GoCo-op Receives $21 Million In New Financing - Totals $32 Million Raised In Six Months
MAITLAND, Fla. / May 8, 2000--GoCo-op, Inc., a leading developer and host of Internet-based procurement systems, and the leading provider to the hospitality industry, recently received an additional $21 million in venture capital financing, bringing the total amount of first round funding since November to $32 million.
GoCo-op received its latest round of funding from a group of investors led by Invemed Catalyst Fund and Safeguard Scientifics. The funds will be used to fund development efforts to further enhance the company's Internet-based, fully functional and fully deployed procurement systems. The allocation also will be used to expand marketing efforts and help fund the company's increasing working-capital needs resulting from continued personnel growth and its recent move into a new, state-of-the-art headquarters facility near Orlando, Florida.
"This financing, along with our recent new contracts, demonstrates confidence in our best-of-breed e-procurement solutions and our overall growth strategy," said Christopher Cogan, GoCo-op's Chairman and CEO. "This new capital will enable us to retain our technical competitive advantage, which is evidenced by the fact that we are the only fully integrated e-procurement system currently in use in the hospitality industry. Additionally the funds will be used to expand into select vertical markets that can benefit from e-procurement.
Cogan added, "Our recent contract award to create and host the e-procurement system for Marriott's and Hyatt's new on-line company is the tangible realization of the vision we have held for the hospitality sector...bringing together major buyers and sellers to truly leverage the power of e-procurement."
GoCo-op develops and hosts Internet-based procurement systems and vertically integrated business-to-business trading communities. Additionally, GoCo-op provides marketplace-enabling technology and strategic support to industry consortia. GoCo-op is the dominant e-procurement solution provider for the hotel and hospitality industry, with Marriott, Hyatt, and Wyndham as customers, and Guest Supply, one of the largest manufacturer/distributors to the hospitality industry, is also a GoCo-op customer.
Procura, GoCo-op's end-to-end purchasing solution, was implemented in 85 days at Wyndham, and includes a seamless interface into SAP. Procura will be implemented for Marriott this summer (including an interface into PeopleSoft) and for Hyatt later this year (including an interface into Oracle).
GoCo-op employs a multi-tiered deployment strategy that meets the needs of any size organization. The strategy includes private systems/communities for large organizations, membership communities for mid-sized companies and/or associations, and public communities for all users. GoCo-op provides one-stop outsourcing, including hosting, training, marketing, and customer support.