What APOGEES does

APOGÉES is a French non-profit mutualization network structured as a Groupement d'Intérêt Économique (GIE) and headquartered at 66 cours Charlemagne in Lyon. Founded in 1985 by a group of social and medico-social establishment directors, the organization operates as a centralized referencing (référencement) center that negotiates collective agreements with 300+ suppliers on behalf of its 7,500+ member establishments, while leaving members free to purchase without volume commitments. Beyond purchasing, APOGÉES delivers strategic consulting (via its SCIC subsidiary Aphilia Conseil), temporary HR staffing (via the COORHEA cooperative), social-innovation valorization (via the RACINES association formed in 2022 from the merger of APEF and AMMA), and energy-transition support through dedicated account managers and regional territory teams.

The organization's technology footprint is intentionally light: a member extranet portal (mon-espace.apogees-ess.org), an online Vacances Solidaires catalog, a corporate website, and content distribution through the 'Voyages en Expertises' podcast on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. APOGÉES does not develop proprietary software or AI capabilities; its core asset is four decades of curated supplier agreements, regulatory expertise in energy and building compliance (Décret Tertiaire, BACS, OPERAT), and a coordinated member ecosystem across the medico-social, social, childhood, early childhood, education, and social-tourism verticals.

The business model rests on membership subscriptions paid by ESS associations and establishments, supplemented by fees from ancillary service lines (consulting, HR, energy diagnostics). Distribution is entirely direct and relationship-based: each member is assigned a chargé de suivi, supported by regional territory teams, and engaged through annual events such as Rencontres APOGÉES (held in Lyon in 2025 and scheduled for Strasbourg in 2026). Pricing is quote-based and non-public, reflecting the negotiated, non-volume-committal nature of the referencing model.

Name

APOGEES

Legal name

Groupement d'intérêt économique APOGÉES

Website

https://apogees-ess.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

APOGÉES is a French non-profit GIE founded in 1985 that runs a national mutualization network serving more than 7,500 Social and Solidarity Economy establishments with collective purchasing agreements, consulting, HR staffing, and social-innovation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership subscriptions: APOGÉES generates revenue through membership fees from ESS organizations (établissements and associations) that join the network. Members pay for access to pooled purchasing agreements, negotiated supplier rates, consulting services, HR solutions, and other support functions mutualization offerings.
2. Purchasing mutualization services: Revenue derived from facilitating pooled purchasing for member organizations. As a référencement (listing) center rather than a purchasing center, APOGÉES negotiates collective agreements with suppliers on behalf of members, who retain freedom to purchase from referenced suppliers without volume commitments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

APOGÉES is a French national associative mutualization network serving Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) organizations, providing five core service modules: purchasing coordination (référencement), strategic consulting, support function management, HR management via the COORHEA cooperative, and social innovation support via the RACINES pole. The network negotiates collective supplier agreements and provides expert consulting across purchasing, HR, energy transition, and building management for over 7,500 member establishments in the medico-social, social, childhood, early childhood, education, and social tourism sectors.

Product overview

APOGEES is a national associative mutualization network serving the Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) sector. The organization operates as a unified platform combining five core service modules: purchasing coordination (Pilotage des achats), strategic consulting, support function management, HR management through the COORHEA cooperative, and social innovation support via the RACINES pole. Additionally, the network offers a member extranet portal, a podcast series (Voyages en Expertises), a vacation catalog (Catalogue Vacances Solidaires), and organizes the annual Rencontres APOGÉES event. The ecosystem also includes the APHILIA consultancy firm as a key service delivery partner.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aphilia Conseil: Cabinet de conseil coopératif du Réseau APOGÉES, offrant des services de conseil, formation et évaluation externe pour les structures de l'ESS. SCIC immatriculée au RCS de Lyon sous le numéro 822 566 295.
• Voyages en Expertises
• RACINES
• COORHEA

Products and services

• Pilotage des achats (Référencement)

Quantifiable outcome

• Savings of over 70,000€ on maintenance costs in a single year for one member establishment (RRCS)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• URHAJ NormandiecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2020Partnership signed November 18, 2020 for joint development of an eco-responsibility label focused on sustainable development and environmental education. The 36-month project aims to publicly present the label by December 2024, developed with UDHAJ de La Manche members and APHILIA cabinet support.
• APHILIA ConseilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative consulting company (SCIC) fully integrated within the APOGÉES network. Provides strategic consulting, external evaluations, and professional development services to ESS members. Referenced DLA (Dispositif Local d'Accompagnement) for subsidized consulting engagements.
• COORHEAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTemporary work cooperative dedicated exclusively to ESS sector HR management. Provides temporary staffing, CDI sharing, and GPEC territoriale services for member establishments. First agency opened in Lyon in April 2021, with national deployment planned.
• RACINEScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation created from merger of APEF and APOGÉES, focused on valuing and supporting remarkable projects within ESS. Provides innovation support, project methodology guidance, and inspiration sharing through initiatives like photo exhibitions and project showcases.
• DARIUS RHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the APOGÉES network providing HR optimization services, helping establishments manage their most precious resource. Formerly part of the broader DARIUS network before restructuring.
• UNIOPSSminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational union of social and health organizations; partner in Rencontres APOGÉES 2021 event, promoting mutualization and cooperation among ESS actors.
• COORHEAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative of temporary work dedicated to HR management in the ESS sector, operational since Q1 2021. Provides staffing solutions, CDI sharing, and GPEC territoriale development for member establishments.
• ELIAEminorOthersOrganization serving people with disabilities and autism spectrum disorders; referenced as ESS sector peer working in proximity with APOGÉES network.
• LACTALISminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReferenced supplier partner providing food products. Contributed content during Nutrition Week 2021 on malnutrition awareness for elderly populations in ESS establishments.
• VITOGAZ FRANCEminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorReferenced energy supplier partner. Engaged in philanthropy initiative with FGPEP, donating 8,000€ to support PEP holiday programs for youth.
• Association Valentin HaüyminorOthersMember organization served by APOGÉES for energy transition and building optimization. Provided testimonial from Thierry Ferlaud, Responsable Technique, on the value of APOGÉES accompaniment.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UNIOPSS: UNIOPSS is the national union of social and health organizations, already a partner of APOGÉES at Rencontres APOGÉES 2021. It overlaps with APOGÉES in serving ESS associations, though with a broader sector-wide advocacy and representation focus rather than operational mutualization.
• FEHAP (Fédération des Établissements Hospitaliers et d'Assistance Privée): FEHAP is the French federation of private non-profit hospitals and medico-social establishments. While not a purchasing mutualization network, it serves the same ESS member base as APOGÉES and offers some pooled-services capabilities as part of a broader representation and support portfolio.
• Nexem: Nexem is the French federation of employers in the medico-social and social sector. It serves the same member base as APOGÉES with a broader mandate covering representation, training, and HR support rather than dedicated purchasing mutualization.

Direct peers

• UNIHA (Union des Hôpitaux pour les Achats): UNIHA is a French public-hospital purchasing cooperative covering university hospitals and large public facilities. Comparable to APOGÉES in cooperative structure and pooled-procurement model, focused primarily on the hospital vertical.
• UGAP (Union des Groupements d'Achats Publics): UGAP is the French central purchasing body for public-sector entities, aggregating procurement across ministries, hospitals and local authorities. It shares APOGÉES's core mission of pooled purchasing mutualization but operates at much larger scale and in the broader public sector.
• RESAH (Réseau des Achats Hospitaliers): RESAH is a French hospital-sector purchasing network aggregating volume from public and private non-profit hospitals. It is a directly comparable peer to APOGÉES for the purchasing mutualization model serving social/health establishments.

Others

• UNAPEI: UNAPEI is the national federation of associations supporting people with intellectual disabilities and their families. It operates as a parent body to many of APOGÉES's medico-social member establishments, representing them in advocacy and sector coordination.
• Les Coopératives (Coop FR): Coop FR is the French federation representing the cooperative movement, including SCICs like APHILIA and cooperatives like COORHEA within APOGÉES's network. It is an ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor, providing governance and promotional support to APOGÉES-affiliated entities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC19ZnRpn6SV7MqEWZLGu_lw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reseauapogees/?originalSubdomain=fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 APOGEES