Buddy launches B2B scrap metal marketplace

New Zealand-based scrap metal trading platform Buddy has launched a marketplace for business-to-business (B2B) metal recycling that connects buyers directly with sellers.

© Buddy

“Most trades are currently conducted using disparate systems and manual processes, creating errors, wasted resources and a myriad of business risks for recyclers,” Buddy co-founder Stuart Kagan says. “What’s more, most marketplaces out there are ‘managed.’ They anonymize both sides of the transaction, buying for as low as possible and selling for as high as possible. This doesn’t create a pathway for sellers and buyers to build relationships with their counterparties.”

According to Buddy, it is the first platform for scrap recyclers, by scrap recyclers, and aims to support the metal recycling market’s transition from manual to digital procurement processes, including posttrade administration.

Buddy matches sellers with appropriate buyers and says it ensures users are vetted.

“We’re highly selective about who we welcome into the marketplace, and the bar for entry is high to ensure we maintain an ecosystem of trust,” Kagan says. “We hop on a plane, so our members don’t have to. Our team has done the hard work, including site visits and quality checks.”

“Buddy’s founders aren’t just ‘techies,’ they’re ‘scrappies’ who deeply understand the problems faced by buyers and sellers of scrap metal globally,” says John Kells, co-managing partner at New Zealand-based venture capital firm Global from Day One (GD1), which funded the startup’s recent preseed raise.

Buddy says buyers across 19 different countries have registered, including those in South Korea, China, India, Vietnam, Dubai and Germany.

The app will launch in North America, Australia and New Zealand in April. Buddy will exhibit at The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) Convention and Exposition in Las Vegas in April and at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) World Recycling Convention and Exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May.

© Buddy

Providing members with access to structured data, Buddy says it enables real-time analysis with its customizable dashboard and allows recyclers to use parameters including pricing, shipping costs and ratings and reviews to access the viability of each trade.

“Most companies use WhatsApp, email and spreadsheets as their trading tech stack to collectively trade hundreds of billions of dollars,” Buddy co-founder Lisa Kagan says. “The industry is missing out on the efficiencies and accuracy that comes with end-to-end process digitization.

“What’s more, without comprehensive and integrous data sets, the industry has no basis to leverage the latest in technological advances such as machine learning and AI [artificial intelligence]." 

Buddy has partnered with global integration partners for freight, foreign exchange, trade finance and market data and was built in partnership with Australia-based venture studio Paloma.

The app supports trades on any incoterms and payment terms and supports direct negotiation between counterparties.