UPTEC startup receives investment from Loyal VC fund for AI solution that reduces negotiation time for commercial proposals by 90%
UPTEC startup receives investment from Loyal VC fund for AI solution that reduces negotiation time for commercial proposals by 90%
The Value Negotiation Technologies solution, already tested at Lufthansa and Mehler Engineered Products optimizes trade between customers and suppliers and creates double-digit savings gains per deal
VN Tech – Value Negotiation Technologies, a startup incubated at UPTEC – Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto, was one of the most recent companies to receive investment from the Loyal VC fund, and will accelerate the Artificial Intelligence solution that allows companies to optimize the negotiation with potential suppliers.
The initial investment of Loyal VC, one of the leading global venture funds with origins in the United States, Canada, Switzerland and Singapore, and which has already invested in more than 350 companies from 60 countries, starts with USD 10,000, which allows the creation of conditions for subsequent investments, continuous evaluations and equal opportunities to the companies already present in the portfolio. It also benefits from a network of consultants, monthly reports and different resources. This $10,000 figure can quickly rise to $200,000 and in the future, to a larger amount. After a robust internal investment by the founders in the startup of VN Tech, this venture capital fund is the first step in opening the company to external capital, which is expected to be sequenced in the future.
Combining artificial intelligence with the proprietary methodology, VN Tech’s platform works with a quick configuration of the negotiation agent for the purchase, whether they are transport, raw materials, equipment or services, with the results pointing, so far, to a reduction of approximately 90% in the time it takes to negotiate commercial proposals with suppliers, allowing value creation and gains in total savings in the order of double digits.
VN Tech’s solution contacts the designated suppliers and autonomously conducts the negotiation interactions of all relevant clauses until the final bids are obtained, allowing for a clear and immediate award.
This process not only drastically reduces the time and operational complexity of the negotiation, between phone calls, emails, and spreadsheets, among others, but also improves the Total Cost of Acquisition by actively guiding the supplier in optimizing the total value of their proposal as a whole, giving them immediate feedback and various options for optimization.
With this solution, suppliers gain from increased win-win collaboration, process efficiency, and optimal value exchanged. On the other hand, the buyers naturally win and become the strategists of the negotiation process, delegating the operational and tactical parts to the agent who fulfils the mandate that has been instructed.
The VN Tech platform is already available on the market and has helped customers, both in the pilot and production phases, to reduce their contracting expenses, including Mehler Engineered Products, a German textile industrial group with a significant presence in Portugal, which uses the platform to automate the negotiation of maritime transport proposals. More recently, VN Tech started a pilot collaboration with Lameirinho, a textile company from Guimarães, during which the automation of procurement negotiation processes is planned, and they are in the negotiation phase with other companies in the sector.
In the past, Value Negotiation Technologies has launched a pilot at Lufthansa to test automatic negotiations of reimbursement packages with passengers. The success of this operation led to an increase in user satisfaction by 9:1, leading to a monetary retention of 50 to 73% in the airline and a reduction in trading time from weeks to a median of four minutes.
VN Tech’s founding team is composed of André Dória, Horácio Falcão, and Rodrigo Gouveia, professors of negotiation at the international business school INSEAD. that in their advisory activity (led by Horacio Falcão), they have helped multinationals from sectors such as big tech, pharmaceuticals, airlines, among many others, to overcome their main challenges of negotiating with other multinationals and governments.
February 7, 2024