Le Cèdre

What Le Cèdre does

Le Cèdre is a French groupement d'achats (purchasing consortium) founded in 1998 and headquartered in Paray-le-Monial, France. It pools the procurement of approximately 12,000 member structures — spanning private and Catholic education, healthcare/social facilities, religious congregations, parishes, SMEs, tourism operators, associations, and local governments — across 12 purchasing universes including energy, catering, building, hygiene, office supplies, IT/telecom, medical, linen, mobility, equipment, and insurance/finance/HR. The core commercial model rests on annual membership fees and commissions from roughly 380–400 referenced suppliers, with end-of-year rebates distributed to members based on purchasing volume; members retain full freedom to choose their own suppliers.

The technical platform is centered on the DigiCedra member portal (Espace Adhérent), which provides supplier comparison, budget tracking, contract management with renewal alerts, and pre-filled termination letters. Specialized sub-products include EnergiC, a group electricity and gas purchasing program managing over one terawatt-hour across 2,650 member establishments on fixed 3-year pricing; Piano, a web-based stock-and-ordering tool for collective catering; the ECCE multi-supplier energy customer space; and an online fuel-ordering tool. Distribution is hybrid: inside sales at the Paray-le-Monial HQ plus a regional-delegate field network that conducts free economic studies and runs local member events. Three wholly-owned subsidiaries — Le Cèdre Conseils (insurance brokerage), Le Cèdre Finance Éthique (ethical financial placements), and Fondation Cèdre (corporate foundation for integral ecology) — extend the offering beyond procurement. Since 2020 the company has operated as an Entreprise à Mission under the French Loi PACTE; ownership is 93.5% Chevallier family / 6.5% employees via parent Groupe Familial Chevallier.

Name

Le Cèdre

Legal name

Le Cèdre

Website

https://lecedre.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Le Cèdre is a French purchasing consortium serving roughly 12,000 member structures across education, healthcare, religious, business, tourism, association, and government sectors. It negotiates collective terms with ~400 suppliers across 12 purchasing categories, distributes savings via membership fees and supplier commissions, and supports members through a regional-delegate network and the DigiCedra portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Paray-le-monial

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Structures pay membership fees to join the purchasing consortium and access negotiated prices and services.
2. Supplier Commissions: Referenced suppliers pay commissions or fees to be part of the network, contributing to end-of-year rebates for members.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Le Cèdre is a French group purchasing organization (groupement d'achats) that pools the purchasing volume of 12,000 member structures across France to negotiate preferred commercial conditions with 380+ referenced suppliers across 12 categories (catering, energy, building, hygiene, office, IT/telecom, education, medical, linen, mobility, equipment, insurance/finance/HR). Members gain access to negotiated contracts, a member portal (DigiCedra), energy group purchasing (EnergiC), restaurant management software (Piano), contract management tools, and personalized support from regional delegates.

Product overview

Le Cèdre is a purchasing group (groupement d'achats) founded in 1998 that brings together approximately 12,000 member structures across France to negotiate collective purchasing conditions. The company operates primarily through its member portal (Espace Adhérent) and supplier portal (Espace Fournisseur), offering access to 12 purchasing universes covering energy, catering, building, hygiene, office supplies, IT/telecom, education, medical, linen, mobility, equipment, and insurance/finance/RH. Key digital tools include EnergieC for group energy purchasing, Piano for restaurant management, and an online fuel ordering platform. The company also manages a corporate foundation dedicated to integral ecology and offers specialized subsidiaries for ethical finance and insurance brokerage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ÉnergiC: Offre d'achat groupé d'électricité et de gaz naturel pour les professionnels
• Piano
• Le Cèdre Conseils
• Le Cèdre Finance Éthique

Products and services

• Espace Adhérent (DigiCedra Member Portal)

Quantifiable outcome

• Members achieve 20% average savings on their purchases
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BpifrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to accelerate members' energy and ecological transition through subsidized diagnostics up to 50%. Bpifrance provides financing support for transition initiatives.
• Groupe ThéoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroupe Théos is the family investment holding that owns Le Cèdre. It is inspired by integral ecology and is the majority shareholder (93.5%).
• Convention des Entreprises pour le ClimatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLe Cèdre is an alumni of this climate convention, demonstrating commitment to environmental sustainability.
• Congrès MissionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLe Cèdre supports Congrès Mission which brings together French Christians to reflect on evangelization and provide concrete means to share faith.
• Label Eglise VerteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLe Cèdre supports the Eglise Verte label as a member of the sponsorship committee, providing expertise in purchasing, mobility, and energy.
• Prenons-soin.frminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLe Cèdre supports this guide that helps the public identify establishments in the health, social, and medico-social sectors with Christian projects.
• CLEEE (Club des Entreprises Consommatrices d'Energie)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLe Cèdre is a member of CLEEE, the association of large French industrial and tertiary electricity and gas consumers.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Lyreco: Lyreco is a large European B2B distributor of workplace supplies and services, serving similar customer segments including education, healthcare, and businesses. It is much larger than Le Cèdre and operates a direct distribution model rather than a consortium negotiation model.
• Manutan: Manutan is a major European B2B distribution group serving SMEs, education, healthcare, and government with workplace and operational supplies. It competes with Le Cèdre across multiple product categories but operates a broader catalog model with direct distribution rather than negotiated consortium arrangements.
• Würth France: Würth France is part of the global Würth Group, a leading B2B distributor of industrial and professional supplies with strong French market presence. It serves similar SME and institutional customers but specializes in technical and industrial product categories rather than the broad 12-universe procurement model.

Direct peers

• UniHA: UniHA is a cooperative of French university hospitals for collective purchasing. It employs the same group purchasing organization model as Le Cèdre, focused on the hospital sector with multi-category procurement across medical, food, IT, and energy.
• CAIH (Centrale d'Achat de l'Informatique Hospitalière): CAIH is a French central purchasing body dedicated to healthcare IT procurement. It represents a narrower vertical focus than Le Cèdre but operates on identical GPO principles, serving healthcare establishments with collective bargaining power.
• UGAP (Union des Groupements d'Achats Publics): UGAP is France's central purchasing body for the public sector, aggregating demand across government, healthcare, and education entities. It operates the same groupement d'achats consortium model as Le Cèdre, making it the most structurally comparable peer in the French market despite its public-sector focus.
• Resah: Resah is a French public-interest group providing collective purchasing services to healthcare, social, and medico-social establishments. It directly parallels Le Cèdre's healthcare and social vertical with the same consortium model aggregating demand across member institutions.

Emerging players

• Amazon Business: Amazon Business is the B2B procurement arm of Amazon, offering digital purchasing for businesses and public organizations across France. It competes with Le Cèdre's core value proposition on convenience, transparency, and digital tooling, particularly for SMBs in office supplies and indirect categories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-cedre
• Xx.com/lecedre_fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Le Cèdre