Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Tacto: We create sustainable supply chains for Europe's industrial SMEs. In other words: Tacto is developing software that enables medium-sized manufacturing companies to digitize their purchasing processes in a single tool and transparently evaluate their procurement activities. Our goal is to support purchasing in medium-sized companies through intelligent digitalization, promote seamless collaboration across company boundaries, and reduce resource consumption along the supply chain.
Purchasing in medium-sized industrial companies has to procure thousands of purchased parts at the right time and in the right place to maintain production. Today, supply bottlenecks and price increases in day-to-day business require immediate responses. Due to new and increasingly complex regulations, such as the Supply Chain Act currently under discussion, medium-sized industrial companies in particular need new solutions to set the course for the future. And all of this has to be managed as efficiently as possible, with limited IT capacity and a shortage of skilled workers. Value-adding, strategic work is often neglected because the right tools are missing: the purchasing department of medium-sized industrial companies still operates largely in ERP systems, in various Excel files and via email. And this is precisely where huge savings potential lies: 50 to 70 percent of an industrial company's costs and emissions are attributable to suppliers.
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Tacto: We value the fact that we work for small and medium-sized businesses, by small and medium-sized enterprises: Our solution was developed in close collaboration with leading small and medium-sized enterprises, closely connected to day-to-day operations, and is therefore perfectly tailored to our customers' needs. Our software can be deployed without extensive IT resources, is intuitive in its user interface, and engages employees from day one. We can evaluate all data along the supply chain and, with modern data processing, create insights and automation that were not possible with previous tools. Our solution thus fills a gap in a market, the industrial small and medium-sized enterprise, with a unique product that previously led to a multitude of Excel spreadsheets.
“You see in the news every day why supply chains need to be made more sustainable.”
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Tacto: We actually started our venture in a small lab at the Technical University of Munich. However, from the very beginning, we had the grand vision of jointly founding a supply chain management startup with a focus on medium-sized industrial companies. Almost daily, we see in the news why supply chains fundamentally need to be made more sustainable – from bottlenecks to climate neutrality. It was this motivation that led us to found Tacto.
We met during our studies and had already worked together on several projects at university and at the CDTM. We quickly realized that we shared the same values and philosophy. Furthermore, Munich, with its potential in the digitalization and software sectors, seemed like the perfect location for a startup. We all had professional backgrounds in AI research and had already supported medium-sized companies in digitalization and procurement projects before founding the company. Nevertheless, in the initial phase, we spoke with over 400 experts and users along the entire supply chain of an industrial company to gain a very good understanding of the problem. We then developed the product with several medium-sized companies in a co-innovation project. This close exchange with people who experience the challenges of the procurement process firsthand every day enabled us to develop the product as closely as possible to day-to-day operations and create real added value for our customers.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Tacto: At the beginning, the biggest challenge was identifying the exact customer needs, because ultimately, our product had to cover or fulfill them as best as possible. However, the numerous interviews with customers helped us understand exactly where the problem lies and which product could help meet these needs.
We were also able to acquire important partners who support us in the further development of our software. In regular weekly meetings with the purchasing department, we were able to identify exactly where the problem lies. Our prototypes were developed in this close collaboration with the business community and were quickly optimized through continuous comparison. Our software now allows us to respond to individual customer requests and offer exactly what our customers need.
Tacto: “In summary, our vision is to create sustainable supply chains”
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Tacto: In one year, we want to have expanded our team to approximately 40 people, further developed our product in terms of supply chain law and data intelligence (e.g., on raw material prices), and established Tacto as the leading company for medium-sized purchasing in Germany.
In five years, we aim to be the leading platform for industrial procurement throughout Europe. For us, this means bringing the backbone of the European economy—the industrial SME sector, with tens of millions of employees—into the digital age. We support seamless collaboration across company boundaries in supplier networks as a foundation for future growth. We optimize the 50 to 70 percent of costs and emissions of a physical product that are attributable to suppliers, saving resources along the supply chain. Our vision is to create sustainable supply chains.
How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Tacto: We are a founding team that met while studying at the Technical University of Munich, the UnternehmerTUM, and the CDTM. Even back then, we were able to benefit from the diverse support of the various institutions and grow personally through various practical projects and programs. Furthermore, we were supported from the very beginning by the Munich startup ecosystem, for example through the trust of our first investors (including UVC Partners) and business angels (including Hanno Renner and Michael Wax). We are proud and fortunate to have very renowned investors from the industrial and digital sectors on our side. People know each other in the Munich startup scene and help each other out. Furthermore, the scene here has a clear connection to industry and is very technical, which is a good fit for Tacto.
Outsource or do it yourself?
Tacto: We handle everything related to the product in-house, as our software is the heart and thus the core competency of our company. In other areas, such as marketing, we often bring in experts to advise us on a specific topic or to take the initial steps with us. This saves time and resources.
