Workday To Expand Procure-To-Pay Via Scout RFP Acquisition

Workday is going to acquire cloud-based procurement and e-software company Scout RFP for $540 million, according to reports.

Based in San Francisco, Scout RFP is designed to aid organizations with their procurement processes, from intake through supplier management.

“As organizations face growing business complexities while navigating increasing competitive pressures, digital transformation is becoming a top priority,” Chief Products Officer Petros Dermetzis said in a blog. “And as companies embrace these shifting dynamics, there’s an elevated focus on the office of procurement as a way to support growth while improving the bottom line, with organizations viewing supplier relationships as strategic assets – not just transactions.”

Workday has previously invested in Scout RFP, a company that raised $60 million in a Series C funding round.

The move will help Workday grow its offerings of procure-to-pay services and help speed up delivery of its source-to-pay solution.

“Scout RFP is an industry leader that is loved by procurement teams who are undergoing a significant shift to better optimize spend,” said Workday CEO and Co-founder Aneel Bhusri. “Together, we will deliver a modern source-to-pay solution that accelerates our momentum in the spend management market and expands how customers can plan, execute, analyze and extend in one system.”

Scout RFP’s more than 160 workers throughout North America and Europe will all join Workday.

“With Scout RFP, which has been a Workday Ventures portfolio company since 2018, Workday will provide organizations [with] a comprehensive source-to-pay solution with a best-in-class strategic sourcing offering to transform the procurement organization and deliver better business outcomes, including reduction in spend, greater policy compliance and maximized engagement across key stakeholders,” Dermetzis said.

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 of Workday’s fiscal year 2020, which ends on Jan. 31 of that year. The deal is “subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including required regulatory approval,” Dermetzis said.