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Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The $1 Trillion Blind Spot: How Zinit's AI Is Revolutionizing Global Procurement
In a world where digital transformation has revolutionized nearly every aspect of business operations, procurement — particularly in emerging markets — has remained stubbornly analog. Across industries worth, collectively, trillions of dollars, spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes still dominate the procurement landscape. With its AI-powered B2B procurement platform, which is already showing impressive early adoption across Asia, Dubai-based Zinit aims to change that. The company focuses on tail spend — representing approximately 30 percent of procurement value and 80 percent of transactions — which is often ignored by major platforms like SAP and Coupa. By targeting this underserved segment, Zinit's platform helps enterprises reduce costs by 15-30 percent while dramatically improving efficiency. The numbers speak for themselves. In just six months since launching, the company has onboarded 83 enterprises across multiple countries, including India's Vinati Organics, Piramal, and Quantela, each with $1–2 B in revenue. Indonesia's JD Group ($155B) and Amcor ($13B), as well as Malaysia's top packaging manufacturer GSPP, have published their tenders on the Zinit platform. Behind Zinit are co-founders Anton Buzdalin and Andrey Chernogorov, entrepreneurs who previously built Bidzaar into Eastern Europe's leading procurement automation platform. That venture connected over 1,000 private enterprises — including 43 Forbes 200 companies — and processed an annual GMV of $15 billion. "Suppliers are no longer just vendors. They're strategic partners, a core part of your support system, and often the first layer of risk management. In the $1 trillion markets where Zinit operates, companies still rely on email and Excel for procurement. We're changing that by embedding best practices and scalable systems into fast-growing emerging economies. What keeps us moving is how quickly our clients start seeing real, measurable results," says Anton Buzdalin, Co-Founder of Zinit. His partner Andrey Chernogorov adds: "Transparent procurement doesn't just drive efficiency, it's fostering a new culture of B2B relationships built on transparency, rapid technology adoption, and access to enterprise partnerships." With over 350 successful tenders already completed on the platform and growth at 50 percent month-over-month, Zinit is quickly gaining traction in the procurement automation space. The company's global team now numbers 63 professionals, supporting operations across multiple countries. Zinit's AI-powered platform enables one-click cross-border tendering, reducing tendering time by 80 percent while helping companies refresh their supplier databases by bringing in new qualified vendors. For Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs), the technology serves as a procurement AI co-pilot, completely reshaping how they manage tail spend. Zinit stands out through both its business model and its next-generation tech platform powered by integrated AI. While most competitors focus on internal process automation, Zinit is building an open supplier network that leverages network effects and transparent, competitive sourcing. This shift from closed systems to open collaboration delivers faster results, greater savings, and a more dynamic vendor ecosystem. 'Our edge is in the model. We're not just digitizing processes, we're building an open supplier ecosystem that thrives on competition and transparency,' says Andrey Chernogorov, Co-Founder of Zinit. The platform offers a low-risk, results-driven partnership — an essential quick win for CPOs — delivering an average 15 percent cost reduction on tail spend while helping modernize and future-proof procurement operations. The company has just opened a new office in Brazil and is set to expand further with upcoming launches in MENA and Turkey over the next year — marking a significant step in strengthening its global footprint. Its country-agnostic model enables rapid, profitable scaling, positioning Zinit as the first truly digital-first procurement platform in these markets. In 2025, the company will invest $2 million into India's economy, reinforcing its commitment to one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Moreover, through partnerships with companies like Uflex, L&T Financial Services, and Compass Group, Zinit is further driving procurement modernization and reshaping how businesses operate. Zinit's innovative approach has already earned notable recognition. The company was named First Runner-Up at AIM Congress 2025, selected from 3,200 applicants and over 100 global startups by the UAE Ministry of Economy, and recognized as a future unicorn under the We the UAE 2031 initiative. This acknowledgment underscores the potential impact of Zinit's platform on global procurement practices, particularly in emerging markets where the transition from manual to digital processes represents a significant opportunity for efficiency gains and cost savings. Now the team is pursuing a dual fundraising strategy. First, in each of the core markets, the team engages local investors who bring not only capital but also strategic value for localization and market access. At the same time, Zinit is in the process of closing a Series A round at the holding level (based in Dubai), intending to finalize it by the end of August. 'Fundraising isn't just about capital, it's about local alignment. That's why we bring in strategic investors in every region we enter,' noted Anton Buzdalin, Co-Founder of Zinit. The outdated nature of procurement in many enterprises presents both a challenge and an opportunity for Zinit. The majority of companies still rely on outdated tools like Excel or closed platforms that restrict competition. By bringing AI-powered automation to this space, Zinit is addressing a gap that has long existed in the market. The competitive landscape varies by country. In most of the active markets, it's still a "blue ocean" — with few or no directly comparable players. For example, in India, Malaysia, and Indonesia, there are no true equivalents. There, the main competition is not another platform, but the continued reliance on outdated processes like email and spreadsheets. In Brazil, there is a strong regional player, but even they are operating on legacy software and traditional business models that don't match the scale or agility of Zinit's approach. For enterprises still using traditional procurement methods, the platform offers an opportunity to modernize operations without major disruption. The company's focus on delivering measurable results — specifically the 15-30 percent cost reduction — provides a compelling value proposition for potential clients. As digital transformation initiatives continue to accelerate globally, platforms like Zinit stand to benefit from increased adoption across industries. By focusing specifically on emerging markets where digital procurement adoption is just beginning, the company has positioned itself to capture significant market share as these economies continue to grow and modernize. With successful implementations already underway at dozens of enterprises across multiple countries, Zinit appears well-positioned to continue its expansion. The company's background — building on the founders' experience with Bidzaar — provides a solid foundation of industry knowledge and proven execution ability. For the procurement industry, Zinit represents a new wave of specialized solutions designed to address specific pain points that broader enterprise platforms often overlook. By focusing exclusively on tail spend management and bringing modern AI capabilities to this niche, the company exemplifies the trend toward targeted solutions that deliver immediate, measurable value rather than comprehensive but complex enterprise systems. As Zinit continues its global expansion, the procurement industry will be watching closely to see if this Dubai-based startup can truly transform how businesses manage tail spend across international borders and diverse regulatory environments.
Arabian Business
13-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
UAE, Gulf supply chains go local despite easing global trade tensions: Experts
The increasing trend of supply chain localisation in the UAE and the region is predicted to see a major surge going forward, despite signs of easing of trade tensions globally following the dramatic thaw in the US-China tariff war, sector experts said. This is because the current shift, which is seen effectively as a stress-test for the global system, signals a broader move toward a multi-polar world, and the forces driving this change are not exclusively the result of US policy decisions, they said. The US and China on Monday announced a major climbdown in their posturing on the trade front, slashing tariffs to 30 and 10 per cent, respectively, signalling the US striking similar deals with other countries as well. How fast and smooth the transition will evolve in the region, however, will depend on the UAE's role in fostering local industry, diversifying its economy, and promoting regional integration – the key measures needed to help businesses to mitigate risks and seize new opportunities, experts said. The region's industries and businesses are also required to chip in with striking stronger local partnerships and tie-ups with regional producers instead of solely relying on global players, even if it means sacrificing some short-term economic benefits for long-term stability, they said. 'Trade tensions, today, are accelerating the trend toward supply chain localisation,' Andrey Chernogorov, co-founder of Zinit Tech, the Dubai-based AI-powered procurement platform, told Arabian Business. 'Unlike the previous era, which fostered total globalisation, we're seeing a shift toward stronger local partnerships and reliance on regional producers,' he said. Supporting Chernogorov's views, senior industry executives said the current shift towards supply chain localisation is actually the continuation of the global disruptions that began with the logistics crisis of 2019. These have evolved into ongoing geopolitical challenges, they said. The founder of Zinit Tech, which is set to launch operations in the UAE this year to tap the growing opportunities in the procurement sector, estimated to be worth $400 billion GMV (gross merchandise value), said while no one can predict the exact future, the fact that businesses are becoming increasingly resilient signals that the ongoing supply chain localisation drive is to gather more steam going forward. 'The recovery cycle post-pandemic took 1-1.5 years, but the recovery from the crises of 2022-2023 was only 3-6 months. I expect the current trade wars to follow a similar trajectory,' he said. Localising supply chains strategically Industry experts said the trend towards supply chain localisation will help businesses in a big way in the long run as it will lead to supply chains becoming leaner and more efficient as more intermediaries are phased out. Companies in the region should also focus on developing and nurturing local suppliers instead of solely relying on global players, they said. Chernogorov said companies should build a broad supplier funnel, starting with a wide range of pre-approved suppliers (10-15 per category), and narrow it down as needed. The key is balancing local and international suppliers – preferably on a 2-to-1 ratio, large and small businesses – again on a 2-to-1 ratio, and Eastern and Western vendors on a 1-to-1 ratio, he said. 'This diversification across many fronts reduces supply chain risk and ensures business continuity, allowing companies to maintain stability and scale,' he said. Chernogorov, however, said the procurement metrics could see delivery times increase by 10-30 per cent, cost bases rise by 5-15 per cent, and asset turnover worsen by 10-15 days. He, however, said this will be temporary, and to navigate these disruptions with minimal impact, companies should begin implementing procurement localisation, expanding their supplier pipeline, increasing competition in tenders and upskilling procurement professionals. 'In the next 1-3 years, these metrics are likely to worsen. However, I view this as an opportunity for businesses and countries that can adapt to reach a new level of growth,' he said. Other sector experts also said they do not see the projected disruptions in procurement metrics as a local crisis that needs to be overcome, but more as a structural shift. Balancing global and local procurement With the surge in the drive for supply chain localisation, sector experts such as Zinit Tech are advising clients to rebalance supplier portfolios – global vs. regional vs. local – to hedge against potential tariffs and shipping disruptions. Chernogorov said there is not a one-size-fits-all solution and procurement for large corporations is complex and must be approached with category management in mind, he said. Industry players said historically, procurement followed a model like the 70-30-0 rule, where 70 per cent of volume went to the primary supplier, 30 per cent to a secondary supplier, and the rest was reserved for contingency. But given the current market volatility, geopolitical risks, and logistical disruptions, this model is no longer sufficient, they said. Chernogorov, however, said the UAE – and the wider regional market, still faces many barriers and challenges on digital procurement adoption. 'The barriers we see in MENA are common across many fast-growing economies. These include a low level of procurement maturity, limited culture of competitive tendering, closed supplier networks and deep resistance to changing old habits,' he said. He said Zinit Tech, however, views these barriers as major opportunities, and is scaling fast — entering a new market every two months — thanks to a flexible architecture and AI-powered multilingual support, including Arabic. 'Within three years, we aim to capture at least 10-15 per cent of the addressable GMV in this segment – which amounts to roughly $400 billion – by offering a smarter, more transparent alternative to outdated procurement processes,' he said.
