About us

Our CONNEX Marketplace technology was developed over 10 years ago by i5 Services to connect the U.S. manufacturing supply chain. Our first solution was built in the state of Utah. It was built in response to an economic development project designed to increase local jobs and revenue by keeping manufacturing locally sourced.

During this project, we met with many manufacturers from all regions of the state and asked them why current local-sourcing solutions were not solving their problems. From our interviews, we quickly learned that a major problem for buyers and manufactures is the ability to find and connect with manufacturers based on what they do (manufacturing processes), not just what they produce.

Seeing the tremendous industry need, we set out to build a solution. We built an initial database of all the manufacturers in the state and taxonomically categorized them by thousands of data points based upon their capabilities. When the platform was ready to go, we experienced success on the very first search we ran. It was for a large manufacturer who had been searching everywhere across the state for a supplier that met the exact certifications, excess capacity, equipment, and processes they required. Within minutes, our technology platform found a qualified supplier just two miles from their facility which did not come up in their traditional search methods. After meeting the manufacturer, and seeing that they were fully qualified, the buyer awarded them a $70M contract.

Based upon this success, and many others, we made the decision to build a national solution with a database of all U.S. manufacturers and their capabilities. In partnership with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), America’s largest industry association, and state manufacturing associations across the country, we launched this national platform in 2017 and originally called it the Manufacturers Marketplace. In addition, we also partnered with the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) and state MEPs, to create state-level solution called CONNEX, which seamlessly integrated into the national solution.

Today, the two platforms are combined into one product called CONNEX Marketplace. This platform is being implemented across the country to solve many of the current supply chain issues by intelligently connecting small American manufacturers and suppliers to large primes, OEM’s and government buyers. Manufacturers and suppliers can quickly post and respond to needs, visualize supply chain risk, search for qualified suppliers and instantly discover new business opportunities.

CONNEX is THE solution for the U.S. manufacturing supply chain and to help strengthen and rebuild the great American manufacturing industry.