Next Matter brings no-code process automation to the U.S.

Next Matter, a no-code business process automation platform based out of Germany, has announced plans to enter the U.S. market with the backing of a fresh $ 4 million in seed funding.

Founded out of Berlin in 2018, Next Matter offers a rules-based drag-and-drop platform designed to help operations teams ditch spreadsheets, emails, and chat apps by building operational processes that do much of the heavylifting for them. To do so, Next Matter integrates with myriad third-party enterprise tools, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, and Zapier, serving to bridge the interlaces between people, teams, customers, suppliers, and systems that “operations managers struggle with every day,” according to Next Matter CEO and founder Jan Hugenroth.

“Instead of the countless emails, calls, chat and spreadsheets required to tell people, teams, customers, suppliers, and systems step-by-step what to do and when, Next Matter automatically advances operations processes and notifies everyone involved of the work they need to do from start to finish,” Hugenroth told VentureBeat. “No more going back-and-forth via Slack and email, because everyone on every team has what they need when they need it automatically.”

Next Matter can be used to build processes for just about any scenario, with a drag-and-drop interface that allows users to stipulate conditions, decision-steps, parallel steps, and more.

Above: Next Matter: Building a procurement process

A typical example of how operations teams might use Next Matter could involve a catering business such as meal-kit giant HelloFresh, which Next Matter counts as a client. If one of HelloFresh’s business clients needs a vending machine repaired, HelloFresh can setup a workflow so that its customer support team files a repair request in their CRM which automatically triggers a notification for the machine operations team, which may review it and request more details. Then, the field service team responsible for repairs can be automatically notified to schedule in a suitable time to visit the premises. Once the repair is booked, Next Matter can automatically generate a slot in the calendar with details, and send a confirmation to the customer.

Myriad other steps in the repair process, including reminders, report filings, and CRM record updates can all be configured so that each step is largely automated, sidestepping countless manual tickets, back-and-forth messages, meetings, and so on.

There are, of course, many other process automation tools out there, such as Zapier for system integrations, or Asana for workflow automation, Hugenroth considers Next Matter as the only true end-to-end option for operations teams that covers all the required functionalities.

“Next Matter allows operations managers to skip the learning curve of other workflow tools, and build reliable automation in a radically simplified way, with no prior experience necessary,” he said. “Because the platform was designed for non-technical business users, operations teams spend less time on training, configuration, and setup, and more time getting real work done, with ease and reliability.”

Next Matter also fits into a broader no-code and low-code trend, spanning everything from web development to web testing, that seeks to reduce repetitive manual tasks and improve efficiency.

The company’s $ 4 million seed funding round was led by Blue Yard Capital, with participation from Crane Venture Partners among other angel investors. As the company looks to expand its scope beyond Europe, it said that it’s now gearing up to set up shop in the U.S.