Apapdua featured in TECHNIK+EINKAUF

Professional services procurement is undergoing a long-overdue transformation. While organizations have spent decades refining their approaches to direct materials and goods, the way they source and manage services like consulting, IT, legal, and marketing has remained surprisingly unstructured. Yet, this category accounts for billions in annual spend and involves some of the most strategically critical projects.

Download this interview-based feature where Markus Sinz and Gregory N. Vider, co-founders of Apadua, share their vision for a smarter, more scalable approach to professional services procurement. The article (in German) is published in TECHNIK+EINKAUF, a trade magazine that specializes in the field of industrial procurement processes. Drawing from over 20 years of combined experience in procurement and consulting, they highlight the unique challenges in this space and how Apadua's platform is solving them through digitalization, AI, and process discipline.

Why Professional Services Are Different

"When you're buying consulting or IT services, you're not buying the same widget over and over again," says Gregory N. Vider. "You're dealing with one-off projects, shifting requirements, and internal stakeholders who often lack procurement training."

Unlike direct materials, professional services are characterized by:

• Non-recurring needs
• Fluid specifications
• Decentralized demand

These factors make it difficult for procurement teams to standardize processes, compare suppliers, or ensure quality.

The Pain Points: Poor Visibility and Inconsistent Outcomes

"The biggest pain point is that procurement is often left out of the loop," Markus Sinz explains. "This leads to inconsistent supplier selection and quality issues."

Studies support this view. According to Prof. Dietmar Fink, roughly 32 percent of consulting projects are rated as unsatisfactory by their buyers.

Why Traditional Procurement Tools Fall Short

Most procurement software was built for goods and materials, not services. "These tools lack the flexibility and market intelligence needed to manage service categories effectively," says Sinz.

In particular, they fail to address:

• How to discover and assess specialized service providers
• How to compare proposals with soft criteria
• How to monitor service quality throughout the project lifecycle

The Apadua Approach: AI technology, Collaboration, and Efficiency

Apadua’s platform is purpose-built for professional services and structured around AI, collaboration, and efficiency.

1. Apadua helps procurement teams identify suitable partners through a curated database of over 25,000 supplier profiles.
2. Supports everything from project scoping to supplier evaluation with structured workflows.
3. Tacks project delivery and performance in real time, enabling feedback-based quality control.

Built for the Realities of Service Procurement

Apadua is designed for usability. "The platform is intuitive enough to be used by someone who's never procured services before," Vider explains.

Because project scopes change frequently, Apadua's workflows are designed to accommodate evolving requirements.

AI and Market Intelligence: The Backbone of Smart Sourcing

Apadua doesn’t just digitize workflows. It also aggregates and curates vast amounts of market data.

The team has built a proprietary algorithm that scans over 2 million websites regularly to maintain and enrich its supplier database. Insights from client projects and supplier feedback are anonymized to continuously improve sourcing quality.

Value for Both Buyers and Suppliers

The platform is monetized through a dual-sided model. Clients pay for software access and support, while service providers pay a success fee when they win business through Apadua.

This creates incentives to ensure quality matches and high platform engagement on both sides.

From Startup to Strategic Partner

Founded in 2016, Apadua has evolved from a niche idea into a strategic procurement partner for major corporations.

"We believe every company needs a smarter way to buy services. Some just don't know it yet," says Sinz. "Our goal is to make professional services procurement as structured, data-driven, and impactful as direct spend."

Download the full article (in German).