Order.co's Six-Year Streak Highlights AI's Grip on Business Spending

NEW YORK, NY – March 12, 2026 – In a move that underscores the growing importance of AI-driven automation in corporate finance, Order.co has been named to The Hackett Group's prestigious 2025-2026 “50 to Watch” list. This marks the sixth consecutive year the procurement automation firm has received the honor, signaling a period of sustained innovation and market leadership in a rapidly evolving technology sector.

The Hackett Group, a leading global advisory firm, curates its annual list to recognize solution providers that are actively shaping the future of the procurement technology market. Order.co's consistent presence on this list validates its approach to solving a persistent and costly challenge for businesses: managing and controlling decentralized purchasing while automating the complex web of vendor payments.

Sustained Recognition in a Dynamic Market

Achieving inclusion on an influential industry list for a single year is a notable accomplishment; to do so for six straight years suggests a deep and enduring relevance. The recognition from The Hackett Group points to Order.co’s success in addressing core pain points for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations alike.

"Order.co is included in the 50 to Watch list due to its ability to capture and control external purchasing from any website or marketplace,” said Xavier Olivera, Lead Analyst for Downstream Procurement at The Hackett Group®. “By consolidating purchases into a master catalog and streamlining supplier payments, it addresses spend control and AP workload challenges commonly faced by SMEs.”

This capability is critical in an environment where employees often resort to using corporate cards for unmanaged purchases across countless websites, creating a nightmare of manual reconciliation and a lack of spending visibility for finance teams. By creating a centralized system that still offers flexibility, the company provides a framework for control that many growing businesses have historically struggled to implement.

The AI Engine Driving Modern Procurement

At the heart of Order.co's offering is a sophisticated application of artificial intelligence, a trend that is revolutionizing corporate operations. The global AI in procurement market, valued in the single-digit billions just a few years ago, is projected by industry analysts to surge past $22 billion by 2033. This explosive growth reflects a seismic shift from basic automation to intelligent, predictive systems.

Order.co’s CEO and Co-Founder, Zach Garippa, emphasized that the company is at the forefront of this shift. “What excites me most is where we're headed. AI agents that anticipate purchasing needs and take action are no longer a future concept. They're what we're delivering right now, and this recognition reflects the impact that's already being felt by our customers.”

This move towards proactive AI agents represents the next frontier in procurement. Instead of merely streamlining approvals, these systems can analyze historical data, predict future needs, source products from a vast network of vendors to find optimal pricing, and even initiate purchase orders. According to a recent McKinsey analysis, such AI-powered advancements could make the entire procurement function 25% to 40% more efficient, freeing up human teams to focus on strategic supplier relationships and complex negotiations rather than tedious administrative tasks.

From User Experience to Financial Control

A key factor in the platform's success is its dual focus: providing a simple, intuitive front-end experience for employees while delivering robust back-end control for finance and procurement departments. The user interface is frequently compared to a familiar online shopping experience, which drastically reduces the friction of adoption. Employees can request or order what they need through a single portal, rather than navigating multiple vendor sites.

Behind the scenes, the platform automates the entire purchase-to-pay (P2P) workflow. It enforces pre-set approval chains, checks purchases against budgets in real-time, and consolidates all invoices into a single monthly bill. This dramatically reduces the workload for Accounts Payable (AP) departments, who can save hundreds of hours previously spent on manual invoice processing and payment reconciliation. Independent user reviews frequently praise the platform for enhancing spend visibility, allowing managers to track spending by user, location, or cost center with unprecedented clarity.

While the benefits are clear, the successful implementation of such platforms addresses significant underlying industry challenges, including the integration with disparate and often legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and ensuring data quality across the organization. By creating a unified layer for all purchasing, Order.co helps standardize the data and processes that are fundamental to effective financial governance.

The Financial Backing and Future Trajectory

Order.co's ambitious technology roadmap is supported by significant financial confidence. The company, founded in 2016, has raised $70 million in funding from a roster of industry-leading investors, including MIT-affiliated funds, Stage 2 Capital, Rally Ventures, and 645 Ventures. The involvement of these venture capital firms, which specialize in B2B software and enterprise technology, provides not only capital but also strategic expertise and validation of the company's market position.

This funding fuels the continued development of its AI capabilities and supports its expansion in the competitive spend management landscape. The company already serves hundreds of diverse businesses, from high-growth startups to established global brands like WeWork and Hugo Boss, demonstrating the scalability and broad appeal of its solution. As businesses of all sizes continue to grapple with economic uncertainty and the need for greater operational efficiency, the demand for intelligent, automated procurement and finance solutions is set to accelerate. Order.co's sustained recognition and technological advancements position it as a key player to watch in the ongoing digital transformation of business spending.