If you’re considering switching from Scoutbee to another supplier discovery tool, you’re in luck—there are plenty of alternatives that offer speed, accuracy, and deeper insights.

Whether you need a massive global supplier database, AI-driven insights, or advanced ESG and risk analysis, the right tool depends on your priorities.

This guide explores the top options, starting with Veridion, which stands out with its unmatched data coverage and real-time insights.

Veridion

Veridion and Scoutbee are both AI-powered supplier discovery tools, but they differ in key areas like data coverage, depth, and additional risk management features.

Veridion scans petabytes of data weekly, keeping fresh records on over 120 million suppliers across 250+ countries.

Its data goes beyond basic company details, covering location, size, revenue, product specifics, certifications, and a highly detailed ESG taxonomy—including carbon footprint, water usage, worker rights, corruption risks, and ethical transactions.

Source: Veridion

Scoutbee, on the other hand, relies on web crawlers to collect supplier data and provides access to over 14 million supplier profiles worldwide (according to the White Label Advisory).

However, its data is not as in-depth.

A typical Scoutbee profile includes a company description, contacts, products, certifications, and a sustainability score, but lacks the detailed risk-related ESG insights that Veridion offers.

On the other side, Scoutbee partners with Supplier.io to provide diverse supplier data.

Veridion also offers flexible access to its data.

Users can integrate Veridion’s search APIs into their existing systems for automated data retrieval or use the new Scout feature to find new suppliers using natural language queries.

Source: Veridion

When it comes to natural language processing, Scoutbee provides an AI assistant that helps users refine search criteria through chat, as in the image below:

Source: Scoutbee

Speed is another of Veridion’s key advantages.

When fast supplier discovery is crucial—whether due to supply chain disruptions or the need to launch a product quickly—Veridion is at least 20 times faster than manual searches.

Source: Veridion

However, the biggest difference between Veridion and Scoutbee is that Veridion isn’t just a supplier discovery service.

It also acts as a robust third-party risk management solution due to insights into financial stability, regional and geopolitical risks, ownership risks, and custom risk alerts.

Scoutbee, in comparison, focuses only on supplier scouting.

Some users have pointed out that Scoutbee’s pricing is high for a tool specializing in just one task.

Source: Gartner

Veridion, by contrast, offers broader functionality, helping businesses not just find suppliers but also manage risks effectively.

If you want to see how Veridion can improve your procurement process, start by trying out Scout or reach out to explore the best way to leverage supplier intelligence at scale.

Thomasnet

While Scoutbee and Veridion provide access to global suppliers, Thomasnet is a supplier discovery platform providing information on more than 500,000 North American suppliers.

Still, it’s a leading supplier directory for industrial sourcing.

Source: Thomasnet

Supplier profiles on Thomasnet include essential information such as:

• Key contacts
• Founding year
• Annual revenue
• Diversity status
• Employee count
• Quality certifications
• Products and services

The platform is simple—and free—to use.

After registering, you enter your supplier needs into the discovery tool and narrow down the results by criteria like certification and location, as demonstrated in the video:

Source: Thomas on YouTube

Thomasnet offers a broad range of filtering options, including over 20 quality certification groups.

You can view and download certifications on the spot, or check supplier diversity status via the government small business administration database.

Source: Thomas on YouTube

Thomasnet provides other ways of supplier discovery, including:

• Search for suppliers with a product catalog
• Search for suppliers with CAD models available
• Search for and identify a Thomas Registered or Thomas Verified supplier

Once you identify potential suppliers, you can compare them, save them to a shortlist, or send an RFI.

This feature is similar to Scoutbee, where you can compare suppliers based on various factors like product offerings, certifications, revenue, and sustainability scores.

Overall, Thomasnet is a great tool for quick, easy supplier searches, but it’s limited to the North American market.

This makes it a valuable resource for procurement professionals focused on North American suppliers.

However, if you’re focused on global procurement, Veridion takes the lead.

Find My Factory

Find My Factory is a Swedish start-up offering an AI-driven supplier discovery platform, currently focused on retail, components, and food industries.

It provides access to over 12 million manufacturers across more than 100 countries.

The platform features five different search methods: smart search, URL, image search, supplier library, and product library.

Source: Find My Factory

For example, with the image search, you simply upload a photo of the product you need and Find My Factory uses AI to match it with suppliers offering similar products.

The smart search, on the other hand, allows you to enter search queries in natural language, add requirements, remove unnecessary ones, and get a list of potential suppliers.

Source: Find My Factory

Each supplier profile includes contact information, product descriptions, photos, and production capacity, with a match score to help assess relevance.

Additionally, users can rate suppliers, which helps train the AI for more accurate results over time.

The platform provides insights into ESG and financials as well, but they don’t explain how granular that data is.

Source: Find My Factory

Besides the Search module, Find My Factory offers two additional modules:

• Enrich uses AI to analyze supplier and product data to suggest similar options.
• Engage automates follow-ups and integrates communication with email providers.

Pricing starts at €649 per month for one user, with a higher cost for additional users.

All in all, Find My Factory’s simplicity, user-friendly design, and growing database make it a strong alternative to platforms like Scoutbee, especially for users looking for a more intuitive and affordable option.

You can try the platform yourself or request a demo to explore its features further.

Supplier.io

This is not just a supplier discovery solution but a central solution for tracking, finding, and measuring the impact of sourcing with small, diverse and sustainable suppliers.

Supplier.io enables you to analyze and enrich your existing supplier data while also offering access to a database of over 7 million suppliers.

Source: Supplier.io

The platform’s focus is on responsible sourcing, particularly around diversity and sustainability.

In the Explorer feature, you can search for suppliers using two methods.

The first one is the basic search where you enter a supplier name or keyword.

The second is the advanced filters method, which allows you to refine your search by location, company size, revenue, certifications, ESG ratings, and more.

Source: Supplier.io

Supplier profiles include details such as company size by revenue and employees, key contacts, year of establishment, diversity attributes, and small business classifications.

It also provides information about diversity classification agencies and their expiration dates, as well as NAICS and SIC classifications.

Similar to Scoutbee and Thomasnet, Supplier.io allows you to compare multiple suppliers side-by-side.

All you have to do is select up to four suppliers to compare firmographic data, diversity, size, and other important details.

Source: Supplier.io

One of the platform’s key benefits is its unlimited access, meaning everyone in your company can retrieve supplier ESG data at any time.

However, Supplier.io does not provide pricing details, except for data enrichment services, which are offered at a flat fee of $1,500 for up to 1,000 records.

In any case, Supplier.io is valuable for businesses with strong ESG goals, as it makes it easy to access ESG data on suppliers whenever needed.

Request a free expert-guided demo to explore the platform’s capabilities firsthand.

Versed AI

Versed AI is a University of Cambridge spin-out that uses natural language processing and machine learning to help businesses manage risks and improve supply chain resilience.

The platform is designed to provide valuable insights into potential risks, including operational disruptions, cybersecurity issues, and modern slavery compliance.

Source: Versed AI

One of the key benefits of Versed AI is its ability to help users quickly identify alternative suppliers.

By leveraging NLP and machine learning, the tool enables you to search for alternative suppliers.

This is especially useful for maintaining supply chain continuity when facing disruptions or potential risks.

The Company Console, which you can see below, is the core feature for supplier discovery.

Source: Cambridge Enterprise

It allows you to easily search for alternative suppliers based on factors like your current supplier, product type, city, or industry.

Versed AI enhances the process by constantly updating its data sources and refining its insights.

Additionally, since July 2024, Versed AI has been part of Exiger, a leading provider of supply chain and third-party risk management AI solutions.

Source: Versed AI

This partnership further strengthens the platform’s ability to provide comprehensive, real-time data, including insights from Veridion’s database, which adds to the accuracy and value of the results.

For companies focused on mitigating supply chain risks and improving operational resilience, Versed AI is definitively an intelligent and efficient solution.

ImportDoor

ImportDoor is a tool for businesses looking to leverage global trade data to find verified suppliers and importers.

It helps you track sea shipments coming into the United States, providing access to millions of containers with detailed information on suppliers, products, distributors, importers, and other world trade data points.

Source: ImportDoor on Facebook

With ImportDoor, you can search bills of lading by multiple criteria, such as product type, supplier, importer, date, and other specific fields.

Source: ImportDoor

If you already have a supplier in mind, you can track their shipments, including how many containers they ship annually, quarterly, monthly, or even daily.

For businesses focused on international sourcing, ImportDoor provides a comprehensive view of the global supply chain.

It’s currently in beta, so if you’re interested in exploring its capabilities, now is a great time to test it out and provide feedback.

Conclusion

If Scoutbee doesn’t fully meet your supplier discovery needs, plenty of alternatives offer specialized features and deeper insights.

Veridion stands out for its unmatched data coverage, AI-driven risk analysis, and speed, making it ideal for global procurement and risk management.

Thomasnet is a top choice for North American suppliers, while Find My Factory provides an intuitive, AI-powered approach.

Supplier.io focuses on diversity and ESG compliance, Versed AI enhances supply chain resilience, and ImportDoor offers trade data insights.

Each platform has unique strengths, so explore them further to find the best fit for your business.