Devon’s Applegate set for jobs growth after partnering with Euro tech giant

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Devon’s pioneering AI procurement company Applegate is aiming to create jobs after forming a partnership with European tech firm Visable.

Barnstaple-based Applegate, which provides procurement technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), is now Visable’s exclusive representative for the UK market.

Visible is the parent company of Europe’s leading online business platforms Europages and wlw which between them cover 3.6m businesses.

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The agreement will enable British businesses to increase their exports and do business across the continent and Applegate said it should result in job creation.

“It’s great to forge an alliance with such a strong tech business,” said Stuart Brocklehurst, chief executive of Applegate. “It strengthens the support we can provide to our clients and provides great opportunities for our colleagues.”

Visable has offices across Europe, with its main headquarters in Paris and Hamburg, and the company’s chief executive Peter Schmid said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Applegate. Both our companies are driven by a common mission, which is to connect international b2b purchasers with matching suppliers.

“After Germany, the United Kingdom is the second largest economy in Europe. We are convinced that Applegate’s strong local footprint, market expertise and salesforce will allow us to further increase our market share, while providing UK-based businesses with a unique opportunity to expand their reach across Europe and beyond.”

Selaine Saxby, MP for North Devon, said: “North Devon-based businesses are reaching out and trading across the continent and across the world.

“Congratulations to Applegate who continue to expand their digital influence and I look forward to seeing this growth materialise into further high paid jobs in the area.

“I also hope to see and hear from more North Devon businesses pushing the boundaries and growing out beyond their traditional market base.”

Applegate is a pioneering AI and cloud-based procurement system that allows businesses to find multiple quotes for supplies. In essence it enables businesses to get multiple quotes for the things they need to buy, then place an order. The business started in 1996 as an online directory, and took its current form in 2016.

Applegate has just partnered with the University of Exeter’s Institute of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to develop machine learning technology which helps organisations to buy better, by identifying the right suppliers for their needs.

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Used by organisations globally from the White House to NATO, closer to home it operates the SupplyDevon initiative pioneering localised procurement to aid the area’s economic development and reduce the carbon emissions from procurement. The £250,000 project is funded by Innovate UK to enable Devon businesses to buy from each other and to boost the county’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the start of the Covid pandemic, Applegate established a Covid-19 Supply Hub as a free service for organisations needing to source PPE and other essential supplies. This enabled the supply of over a hundred million items, helping hundreds of nursing homes, care agencies, councils and others, both in the South West and across the country.

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