimately leading to more efficiency and cost savings.”

Blackbird Ventures investor James Palmer said Cotiss is redefining sourcing for small to mid-sized teams.

“Purchasing departments, hampered by outdated tools and processes, have a hard time managing what is heavily focused on collaboration and collaboration compliance driven process,” he said

Some who understand the problem firsthand is Sarah Blackie head of purchasing consultancy Esby and Co.

“Smaller organizations and their procurement teams have been overlooked and years underserved when it comes to suitable sourcing software. Where software absent, there is often too much paperwork, costly inefficiencies and frustration,” she said.

“Finally these inefficiencies prevent leaders from focusing on important things like thinking sourcing strategically, locally and supporting our supplier ecosystem to act sustainably. That’s why it’s so great that Cotiss helps organizations to purchasing experience for everyone.”