Keelvar Agentic Sourcing Platform

Keelvar Systems Ltd. is an Irish company headquartered in Cork, founded in September 2012 by Alan Holland, then a lecturer in artificial intelligence at University College Cork, to commercialise AI advances for procurement teams. It targets large enterprises with complex supply chains that still run tenders by spreadsheet and email.

The platform combines a Sourcing Optimizer for complex RFx and e-auctions with scenario analysis, an Autonomous Sourcing module where AI agents run events from intake to award under rules set by buyers, and a Rate Manager that triggers new events when rates expire or drift from benchmarks. Kai, its AI orchestrator, takes plain-language requests and routes them to specialised agents for RFI creation, spot quotes, scenario building and bid duration. It covers direct and indirect materials, MRO, packaging, services and transport and logistics spend.

• Kai orchestrator: accepts plain-language sourcing requests and recommends the right agent.
• Autonomous Sourcing: AI agents run events end to end, from intake to award.
• Sourcing Optimizer: complex RFx and e-auctions with scenario and constraint analysis.
• Rate Manager: centralises rates and triggers sourcing when contracts expire or prices drift.
• Specialised agents: RFI, spot quote, scenario creation, request routing and optimal bid duration.
• Integrations: connects with SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, Zip, SpendHQ and Xeneta.

• A Vietnamese exporter can run annual ocean and road freight tenders across many lanes and carriers with optimised award scenarios.
• An FDI electronics or food plant can automate spot quotes for packaging and MRO items.
• A consumer goods group can trigger re-sourcing automatically when supplier rates expire.

• Keelvar reports averages of 6% incremental cost savings, 60% higher FTE efficiency and a 70% drop in manual workload across more than 1,000 events and 150 procurement teams.
• Optimisation handles complex award scenarios, such as freight lanes or bundled bids, that are hard to evaluate manually.
• Agents can launch and close events in minutes, freeing sourcing teams for strategic categories.
• ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 27701:2019 certification supports enterprise security and privacy requirements.

Tariff volatility, freight rate swings and supply disruptions push manufacturers to re-tender more often, while procurement teams are expected to do more with flat headcount. Agentic AI that can run routine tenders on its own is a growing category, relevant to Vietnamese and Southeast Asian exporters whose logistics and materials costs shift with global trade conditions.

Keelvar Systems Ltd. is headquartered at 6 Lapps Quay, Cork, Ireland, and was founded in 2012 by Alan Holland, who remains Founder and CEO. It raised a US$18 million Series A led by Elephant and Mosaic Ventures, with Paua Ventures participating. Customers shown on its website include Mars, Stanley Black & Decker, Associated British Foods, Coca-Cola and Becton Dickinson. It holds ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 27701:2019 certification.