Ply — a software startup providing a materials management platform for contractors — announced Dec. 4 that it has raised $8.5 million in strategic funding that is led by Ferguson Ventures, the corporate venture arm of industrial distributor Ferguson.

Existing Ply investors, Primary and SignalFire, also participated.

New York City-based Ply was launched in 2022 upon its founders’ background in trade experience, logistics, finance and technology. Its cloud-based inventory and purchasing platform is designed to help trade businesses — like plumbing, HVAC, electrical and other contractors — manage materials, purchasing and stock across warehouses, trucks and job sites. 

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“This isn’t just funding, it’s a collaboration,” Ply Co-Founder and CEO Dave Wigder wrote about the investment. “Ferguson brings unmatched scale and supply chain expertise. Ply brings field-first software that’s built for the way trades actually work. Together, we’re unlocking a smarter, more automated way to keep the right materials on hand on the truck, at the jobsite or back at the warehouse.”

The Ply platform combines barcode-based inventory tracking, automated replenishment triggers, purchase order creation and supplier/RFQ management, real-time material usage visibility and AI-enhanced data to simplify workflows that traditionally rely on spreadsheets or manual processes.

“Ferguson has spent decades supporting the trades with the right products and relationships. But what impressed us most is how seriously they take innovation,” Wigder added. “Their team sees what we see: that better inventory systems can make the difference between profit and pain, especially for small and mid-sized trade businesses.”

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Ferguson — a 2023 and 2024 participant in NAW’s annual Innovators Summit — has made numerous investments in other technology startups in recent years. In a LinkedIn post, Blake Luse, Ferguson Senior Director of Enterprise Strategy & Planning Blake Luse noted that Ply represents the company’s 20th venture investment to accelerate innovation for the construction industry.

“Excited for this collaboration to bring smarter inventory replenishment to the trades and help contractors run more efficient, profitable businesses,” Luse said. “Congrats to the Ply team.”

See Ferguson Ventures’ portfolio of other investments here.

Ferguson decorated MDM’s 2025 Top Distributors Lists, including No. 1 for Plumbing, No. 2 for HVACR, No. 2 for Industrial PVF, No. 11 for Building Materials/Construction and No. 12 for Industrial Supplies. The company was also named one of MDM’s 2025 Industry Titans.