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Sourcemap Inc. which specialises in end-to-end supply chain due diligence software has raised $10m funding to expand its operations in North America and launch a European subsidiary to support growing demands for traceability and transparency within the supply chain.
Laura Husband
Sourcemap, which helps global apparel brands ensure traceability and transparency from the raw materials stage onwards, hopes its new funding will improve end-to-end visibility for businesses that have more complex global supply chains and will help them meet critical social and environmental targets.
Sourcemap works with more than 400,000 leading retailers and manufacturers within the apparel, food, agriculture, home goods, automotive, luxury, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries and claims to be the world's largest supply chain due diligence network.
In fact, Sourcemap says its data and analytics have been used to drive responsible sourcing decisions on more than US$60bn of purchasing spend.
The company points out recent supply chain disruptions have highlighted the importance of end-to-end visibility in how goods and raw materials are sourced. It explains that in January 2021, the United States seized over US$1bn worth of goods with suspected ties to forced labour. Plus, more than 60 categories of goods in 40 countries were flagged by the Department of Labor with more potentially subject to seizure.
The company explains new regulations around decarbonisation, deforestation and forced labour mean major multinationals need to implement technology for transparency and traceability in many aspects of their global supply chain operations.
Sourcemap's CEO and founder Leonardo Bonanni adds: "Supply chain mapping has become an essential tool for competitiveness and compliance across the global economy."
The Sourcemap software platform, which was created from Massachusetts Institute of Technology research, is said to encompass a full suite of due diligence requirements to support all business needs, including: supplier discovery, supply chain mapping, supplier risk assessment, transaction traceability, fraud detection, resilience planning, real-time visualisation and consumer-facing transparency. It is also said to deliver real-time data to communicate to stakeholders and end consumers exactly where and how commodities are sourced.
Sourcemap's US$10m Series A funding was led by energy and sustainable industries venture firm Energize Ventures with participation from start-up venture capital firm E14 Fund.
"As supply chain disruptions challenge core operations for businesses across nearly all sectors of the global economy, companies are looking for solutions that can provide better visibility into every link in the chain," says Juan Muldoon, partner at Energize Ventures.
While, E14 Fund's managing partner Calvin Chin adds: "Data is a tool for meaningful change, and companies need auditable data to effectively mitigate risk."
In February last year Sourcemap participated in a project led by Verité to support enhanced tracing of goods made with child labour, forced labour, and other exploitative practices.
Laura Husband is Just Style's managing editor and she is always eager to hear what Just Style's readers would like to see on the site. She has written and edited publications for both print and online for over a decade ranging from the professional hair and beauty industries to pharmacy and mental health.
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