Antwerp, April 6th 2019 – SupplyStack announces the closing of its series A funding round of €5 million, led by Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen and Mainport Innovation Fund and existing investor Fortino Capital. SupplyStack delivers an easy-to-integrate and flexible visibility solution that monitors transport orders in real-time. “SupplyStack helps supply chain and customer service departments to contribute to a better customer experience and overall supply chain collaboration. With this new funding in place, we can tap into new European markets and go after our ultimate goal: turning the supply chain into a competitive differentiator and putting the end customer first”, explains Nick Poels, CEO of SupplyStack.
Visibility and collaboration
SupplyStack announces the closing of its series A funding round of €5 million, led by Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen and Mainport Innovation Fund and existing investor Fortino Capital. SupplyStack launched its software in 2013 with the goal of helping B2B organisations obtain supply chains that are predictive, data-driven, deeply automated and continuously optimizing for business returns and environmental impact. The SupplyStack interface uses visibility and collaboration as a core capability to drive transport execution and automate work where possible. “It’s our mission to remove friction in the supply chain. We bring users, systems and data together to offer end-to-end, real-time transport visibility that drives outcomes”, states Nick Poels, CEO of SupplyStack.
Last year, SupplyStack was recognized as a notable vendor by Gartner in the ‘European Context for Transportation Management System’. Currently, numerous leaders in the industry, including Sony, Umicore, DHL, Duracell and Atlas Copco, are using SupplyStack to accomplish their transport management. Transportation management systems (TMS) are becoming less expensive and easier to own. Now, companies of any size can get in the game. “As we evangelise customer centricity to our customers, it’s our duty to practise what we preach. We want to provide an exceptional user experience so users don’t simply adopt SupplyStack. They have to love it because it’s effortless and intuitive.”
Supply chain as a competitive advantage
For today’s companies a competitive operation cost is key but according to SupplyStack a customer-centric supply chain is what should be the strategic business priority. As B2C experiences are influencing B2B expectations – also known as “The Amazon Effect” – the current supply chain systems are under pressure. According to Gartner, 75% of B2B organizations have immature capabilities when it comes to customer experience management. As customer retention is cheaper than acquisition, actively investing in customer satisfaction offers great value.
“In general, corporate customer experience is managed by the sales and marketing departments, in spite of the fact that the supply chain plays a key role in the customer journey. Organisations should realise that a late delivery can disrupt or disappoint and that an expedited delivery can delight or save a life. Putting the customer first will turn your supply chain into a competitive advantage”, explains Poels.
LogTech is the new FinTech
The investment is a testimony to how quickly the logistics technology sector is growing. The industry is experiencing an influx of venture capital and new companies that has never been experienced before. “Logistic technology venture capital investments have seen rapid growth for the past few years. It’s an industry that has been historically slow-moving: using spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls. This is rapidly changing now: LogTech is becoming what FinTech was 10 years ago”, states Poels.
“The last few years have been fantastic. Together with our clients, we are building the technology, growing the team and finding our unique spot,” says Poels. “We’re really motivated to give supply chain and customer service professionals true satisfaction by providing them with the tools to be successful in their everyday job. It’s time to co-create a new normal within the transportation management industry.”
Growth potential
This new round of investment will allow SupplyStack to expand further in the countries in which they are already present, not to mention tapping into new European markets.
Fortino Capital is investing in SupplyStack for the second time. “We have supported the management team over the past three years and are excited to assist them during the next phase of further scaling-up their company. The team has the skills and focus to drive digitalisation in the logistics sector, and deliver a more efficient supply chain to its clients,” says Steven De Troyer, Investment Director at Fortino Capital.
“We strongly believe in SupplyStack, not only because their technology delivers freight cost savings for the customer, but also because SupplyStack puts customer focus and customer information at the heart of its business”, explains Isabelle Tennstedt, Senior Investment Manager atParticipatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen. “That is exactly what determines whether a company can distinguish itself from the competition in a digital age.”
SupplyStack can also count on support from the Netherlands with investments from Mainport Innovation Fund (Schiphol, KLM, the Port of Amsterdam, NS and TU Delft). “This is the first time we’re investing in a Belgian start-up. The growth that SupplyStack has been able to achieve in only a few years’ time is impressive, along with the fact that SupplyStack – instead of other established software providers – earned the trust of large organisations to support them in their logistics operations”, says Thijs Gitmans, Fund Manager at Mainport Innovation Fund.
About SupplyStack
SupplyStack delivers an easy-to-integrate and flexible visibility solution that monitors transport orders in real-time in order to facilitate collaboration, drive execution and automates work where possible. Currently, numerous leaders in the industry, including Sony, Umicore, DHL, Duracell and Atlas Copco, are using SupplyStack to accomplish their logistics and transport management. In 2018, SupplyStack was recognized as a notable vendor by Gartner in their ‘European Context for Transportation Management System’.
For more information: www.supplystack.com
About Fortino Capital
Fortino Capital invests in small and medium-sized businesses with growth potential, across Europe with a focus on Benelux. Fortino Capital believes in the potential of visionary entrepreneurs with a focus on technology, E-commerce and digital transformation. Fortino Capital brings a strengthening of capital, expertise and experience in the areas of innovation, strategy and growth.
For more information: www.fortino.be
About PMV
PMV is an investment company focussed on the economic future of Flanders. PMV finances promising companies from the very start to growth and internationalization. PMV offers tailor-made financial solutions for every entrepreneur with a solid business plan and a strong management team, by providing (venture) capital, loans or guarantees. PMV has a portfolio of about EUR 1.2 billion in assets under management.
For more information: www.pmv.eu
About Mainport Innovation Fund II
MIF II aims to accelerate innovation in logistics, transport and aviation. It was founded in 2015 by Schiphol, KLM, TU Delft, NS and Port of Amsterdam, together with NBI Investors, the fund manager. MIF II has invested in ViriCiti, Mobian, We4Sea, Synple, C Teleport and SupplyStack. Its predecessor Mainport Innovation Fund I has invested in Casper (exit), Multi Pilot Simulations (exit), Versa (previously FastTrack Company), Ampyx Power (exit), Robin Radar, MI Airline, Snocom, Eye on Air, Undagrid and Calendar42 (exit).
For more information: www.mainportinnovationfund.nl and www.nbi-investors.nl
