Altana Raises $7M to Secure Supply Chains | Ethical Sourcing

Supply chains were once considered a seamless component of the modern economy, functioning efficiently with minimal consumer awareness. Beyond infrequent incidents like foodborne illness outbreaks, the process of getting goods – from clothing and electronics to essential medical supplies – to consumers generally went unquestioned.

However, the landscape has shifted considerably in recent years. Increasing opposition to globalization has emerged as a significant political force, prompting governments, including those of the United States and the United Kingdom, to re-evaluate and revise free trade agreements and pursue the relocation of manufacturing operations, thereby altering established trade practices. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic imposed substantial strain on supply chains, leading to complete disruptions in some cases.

Consequently, supply chain professionals have transitioned from an often-overlooked function to one of paramount importance and constant attention.

Despite having access to extensive platforms offered by companies such as Oracle and SAP, these specialists require supplementary insights to identify potential vulnerabilities within supply chains. Are there inherent weaknesses in certain links of the chain? Are any factories involved flagged for concerns regarding child labor or environmental non-compliance? How might shifts in governmental trade policies impact operations, potentially causing goods to become stranded in ports?

Altana, a company based in New York, aims to provide this crucial intelligence layer for supply chain management, leveraging data and machine learning to address the complexities of contemporary business. The company recently announced the completion of a $7 million seed funding round, led by Anne Glover of London-based Amadeus Capital Partners.

The startup’s three founders – CEO Evan Smith, CTO Peter Swartz, and COO Raphael Tehranian – previously collaborated at Panjiva, a global supply chain platform established in 2006, backed by Battery Ventures, and acquired by S&P Global in early 2018. Panjiva’s objective was to construct a comprehensive “graph” of supply chains to deliver valuable intelligence to managers.

This prior experience directly influences Altana’s vision, which closely aligns with Panjiva’s but incorporates more recent technological advancements and data science methodologies. Altana, like its predecessor, intends to create a supply chain knowledge graph, empower managers with actionable insights, and enhance overall supply chain resilience.

A key distinction lies in data handling. Smith explained, “We consistently encountered a challenge in the data sales business: limitations in accessing and utilizing data. Customers were hesitant to share their data due to trust concerns, and other data companies restricted access for management and transformation purposes.”

Rather than functioning as a central data repository, Altana operates “downstream” from existing data sources, enabling companies to construct their own supply chain graphs using their proprietary data and any other accessible sources.

The company primarily serves procurement departments, typically under the oversight of the Chief Financial Officer. Currently, a significant portion of Altana’s clientele consists of governmental entities, such as border control agencies, where “the challenge is to identify potentially illicit shipments while facilitating legitimate trade as vessels arrive,” Smith stated.

Alan Bersin, former commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency and currently a policy consultant for Covington & Burling, a leading law firm specializing in trade issues like CFIUS, serves as Altana’s executive chairman.

Altana supports both individual investigations and scenario simulations, but its primary focus is on delivering real-time alerts that provide supply chain managers with timely visibility into impactful changes. For example, instead of relying on annual audits to uncover labor or environmental issues, Altana aims to offer predictive capabilities that enable proactive problem-solving.

Amadeus was joined in this funding round by Schematic Ventures, AlleyCorp, and the Working Capital – The Supply Chain Investment Fund.