Procurement Firm Gobbles Up Venture FundingProcurement Firm Gobbles Up Venture Funding

Raising $35 million in venture capital these days is no small feat, but that's exactly what procurement-services provider ICG Commerce has done. On Monday, the company will disclose that a group of eight firms, including its majority owner, Internet Capital Group, has invested that eye-popping amount, and that former Delta Air Lines CFO Ed West will add the CEO's title to the chairman's role he's held since May. Other investors include Graham Partners, Cross Atlantic Partners, and CIC Group.

ICG, a privately held business that helps companies monitor and manage their procurement processes, will use the funds to continue expanding its products and services, West says. For instance, the company provides sourcing services and transaction management on direct-material purchases in certain areas, such as chemicals and metals, and plans to significantly expand its efforts on that front. ICG already links into customers' ERP, asset-management, and inventory systems; serves as a conduit between customers and suppliers; and provides consulting services--but it's not content to stop there. "One of the things we pride ourselves on is having multiple tentacles of connectivity into our customers," West says.

West also says ICG is attempting to meet customers' desire to route more of their procurement outsourcing through a single vendor. If it's successful, ICG would claim a bigger piece of a growing pie. A recent report from IDC estimates that the worldwide procurement business-process outsourcing market, which reached $5 billion in 2001, will grow to $12 billion by 2006.