Ramp's new offering takes direct aim at vendors like Vendr, G2 Track, and Productiv. We look at what's happening in the SaaS spend management/procurement market, including headcount trends and valuations, and where it's headed.
Spend management and corporate card provider Ramp ($8.1B valuation) recently launched Ramp Intelligence, which aims to analyze “millions of Ramp receipts & invoices to help you understand where you’re paying too much for software.”
This new offering takes direct aim at the increasingly crowded SaaS spend management/software procurement platform space that includes companies like:
The sector has been a hot area for investment, with 19 companies in the space raising nearly $800M since 2019 as our SaaS spend management software Market Report reveals. 
Data as of 5/31/2023
Ramp’s entrance into the space raises the question of whether SaaS spend management is a market unto itself or a feature to be embedded within horizontal spend management solutions like Ramp.
Its entrance is also notable because, as evidenced by our conversations with customers, Ramp is a popular and well-regarded player in the spend management & corporate card space. Versus players like Spendesk, Payhawk, Airbase, and Brex, Ramp’s customer satisfaction is higher as shown in this Yardstiq Vendor Scorecard.
The addition of Ramp Intelligence to its already popular offering is an opportunity for Ramp to influence and manage more categories of spend for its customers. Its competitors like Brex, Airbase, Navan (formerly TripActions), and Spendesk might also aim to replicate this feature.
This has implications for investors and potential acquirers of pure-play SaaS spend management solutions.
Below, we use the CB Insights Market Report on the SaaS spend management space to analyze the key pure-play competitors in the space.
We dive into several dimensions including:
- Headcount
- Valuations
- Top-funded companies
- Valuation multiples (price/revenue)
- Scorecard
- ESP Ranking
But first, for those who are not familiar with the SaaS spend management space, a quick primer.
What are SaaS spend management/procurement platforms?
SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) spend management refers to the tools, techniques, and practices employed by organizations to monitor, control, and optimize their expenses on software services that are used on a subscription basis. As businesses increasingly rely on a diverse portfolio of SaaS tools for various purposes (like CRM, data analytics, HR management, project management, etc.), this has become an essential area of focus.
A typical SaaS spend management platform provides capabilities for:
- Spend visibility: These platforms provide a clear view of all SaaS subscriptions across the organization, including details about the vendor, cost, contract terms, renewal dates, etc.
- Spend optimization: These platforms can analyze usage data to identify underutilized or redundant SaaS tools, thus helping businesses to cut down on unnecessary expenditure.
- Vendor management: These platforms often include features to manage vendor relationships, handle contract negotiations, track compliance, etc.
- Budgeting & forecasting: By offering insights into SaaS spending patterns, these platforms can assist in budgeting and forecasting future SaaS expenses.
SaaS spend management headcount
The 10 largest players in the space collectively employ over 3,000 people. More than half have reduced headcount — all modestly — in the last 3 months based on CB Insights headcount trend data.
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