CHAIN - March 2025 by iThink Media

SAYAN BOSE

Empowering industrial manufacturing companies to drive differentiation and sustainable growth.

FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to the March edition of CHAIN Magazine!

pring is in the air – a season of growth, rejuvenation and optimism. Set against this buoyant backdrop, it is my absolute pleasure to announce that our new website has launched!

We’ve rebuilt CHAIN’s digital home from the ground up, so we can serve you the latest and greatest supply chain news, features and interviews even better. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone involved – thank you.

But now, back to the magazine. We have a stellar lineup for you this month and are thrilled to share four exclusive interviews with you for our March edition.

For our cover interview this month, I welcome the chance to chat with Sayan Bose, Global Head of Industrial Manufacturing and Aerospace & Defense Industries at SAP. We explore recent innovations in industrial manufacturing, the role of operational excellence within the business and the secret to SAP’s success (p6).

Next up, I sit down with Erik Bosman, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Cerus, who offers his insights on building the company’s global supply chain and fostering innovation in the highstakes medical industry – where the ultimate aim is to safeguard the world’s blood supply (p32).

Diane Acevedo, Senior Vice President of Operations at kid-safe technology provider Gabb, joins me to spotlight the company’s fantastic work to build technology that protects young people –shielding them from potential digital dangers while allowing them to stay safely connected (p56).

Nick Brigante, Director of Procurement at Burger Lounge, divulges the company’s approach to sourcing, menu innovation and partner strategies – with the ultimate goal of connecting diners with top-notch food producers that honour the body and planet (p84).

For our features this month, we cover Desteia’s latest round of funding to alleviate supply chain disruptions with AI and graph theory (p22), Oracle’s new AI agents which will help spur productivity and growth across the supply chain (p46), Walmart Canada’s latest investments into its supply chain (p74) and the eight supply chain startups to watch in 2025 (p98).

We hope you enjoy our latest edition. As always, if you would like to be considered as an interviewee or if you have a story for us, please do get in touch.

6 In our exclusive cover story, Sayan Bose divulges the innovations that make SAP a leading manufacturing solutions provider

22 Desteia announces new funding to develop SaaS technology

32 Erik Bosman discusses the evolution of Cerus’ global supply chain, and the strategies needed to innovate in the highly regulated medical industry 46 How Oracle is transforming supply chain workflows

56 Diane Acevedo highlights Gabb’s supply chain transformation journey

74 Discover Walmart Canada’s latest supply chain investment 84 Nick Brigante on sourcing, menu innovation and partner strategy at Burger Lounge 98 Revealed: 8 supply chain startups to watch in 2025

Erik Bosman

Sayan

Diane Acevedo

Nick Brigante

Industry focus delivers results:

How SAP helps futureproof industrial manufacturers

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP stands at the nexus of business and technology.

The company has worked with its industrial manufacturing customers for over 50 years to define end-to-end processes that unite business-critical operations spanning finance, engineering, supply chain, customer experience and HR. SAP’s solutions empower industrial manufacturing companies to design, sell, manufacture, and service highly customised and intelligent products and solutions – driving differentiation and sustainable growth.

Joining us today from SAP is Sayan Bose, Global Head of Industrial Manufacturing and Aerospace & Defense Industries, for a conversation spanning recent innovations in industrial manufacturing, the role of operational excellence within the business and the secret to SAP’s success.

To begin, Sayan outlines the role of a robust strategy when delivering value for industrial manufacturing companies.

“In my role, I’m really focusing on looking at our entire portfolio of software applications, technology platform and business AI and how they

can serve the industrial manufacturing industry,” says Sayan. “This way, we can ensure that our customers get the value they need – through leveraging our software to run their entire business processes.”

However, a critical tenet of building this strategy is staying ahead of market trends – challenging in an industry that can often change suddenly and unexpectedly.

“The pace at which the industry is changing means that we need to continually implement new technologies and reinvent processes to make sure we’re able to offer best-inclass software,” explains Sayan. “Our customers have projects they need to deliver, so we assess the technology that will be best deployed in the context of their business processes and how it will impact those processes to ensure we can offer them the value that they need.”

For SAP, ensuring the success of the software it deploys is paramount.

“When we look at cloud applications, we need to ensure that our software

offers the ability for our clients to cover their entire value chain including hireto-retire, procure-to-pay, design-tooperate, and record-to-report,” says Sayan. “Our applications need to ensure every process works together and eliminates fragmentation but also that our customers can select what they need in a modular fashion. This ensures industrial manufacturers can continue to grow at their own pace and stay ahead of any potential problems.

“Embedding technologies like AI into these processes also guides our customers in their decision making, helping them avoid making mistakes and minimising the business risks

that come with changing customer demands, and even geopolitical and market movements. Being able to leverage business data from processes, to feed business AI models which in turns improves the processes is a key differentiator for SAP.

“Another important element we’re looking at is sustainability. This needs to be a key dimension of how any business operates, from high-level strategic initiatives to daily operations. Our cloud applications offer specialised solutions to serve the complexities of individual industrial manufacturing companies, including circular manufacturing processes and regulatory reporting –

so they operate successfully in the real world.

“While our Cloud ERP and other cloud applications are at the core of what we do, SAP is also focused on the technology platform they run on. Our platform SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) supports application development and automation, integration and artificial intelligence capabilities.”

“We’ve spent the last few years embedding AI and machine learning and will accelerate this with generative AI (GenAI) within our applications,” adds Sayan “This is really important for our

“SAP has established partnerships with leading AI technology providers”

Sayan Bose, Global Head of Industrial Manufacturing and Aerospace & Defense Industries

industrial manufacturing companies, as they need to be able to speed up the adoption of AI capabilities, and scale the capabilities across their organisation so they can help every employee be more effective. Already delivered AI capabilities include using AI to provide recommendations to finish incomplete sales orders, keep customers information about order fulfilment issues by uncovering delays, their cause, and provide potential remedies. AI can support salespeople by developing recommendations tailored to specific customers for the most suitable products and configurations, and there are more on the way.

“In addition, in our platform we provide both AI services and an AI core: this gives our partners and customers the opportunity to embed their own expertise within our software and their own applications, so they can implement what is appropriate for them and build accordingly.

“To continue the momentum SAP has established partnerships with leading AI technology providers. We already have over 34,000 cloud customers that use SAP Business AI, and that number is only growing.”

While technologies such as these are crucial for the successful running of any business, Sayan stresses the importance of collaboration and its ecosystem as a partner for success.

“To be able to help maximise our customers investment,” says Sayan. “We work with our vast network of software and technology partner ecosystems to offer industry-specific and innovative solutions to extend our portfolio.”

In order to provide offerings relevant to its customer base, SAP prioritises maintaining a steady dialogue with them.

“We have ongoing conversations with our customers,” elaborates Sayan.

“From this, we can see that most industrial manufacturers are focusing on three main priorities.

“Number one is a need to offer more customer-centric solutions and services. For instance, if you’re selling a machine, you’re also selling the software that controls it and offers new capabilities. Often, machines are now more about the software than the hardware, and this adds a level of complexity to managing master data, configuring sales orders, as well as

the manufacturing installation and ongoing maintenance.

“By offering this suite of services, industrial manufacturers can offer more customer intimacy and drive higher profit margins, as well as being able to offer these new solutions in a subscription model, which can really lead to more innovative business models.

“Secondly, we’re noticing that these industrial manufacturers are starting

“Number one is a need to offer more customercentric solutions and services”

to develop more innovative and sustainable solutions in terms of equipment and machinery. With more businesses prioritising green initiatives. Industrial manufacturers are being driven to develop more sustainable and circular industrial solutions, but they also have to take into account costs and margins. This can be a difficult balance, which is why the third focus we’ve noticed with a lot of manufacturers is around standardising their operations. You need to look at your entire operations holistically so you can easily scale, be more resilient, and embed new innovations within your business practices.

“With manufacturers focused on these three pillars, we need to ensure that our portfolio of cloud applications will give our customers the ability to run their business today and yet still be able to innovate their operations effectively. A great example of that has to be our innovations within the AI space.

“One of our customers is Kaeser Kompressoren, who is a global supplier of compressed air systems. When we spoke to them recently, they explained that the process of configuring the right compressor for the needs of a specific customer was challenging to manage with their current data system.

“By leveraging our modular cloud solutions, including SAP intelligent

product recommendation with Gen AI capabilities, they were able to more efficiently configure complex compressors for specific sites. This has made a huge difference in terms of how they manage and produce products going forward.

“For us, this is a central example of what we’re trying to achieve. If we can bring technology into the context of the business, then these industrial

manufacturers are able to achieve what they have lined up for themselves – in this year and beyond.”

Sayan believes that having this focus on customers and industry-specific processes has been instrumental in SAP’s ability to thrive.

“Customer centricity has played a crucial role in our success,” says Sayan. “We’ve taken the time to really

invest in working with our customers to see how these applications can give them value before we bring it to the larger market space. This helps us understand how these capabilities work on a more intimate level, and has really given us that edge.

“SAP also invests significantly in engineering and development. With so many development centres around the world, we’re constantly looking at all dimensions of potential growth. Ultimately, we’re innovating for the customer by working collaboratively with them in an industry context.

“Alongside this, we’re very lucky to have such knowledgeable and capable people working for us. Being able to help customers really identify industry-specific capabilities makes a huge difference for them, and it’s something SAP does exceedingly well.”

Here, Sayan elaborates on how SAP has been able to build a strategy that ensures its solutions are effective in today’s market.

“From an operational standpoint, we have a few key dimensions that come into play when building a strategy,” says Sayan. “However, having a simplified go-to-market roadmap is key. In today’s world, companies are making sure that the software they use serves a specific purpose. If it doesn’t, then they will find a new option – which we want to avoid.

“So we need to make sure our structure is clear. When a customer adopts SAP, our responsibilities need to be aligned across that customer’s entire value chain journey, allowing our experts to work closely with them and help our customers adopt our solutions, and in the process develop a close relationship with them. By having this relationship, we’re able to get the feedback we need to further enhance our portfolio.

“We’ve built a clear, simplified partner ecosystem model, because we have such a range of partner relationships – from partners who help us enhance our software to partners who increase the presence of SAP in the marketplace. Our goal is to make it as straightforward as possible for these partners to work alongside us, as a key part of our go-to-market strategy.”

“SAP can facilitate growth for any industrial manufacturing company – from a small business to an industry titan”

and, most importantly, we understand the data in context of the process and the business. Going forward, if you want to leverage any new technology, data will be key.

With such a strong foundation, SAP is expertly positioned for the future of the market.

“SAP is in a good spot,” concludes Sayan. “We’re staying ahead of emerging technologies, we understand how specific industry processes need to come together

“It’s data which fuels these endto-end business processes and, combined with our applications and AI capabilities, it can be very powerful. When you put all of this together, SAP can facilitate growth for any industrial manufacturing company – from a small business to an industry titan.”

Learn more about SAP here.

Turn over for Added Value.

ADDED VALUE

HANNOVER MESSE

“I’m looking forward to our attendance at HANNOVER MESSE,” says Sayan. “We have a showcase where we talk about our capability to offer end-to-end business processes – from design to operation for manufacturing companies of all shapes and sizes. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to meet new and existing customers and discover how industry leaders are envisioning 2025 and beyond.”

Leadership strategies

“Simon Sinek’s thoughts on leadership have really shaped how I approach my own position,” says Sayan. “The way he frames leadership in terms of how you want to drive initiatives and bring about change really excites me, and I’m constantly reshaping the way I work in accordance with the things I have learnt from him.”

Sayan recommends…

“Over the years, I have been fascinated by Yuval Noah Harari,” says Sayan. “The first thing I read by him was Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and I’ve recently read his latest book Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI. I’ve loved learning more from his perspectives on the technology landscape, and these books have been such a useful tool for me to further my own opinions on these topics.”

Woodworking

“Outside of work and reading, I really enjoy woodworking,” says Sayan. “Taking something from an initial plan to a project I’ve built myself gives me a huge sense of satisfaction. It’s also helped me form a closer relationship with my neighbour, who’s an octogenarian. He also has the same hobby, so we often exchange ideas, work together and give each other new challenges. It’s been a great way to get to know him better.”

Connect with Sayan

LEVERAGING AI AND TO ALLEVIATE SUPPLY

New York-based startup Desteia to develop new SaaS

AND GRAPH THEORY

CHAIN DISRUPTIONS

Desteia has raised a total of $11.5m SaaS technology.

NOW MORE THAN EVER, SUPPLY CHAIN OPERATORS NEED A TOOL THAT CAN HELP THEM PREDICT AND UNDERSTAND DISRUPTIONS, GIVING THEM THE POWER TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

n the last twelve months alone, a historic drought in the Panama Canal decreased crossings between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, protests at US ports halted shipments and 11 hurricanes significantly impacted trade routes.

To facilitate a more efficient supply chain network, New York-based startup Desteia is leveraging cuttingedge technology to support leaders

and operators by giving them the tools to make optimal decisions for their supply chain in a context of continuous disruptions.

The company has secured $8m in a seed funding round led by Autotech Ventures, Nazca and Village Global, positioning the company to potentially revolutionise logistics operations with new AI tools and graph theory.

“AS WE EVALUATE HUNDREDS OF SUPPLY CHAIN TECH SOLUTIONS EVERY YEAR, DESTEIA STOOD OUT WITH ITS UNIQUE APPROACH TO EXTRACTING UNSTRUCTURED DATA, WHICH TRULY FEELS LIKE MAGIC"

Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures.

This will also enable Desteia to focus on US-Mexico trade, where companies move over $850bn worth of goods annually. Working with customers worldwide, the company will provide better visibility to their operations and suggest the most efficient decisions to operators.

Destia was founded by former Tesla executive Françoise Lavertu and Stanford engineers and entrepreneurs Diego Solorzano and Austin Poore. The startup is simplifying logistics by using AI to extract and organise information from unstructured data like emails, messages and logistics documents.

It connects these pieces together using graph theory, the mathematical study of networks –comprising nodes (locations) and edges (routes), to create a clear dashboard for operators to manage shipments across ocean, ground

“RELYING ON MANUAL PROCESSES AND FRAGMENTED COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS MEANS SUPPLY CHAINS ARE FRAGILE AND PRONE TO DISRUPTION”

Adam Zobler, General Partner at global investment firm Foundemental

and air with specific expertise on US-Mexico cross-border operations. This includes integrations to Mexico’s customs system to give further visibility to shipments at port or at the border.

“As we evaluate hundreds of supply chain tech solutions every year, Desteia stood out with its unique approach to extracting unstructured data,

which truly feels like magic," says Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures. “Unfortunately, traditional communication channels such as email and text are not going away, but recent advances in AI make it possible to meet customers where they are.”

Desteia’s goal is to be the decisionmaking tool for supply chain

operators. With minimal integration effort, the dashboard data provides actionable insights for logistics teams to securely access realtime updates on container ETAs, predict potential disruptions and identify opportunities for optimisation, such as the best carriers or most efficient routes.

The company has partnerships and contracts with major retailers, auto manufacturers and CPGs in North America. Across the board, it has helped users, such as Elektra – one of the largest retailers in Latin America – to achieve full visibility without any integrations required or manual work while reducing the time spent reviewing emails.

“Relying on manual processes and fragmented communication systems means supply chains are fragile and prone to disruption,” says Adam Zobler, General Partner at global investment firm Foundemental. “Desteia offers an exciting opportunity to streamline supply chains by harnessing the power of data.”

SOURCE: Desteia

Building the future global blood supply with Cerus

Erik Bosman, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Cerus, discusses the evolution of the company’s global supply chain, and the strategies needed to innovate in the highly regulated medical industry.

Cerus Corporation (Cerus) has spent the past 30+ years safeguarding the world’s blood supply by developing vital technologies to pathogen reduce blood components.

he company’s INTERCEPT Blood System remains the only pathogen reduction system for platelets and plasma with both the CE mark and FDA approval, while development of its red blood cell system is in late-stage clinical trials.

Joining us from Cerus to discuss the process of building a global supply chain in such a high-stakes industry is Erik Bosman, Vice President of Global Supply Chain. To begin, Erik explains how his role has evolved alongside the company over the years.

“I’ve been with Cerus for over 11 years, and I have been fortunate to be part of our drive to grow patient access

to safe transfusions,” says Erik. “Cerus was founded in the early 1990s, during the tragedy of the HIV epidemic, when so many people around the world unknowingly received contaminated transfusions. Cerus has always been focused on preventing this from happening again. I am proud that during my tenure at Cerus, we have exceeded sales of 19 million kits sold to produce transfusible doses of INTERCEPT-treated platelets and plasma units. Before we obtained FDA approval for the INTERCEPT System, I worked in a Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) focused role taking care of all operational and finance matters. However, once we started having commercial traction in the US, it became clear that we

needed a global approach from a supply chain perspective – both upstream and downstream.

“This is when I got the opportunity to build a global supply chain team,” continues Erik. “Half our team is based in Europe, and the other half is in the US. Our supply chain is end-to-end –from starting with taking care of our manufacturing partners for the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for the INTERCEPT System, to certain key materials and components as well as the products we eventually

commercialise, the disposable sets and the hardware. We take care of all of this, as well as the warehousing, logistics and customer side of the business.

“Customer and technical service are crucial pieces of the global supply chain organisation. I really appreciate being part of this, because it allows us to operate a truly customer-centric supply chain. At Cerus, a key tenet for us is that supply chain starts with understanding the customer, and

“We want to be the standard of care for transfused blood components globally”

Erik Bosman, Vice President of Global Supply Chain at Cerus

I’m glad this is something my team facilitates each and every day.

“The patient is our ultimate concern, whom we reach through our delivery of our products to blood banks and hospitals that process blood themselves. In most countries, it’s a dedicated blood banking organisation which acquires our technology to treat the blood products they collect and dispense. The INTERCEPT System is used to inactivate many contaminants that may exist in these products, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites,

as well as donor white blood cells. For many patients, transfusion of contaminated blood can be lifethreatening, so the ability to reduce this risk is critical.”

For Erik, this work is absolutely crucial for the wellbeing of the global blood supply.

“We want to be the standard of care for transfused blood components globally,” emphasises Erik. “Our mission is to enable our customers to do everything in their power to deliver

Blood Products

Advance your research and accelerate medical breakthroughs with our premium blood products. Our solutions are designed to support transformative therapies, providing you with the high-quality materials necessary for success.

From research to manufacturing, we offer specialised blood products that streamline your processes Whether you ' re developing cutting-edge therapies or conducting critical medical research, our tailored solutions ensure precision and reliability.

Our blood products are designed for research use, empowering you to make the discoveries that will transform the future of medicine and science

Leukopaks

PBMC Collections

Buffy Coats

LRS Chambers

Blood, Samples And Research Material

Ready to advance your research and bring transformative therapies to life? Explore our portfolio and get in touch with our team to find the ideal solutions for your scientific needs.

Visit www.giveblood.org for more information

“Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Texas manufactures the INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex product using our supplied components”

safe and effective blood products to patients. In short, our vision is that blood should be available when needed and safe for transfusion. It’s a very specific focus, and that’s what we do and why we come to work every day.”

With this focus in mind, Cerus has played a critical role in preventing the spread of dangerous blood-borne diseases through blood transfusions.

“Let’s compare our technology with testing, as an example,” says Erik. “Testing is by definition a reactive intervention, because you test only what you specifically choose to test, and you can only test for pathogens that have that testing capability available. This became a real problem in 2016, when the Zika virus started spreading.

“Developing a test for a new pathogen typically takes three to six months. In the time it takes to finalise, you wouldn’t know if your blood supply is compromised if you’re dealing with a blood-borne pathogen like Zika. This is where our technology is instrumental. It targets the nucleic acids of

pathogens, which means that a broad spectrum of known and unknown pathogens are inactivated by our technology. This is where we’re really able to make an important difference.

“Some of these blood products have a very short shelf life,” says Erik. “Platelets, in that respect, are the most critical component. Because platelets are stored at room temperature and have a risk of bacterial growth, they typically have a four- to seven- day shelf life, which includes approximately one day of processing, which leaves the blood bank facing rapid turnarounds.

“In addition, there are other factors to consider like donor matching and different blood types, so the supply chain for blood banks is incredibly complex. If blood establishments decide to adopt our technology, they rely on Cerus’ ability to supply them at all times. This is a very serious obligation on our side.

“One of our production partners, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in Texas manufactures the INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex product using

our supplied components,” elaborates Erik. “This is a cryoprecipitated plasma product with high concentrations of fibrinogen and other important clotting factors, currently FDAapproved and available in the US. Fibrinogen is a critical coagulation factor that is required for blood clotting but also quickly lost in patients experiencing massive haemorrhage (heavy bleeding), such as in trauma, surgery and obstetric patients.

“Typically, trauma centres and hospitals may keep conventional cryoprecipitate frozen until needed for a specific patient because, once thawed, its shelf life is only four to six hours, due in part to infectious risk at room temperature. The problem here is that this delay can prevent ready access upon arrival of the

bleeding patient, for whom time is really of the essence. In contrast, pathogen reduction of INTERCEPT Fibrinogen Complex has facilitated a five-day shelf life in thawed condition, so clinicians can have it ready to transfuse as soon as the patient arrives without risking wastage of the conventional product.

“The intimate relationship we have built with our partner Gulf Coast is critical – this is a product in high demand, so our open and communicative relationship is key to ensuring vital blood components can be made and commercialised.

“In light of this, the way we approach our work on a day-to-day basis is based on a few simple concepts: we always strive to have a 100% fill rate,

where we always need to be able to supply our customers, and we have to be fully focused on business continuity.

“In the medical industry, we are heavily regulated – which means new developments can move relatively slowly. So we need to focus not only on today, but also on the future, to ensure we have the right products, the right capacity and the right manufacturing locations available to continue that supply in the long run.

“We do that by creating a real intimacy with our customers, where we hold regular meetings with them to truly understand what’s going on with their operations, and give them transparency so they know exactly

what’s going on with us. Customers sometimes have to get used to that, because it’s a different concept or level of information sharing which they might not be familiar with. We have found that ultimately, our customers see the value of it, and become very open with us to forge extremely strong partnerships.

“By doing so, we can anticipate many things. What I want to establish with these processes is the ability to signal a risk in our ability to supply well in advance – three, four months ahead of time. We never confront our customers with the problems we have today, we approach them with the potential problems that might be coming in the future. By doing so, we can mitigate

The missing piece that completes your device? Porex custom solutions.

Our global manufacturing network ensures quality, supply security and adapts seamlessly to your supply chain needs as your business grows.

Connect with a Porex Engineer

“Porex makes a critical component that’s an integral part of our technology”

risk and collaborate on the solution – making sure that a theoretical problem never becomes a true problem.

“On the flip side, I also want our manufacturing partners to deeply understand what’s going on in Cerus so that they can serve us best. My team and I often do product demonstrations with our manufacturing partners. We speak about what our technology does, how it saves lives and how the people we work with are also contributing to that life-saving work. This has been quite effective for us, because it’s about more than a particular product they produce – it’s about how they’re making a meaningful contribution to safeguarding the blood supply.

“We typically find that, through this kind of engagement, someone tells us that a family member recently had surgery, for example, and needed to receive several units of plasma and platelets. This is the moment where we can make a connection between how they contribute to our product and how they have therefore contributed to that supply of safe

blood for their family. It really brings the product to life and reminds everyone involved of the importance of the work we’re doing.”

A notable partner for Erik – and for Cerus as a whole – in these lifesaving endeavours is Porex, a plastics manufacturer specialising in innovative porous materials solutions.

“Porex makes a critical component that’s an integral part of our technology,” remarks Erik. “They’ve been a manufacturing partner for us since the beginning, and the component they make is a compound absorption device. This device absorbs residual API after the blood product has been treated, to give the patient a platelet or plasma product that is ready to transfuse. Porex has been a great partner for Cerus, because as a company they understand the need to focus on continuity of supply and ensuring they have the capacity to support us long term.”

Learn more about Cerus here.

Turn over for Added Value with Erik.

ADDED VALUE

Around-the-world care

“I really appreciate having the opportunity to go on great trips with my family,” says Erik. “We tend to avoid going on ordinary holidays, and instead we try to go off the beaten track. This has brought us to beautiful places, but it always makes you appreciate what you have access to in your daily lives.”

“When my family and I were in Mozambique, my youngest son got an ear infection, so we went to a local medical facility to have a physician look at his ear,” recalls Erik. “We were advised it was easy to skip the lines by paying a little extra. We decided not to do this especially as pregnant women, young children and elderly people were waiting as well. After a while the physician examined my son’s ear using a cell phone camera. We ended up paying something like $2 for the visit including antibiotics and painkillers. This was an eyeopening experience, and it’s the kind of experience that I want my family to have.”

“It also triggers another type of motivation in me,” continues Erik.

“I believe that the technologies we have access to will ultimately have to become available to every person in the world, and this is something I try to build with my team. Besides coming to work and doing what we do, we need to be good corporate citizens as well.”

Scaling within the medical industry

“A few years ago, I read BLITZSCALING: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Powerful Companies by Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh,” says Erik. “This book explores how the world is scaling at a very rapid pace, and how companies need to keep up with that. This is so contradictory with the medical industry, but we still need to apply certain concepts discussed in that book to succeed. For instance, red blood cells are by far the most frequent transfused blood products in hospitals, so upon potential commercialisation of our red blood cell system, we need to be able to rapidly scale it for maximum patient access.”

Connect with Erik

Oracle AI agents to transform supply chain workflows

New role-based AI agents embedded in Oracle Fusion Cloud SCM will help organisations achieve new levels of productivity and growth across the supply chain.

Oracle has recently announced new role-based AI agents within Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing (SCM) to automate routine tasks and allow organisations to focus more time on strategic supply chain initiatives.

he new AI agents will help supply chain professionals transform the way they work and achieve new levels of productivity by automating endto-end processes and delivering personalised insights, content and recommendations for specific tasks and specialised roles.

“Supply chain professionals often spend several hours every week on

administrative tasks, such as data analysis, policy reviews and order processing, which takes a significant toll on productivity and resources,” says Chris Leone, Executive Vice President of Applications Development at Oracle. “Our new AI agents for supply chain management help ease the administrative burden by streamlining workflows and automating routine tasks to enable greater accuracy and efficiency,

Oracle

smarter decision-making and ultimately, a more agile and responsive supply chain.”

Spanning all areas of the supply chain, including procurement, manufacturing, maintenance, inventory management, sustainability, planning and product lifecycle management, the new AI agents embedded in Oracle Cloud SCM seamlessly support supply chain professionals with: Margin and risk resilience:

• Procurement policy advisor: Helps procurement professionals increase the speed and accuracy of creating, processing and fulfilling purchase requisitions. For example, the agent can provide insight into procurement policies, share product recommendations and identify specific information needed to complete a purchase requisition.

• Manufacturer onboarding advisor: Helps design engineers streamline the manufacturer and supplier onboarding process. For instance, it can quickly assess newly added manufacturers and suppliers to determine if they meet risk profile and onboarding requirements.

“Part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Cloud SCM enables customers supply chain processes and quickly demand, supply and

Smart operations:

• Operational procedure advisor: Helps manufacturing and production operators confirm whether operations align with procedural guidelines and safety standards. For example, the agent can provide insight into the standard operating procedures for manufacturing processes and summarise information on specific safety standards and material handling guidelines.

• Quality inspection advisor: Helps quality engineers streamline inspection processes and confirm whether products align with compliance requirements. The agent can review failed inspection history and provide preventive recommendations, such as tightening specification controls or suggesting new inspection actions.

• Material handling advisor: This helps material handlers engage in proper handling of products upon delivery. For instance, it can provide information on specific material handling procedures and applicable regulatory requirements so that goods are routed and stored properly.

Oracle

Perfect fulfilment:

• Claims policy advisor: Helps claims analysts make faster, more informed and more consistent claim disposition decisions. For instance, it can quickly review claim policy documents, identify claims that do not conform to policy and provide suggestions on how those claims should be handled.

• Shipping placard handling advisor: This helps shipping agents assess compliance with hazardous materials placard regulations. For example, the agent can review shipment details and summarise guidance on the required content and placement of hazardous materials placards to address regulations.

Oracle

“Embedded

AI acts as an advisor to help analyse supply chain data, generate content and augment or automate processes to help improve business operations and create a resilient supply network to outpace change”

• Goods delivery advisor: Helps warehouse operators streamline the delivery process. For example, the agent can provide detailed delivery instructions based on specific delivery location and noted time restrictions to reduce the likelihood of interruptions or delays.

Data-driven decision making:

• Supply chain collaboration advisor: This helps suppliers streamline access to company-specific policies and guidelines to improve productivity. For instance, the agent can help provide information on forecasts and commitments and review production progress and completion status.

• Sustainability policy advisor: Helps sustainability analysts more accurately report on corporate sustainability initiatives. For example, the agent can summarise the nuances of company sustainability policies and the latest industry standards to help confirm activities are being reported correctly.

Part of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications Suite, Oracle Cloud SCM enables customers to seamlessly connect supply chain processes and quickly respond to changing demand, supply and market conditions. In addition, embedded AI acts as an advisor to help analyse supply chain data, generate content and augment or automate processes to help improve business operations and create a resilient supply network to outpace change.

Source: Oracle

How Gabb is helping young people redefine their

relationship with

Diane Acevedo,

Senior Vice President of Operations at kid-safe technology provider Gabb, highlights the company’s journey of transformation throughout its supply chain.

Software creator Gabb is striving to build technology that will protect children and teenagers –keeping them safe from potential digital dangers while allowing them to stay safely connected.

y providing them with age-appropriate technology, the company is working to help young people create healthy habits and encourage a life beyond screens.

Joining us from Gabb is Diane Acevedo, Senior Vice President of Operations, to highlight the company’s focus on transformation, user experience, and aligning internal processes to meet customer needs effectively. To begin, Diane explains how the company’s partner network helps it operate at a high level.

“When we first started, our goal was to customise the operating

system of the device to create a smartphone with appropriate functionality for kids, but as a fresh startup, we didn’t yet have the supplier network we needed,” says Diane. “We were incredibly lucky to find a partner that was willing to take an initial risk on us, and from there we’ve been learning a lot and collaborating with some of the premium manufacturers in the electronics industry – Samsung, NUU, and Foxconn – which has helped us really elevate our business.

“By taking a couple of years to build our own approach and find partners who aligned with our mission, we’ve been able to build

quality relationships and refine our operations. We needed to work with partners who were equally committed to child safety and digital wellbeing, because we knew if our partners were aligned with us, they’d be able to bring both complementary expertise and resources to the table to help us execute at a high level.”

As Gabb has built up its expertise in recent years, it has made sure to prioritise operational efficiency in order to provide a seamless customer experience.

“On an operational level, it is imperative to understand the functions of the back end of our devices, and how that works with services and activation,” says Diane. “When we hone in on the customer journey, we need to really obsess over the details. If the customer experience isn’t intuitive, that reveals to me a gap in our services. To facilitate continuous improvement, we’re working on a lot of beta projects, and we allow some of our customers to experience using the product and then get feedback from there to facilitate continuous improvement and expand to more customers. We find this model to be invaluable as we engineer the best solutions that

“Currently, we’re working on clearly defining each process of the customer journey and how we can constantly perfect it”

Diane Acevedo, Senior Vice President of Operations at Gabb

empower parents to protect their children.

“Certainly, customer usability testing is at the forefront of our process, and we are also innovating ways to appropriately harness AI to build and strategise, which simplifies the process significantly. AI is a big buzzword right now, but we’re thinking about the ways we can humanise it to provide an optimal customer experience.”

Diane explains this rationale further, sharing: “It’s utilising cutting-edge technology that enhances our operations specifically, and provides feedback and analysis on our customer interactions which helps us personalise support and the

onboarding process as well as prioritise systemic changes. This really drives the mastery of our offerings for our customers – while the buyers are parents, the end user is a young person. There are two different experiences we’re trying to perfect, and we leverage data insights and analytics to make decisions about processes and develop predictive models, anticipate

the customer needs and optimise our knowledge base.

“For instance, when we know there is a bug we are experiencing, we make sure to take a proactive approach so the customer understands what the situation is, what we’re anticipating, and updating them as we figure out a solution. We use our AI-powered

chat and discussion boards to provide that support, which frees up our human resources team.

“Currently, we’re working on clearly defining each process of the customer journey and how we can constantly perfect it. This isn’t something that we can let sit, because the software is changing all the time.”

As the company continues to grow and change, Diane credits the partners that have helped Gabb explore new approaches to established business processes.

“We have several global strategic partners that we love doing business with,” says Diane. “Although we’re a nationwide company as of now, these global partners help us think outside

Connected Experience. All of your devices work easier for you to do all the things you love. communicate, work, play, stay healthy and more.

“The UK has taken a proactive approach to protecting school children, and globally, we’re seeing a lot of importance placed around family and technology”

the box – when we’re developing a new concept, we know we can rely on them to brainstorm with us and talk through fresh ideas. In these types of conversations, we can evaluate what our goal needs to be and what the process will involve.

“When we consider our own expansion in the future, we plan to focus on the software level, as this feels like the most efficient and cost-effective strategy for us. We’re lucky to have partners such as Samsung, who we’ve learned so much from, and we know they’ll be able to support us in bringing our software into the UK market.

“The UK has taken a proactive approach to protecting school

“Partners like Samsung understand how important this mission is to us, and they’re happy to work alongside us to facilitate real change”

children, and globally, we’re seeing a lot of importance placed around family and technology, and specifically the impact that technology is having on a child’s wellbeing. Partners like Samsung understand how important this mission is to us, and they’re happy to work alongside us to facilitate real change.”

For Diane, Gabb’s mission to protect every childhood with kid-safe tech is

a critical one in today’s tech-driven world. She’s seen firsthand the tangible difference the company’s phones can make, recalling a study the company conducted at a boarding school where 130 secondary students volunteered for a month to swap their smartphones for Gabb’s safe phones, phones designed specifically for kids. The impact on their happiness, real-life connections and wellbeing was profound.

Zero Touch Mobility

Revolutionising Mobile Lifecycle Management with Agentic AI.

Smarter Automation for ServiceNow®

Managing mobile devices shouldn’t slow you down. IT teams waste hours on manual tasks ZTM automates them all, freeing your team to focus on what matters.

Automate setup, support and retirementno manual intervention required.

Ensure security and compliance with policy enforcement at every stage.

Scale effortlessly as your workforce and mobility needs evolve

Reduce IT workload with Agentic AI, enabling proactive issue resolution.

See ZTM in Action

Request a Personalised Demo Today!

ADDED VALUE

A seat at the table

“In a male-dominated industry, it can be really difficult for women to grow and scale within a career,” says Diane. “I have been so blessed to have incredible mentors and advocates, and I would advise any woman to find a great mentor to guide you through those processes. This mentor could be a peer, it could be someone outside of your industry, but I would say that it can really help to have a female mentor.

“Right now, there is a real stigma around working alongside other women – it’s as if there’s only one seat at the table for women, and we’re not opening the door for one another. I’d like to swing the door wide open and bring more women to the table, so they can have a real voice and share their insights. Having diversity in gender, race, and thought makes an organisation stronger.”

Re-entering the workforce

“I’m very passionate about empowering women to re-enter the workforce,” says Diane. “There are so many mothers whose children are now out of the house and who aren’t sure about how to return to work. I’ve volunteered with a lot of nonprofit organisations and spoken at events for women in my local state to help them transition into a new career and build their skills. We have an incredible community of female professionals and entrepreneurs who empower one another, and I love to be involved in that community.”

Finding harmony

“I don’t believe that there is one way to develop a work-life balance, but I do think you can find harmony at any stage of your life,” says Diane. “As a single mother of four who put myself through a graduate programme while managing a demanding role, I’ve prioritised surrounding myself with an empowering social group. These are people I feel bring value to my life, and I strive to bring value to theirs.”

Connect with Diane

ANDREAS NYMAN SAYAN BOSE

SAYAN BOSE

Breaking down Walmart latest supply chain

Walmart Canada has announced and supply chain footprint, with across Canada over

Walmart Canada’s chain investment

announced a C$6.5bn investment in its store dozens of new stores to be built over the next five years.

Walmart Canada is set to accelerate growth across the country with a

C$6.5bn

investment – starting with five new supercentres in Ontario and Alberta.

As the world’s biggest retailer embarks on this growth plan, we’ve compiled a list of some of its most exciting highlights.

The Port Credit Walmart Supercentre will open in the summer of 2025. Located in the heart of Mississauga, Ontario, this new supercentre has been carefully designed and will offer Walmart’s full assortment, aiming to be the ultimate one-stop shop for the busy customer.

The Oakville Walmart Supercentre at Hopedale Mall will open in late 2025. Similar to the Port Credit Walmart Supercentre, this store will offer a full range of products. In addition, its licensed pharmacists will extend Walmart Canada’s pharmacy and healthcare products to the broader Oakville community.

Three new Alberta Supercentres are expected to open by 2027 in Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

The Vaughan Distribution Centre, Walmart Canada's most advanced facility, will also open in Spring 2025. The company is investing in modernising its distribution centres as part of its mission to expand, revolutionise and transform its best-in-class supply chain to better serve Canadian customers.

Image: Walmart

“Walmart Canada is on an ambitious growth journey to serve even more Canadians – better and differently than ever before,” says Gui Loureiro, regional CEO, Walmart Canada, Chile, Mexico and Central America. “This C$6.5bn investment is the largest we’ve made in Canada towards expanding our footprint since we first arrived here 30 years ago.”

Prioritising growth

As Walmart Canada looks to the future to continue delivering for customers across the country, it's teaming up with another Canadian company that’s also in growth mode. The retailer has signed an agreement with Canada Cartage – the country's largest provider of fleet services.

Image: Walmart

“Walmart Canada is on an ambitious growth journey to serve even more Canadians – better and differently than ever before”

Gui Loureiro, regional CEO, Walmart Canada, Chile, Mexico and Central America.

“Across the country we're making strategic investments in our online and in-store offerings to be more relevant to more customers than ever before”

Joe Schrauder, COO of Walmart Canada

“Canada Cartage has deep expertise in providing dedicated fleet services and has been serving Canadian businesses for more than 110 years,” says Matt Kelly, Vice President of Supply Chain at Walmart Canada. “Through Canada Cartage we can serve customers even better and more flexibly and provide fleet employees with exciting growth opportunities at one of Canada's largest and most trusted supply chain service providers.”

This comes as Walmart Canada closes off its historic C$3.5bn investment in Canada, announced

in 2020, and celebrates the impact it's had over the past four years, including:

• Modernising more than 180 stores – including the transformation of its Mississauga-Square One Supercentre into its flagship location.

• Four brand new stores: two new locations in Victoria and Montreal and two relocated stores in Edmonton and Vaughan.

• More than C$800m invested to open the Cornwall Distribution Centre, Surrey Distribution Centre, Rocky

Sundry Photography - stock.adobe.com

View County Fulfilment Centre, Moncton Distribution Centre and the Vaughan Distribution Centre (opening Spring 2025).

“Across the country we're making strategic investments in our online and in-store offerings to be more relevant

to more customers than ever before,” says Joe Schrauder, COO of Walmart Canada. “From newcomers and urbanites to higher-income Canadians, more customers are choosing Walmart for their shopping needs.”

SOURCE: Walmart Canada

‘To do a common thing uncommonly well‘:

Procurement strategy at Burger Lounge

Nick Brigante, Director of Procurement at Burger Lounge, on the company’s approach to sourcing, menu innovation and partner strategies.

Burger Lounge

connects the dining public with food producers who cultivate greattasting ingredients that honour the body and the planet.

his authenticity feeds right into the menu, where grassfed beef is the centrepiece. Establishing meaningful partnerships with grassfed beef ranchers and local suppliers has been integral to Burger Lounge’s business model from the beginning. The ethos of Burger Lounge, ‘To do a common thing uncommonly well,’ underpins the company’s menu offerings.

Here to tell us more about the sourcing, menu innovation and partner strategies at Burger Lounge is Nick Brigante, Director of Procurement.

Nick is responsible for the end-toend sourcing of all products at Burger Lounge. From support in menu conception and locating approved suppliers, to seeing the sourcing journey from idea to commercialisation, Nick is intrinsically

involved in the company’s operations.

In recent years, Burger Lounge transformed its procurement function to secure the best ingredients which meet the company’s high standards, while simultaneously cultivating healthy partnerships.

“The procurement journey at Burger Lounge has been a continuous evolution, shaped by our commitment to quality and responsible sourcing,” explains Nick. “Our supply chain mission statement, developed in collaboration with our CEO, is to always source the highest-quality ingredients at the best possible price.

“However, price is never the primary factor in our decision-making process. Instead, we prioritise selecting the best product first and then identifying the ideal supply partner to support our standards. This philosophy ensures

“Our approach to relationship management is rooted in collaboration, transparency and shared values”

Nick

Brigante, Director of Procurement at Burger Lounge

that we maintain the integrity of our ingredients while fostering strong, value-driven partnerships with our suppliers.”

Nick notes how menu innovation has been, and remains, a crucial factor in this ongoing journey.

“Menu innovation is an essential aspect of our organisation,” says Nick. “While we take pride in our core offerings, innovation allows us to explore new and exciting ingredients that broaden our reach. By incorporating features such as grass-

fed lamb and bison, seared ahi tuna, and seasonal salads, we enhance our core menu with fresh and dynamic offerings that engage our guests and keep our menu experience exciting.”

However, Burger Lounge’s procurement strategy and menu innovation would not be possible without the company’s holistic approach to relationship management as a strategic enabler, according to Nick.

“At Burger Lounge, we recognise that success is built on strong, strategic

“Jensen Meat is one of the most reputable beef grinders Burger Lounge has had the privilege of working with”

relationships,” Nick affirms. “Our approach to relationship management is rooted in collaboration, transparency and shared values. We work closely with our suppliers to source the best possible ingredients while upholding ethical and sustainable practices.

“By fostering long-term partnerships rather than transactional relationships, we create mutual value and drive continuous improvement in quality, consistency and innovation. This

commitment is reflected in our work with ranchers who share our dedication to grass-fed, grassfinished beef, as well as other key partners who help us enhance our supply chain and guest experience.

“For instance, Jensen Meat is one of the most reputable beef grinders Burger Lounge has had the privilege of working with. Their attention to detail, commitment

to transparency, and genuine collaboration have earned our trust in handling our most important product: our grass-fed beef. Our partnership is built on a foundation of monthly collaboration, where we work closely together to ensure that our product is consistently prepared to the highest standards.

“Similarly, Union Wine Co. has been an invaluable partner to Burger Lounge nearly since our inception. Their exceptional wines not only stand out as delightful beverages on their own, but also harmoniously complement our culinary offerings. They have played an integral role in developing our wine pairing recommendations – such as pairing cod with their white wine and burgers with their red – while consistently supporting our partnership initiatives. Their steadfast commitment

“Union Wine Co. has been an invaluable partner to Burger Lounge nearly since our inception”

to quality and collaboration reinforces the strong, mutually beneficial relationship between our organisations.”

Wrapping up our conversation, Nick shares how Burger Lounge is looking ahead to the future with continuous improvement in mind.

“At our organisation, purposeful process improvement is the cornerstone of our growth strategy,” says Nick. “We are dedicated to consistently delivering on our promise to every guest, every time.

As we approach 2025, our focus is on refining every facet of our operations to ensure unparalleled service and quality, laying a solid foundation for sustained success.”

Learn more at burgerlounge.com.

Turn over for Added Value with Nick.

Guidance and support

“Throughout my career, I have been profoundly shaped by the exceptional mentors who have guided my development in supply chain management,” says Nick.

“I have been honoured to work alongside, learn from and support some of the most esteemed supply chain experts in the United States. Their unwavering direction and generous tutelage have been instrumental in forming the professional I am today, and I remain deeply grateful for their lasting impact on my career.”

Events

Nick celebrates the Market Vision Conferences as excellent networking, professional development and relationshipbuilding opportunities.

“Marketvision is undoubtedly the most outstanding conference I attend each year,” lauds Nick. “As a premier Foodservice Supply Chain seminar, it fosters invaluable oneon-one connections that have enriched my career. Each year, I have the opportunity to forge new relationships that are truly

priceless, offering exceptional professional growth and insights for all aspiring Foodservice Supply Chain professionals.”

Company culture

“I am privileged to be part of the remarkable team at Burger Lounge, where our collective passion drives our success,” says Nick. “While I consider my role modest compared to the extraordinary contributions of our entire organisation, I take pride in playing my part in our shared journey.

“Every day, I am inspired by the dedication and selflessness of my colleagues, and I am grateful for the opportunity to support our mission. I invite you to follow our official social media channels for inspiring updates on our progress and achievements.”

Connect with Nick

Connect with Burger Lounge

"The team were professional and diligent throughout"

Leigh Feaviour, CTIO for BT’s Supply Chain

"Absolute pleasure working with the Digital Innovation team"

Mun Valiji, Chief Information Security Officer at Sainsbury’s

"A highly professional approach"

Andy Brierley, Vice President, Cloud Application Modernisation at IBM

"Digital innovation Magazine is a very flexible and professional team"

Kim Larsen CTIO, T-Mobile Netherlands

supply chain startups to watch in 2025

Meet the exciting startups reshaping the modern supply chain network.

No two days are the same in the supply chain industry, with shortages, global uncertainties and rising costs creating a challenging and often unpredictable environment.

These eight startups are transforming the industry with a collection of innovative, techdriven and sustainable solutions –reshaping the global supply chain.

Turn over to meet the startups

1. Decade Energy

Founded by: Carl-Magnus Norden, Casper Norden, Alexandre Cleret, Alejandro Ortega Peniche and Mariele Atanasova

Accelerating the electrification of trucks is crucial for Europe to meet its target of a 24% reduction in emissions by 2030. Road transport represents 22% of CO2 emissions in Europe, with trucks and vans accounting for about half of that number.

French startup Decade Energy is providing logistics companies with holistic, reliable and costefficient solutions to enable the electrification of commercial electric vehicle fleets.

While the individual components needed for commercial fleet electrification are available, the necessary infrastructure to operate an electrified fleet remains complex and fragmented.

Logistics companies need to piece together and manage these systems themselves, resulting in costly installations, poor reliability,

and inefficiencies. Decade Energy simplifies the electrification process, by integrating and managing these systems for customers – enhancing both operational and environmental efficiency for logistics providers.

This approach makes electric vehicles cost-competitive with diesel and will save millions of tonnes of GHG emissions.

“Decade Energy’s software platform reverses the current ‘push’ dynamic of electrification, where the transition is primarily driven by policy, regulation, and consumer demand, to a ‘pull’ dynamic, where operators seek to benefit from cost advantages,” says Mariele. “To achieve scaled electrification the shift has to make economic sense, which we achieve by connecting the different parts of the ecosystem and making them run as one efficient unit.”

2. Kelpi

Founded by: Neil Morris, Murray Kenneth and Professor Chris Chuck

Kelpi was founded in 2020 by Neil, Murray and Chris, with the goal to develop a first effective, renewably sourced and fully biodegradable alternative to fossil fuel plastics in single-use packaging. From there, the startup has won global industrial clients and worked in collaboration with leading European producers of paper, card and fibre packaging.

The company’s biomaterial is unique in matching the performance of plastic – most notably with its strong water barrier and resistance to greasy contents

or acidic foods. Kelpi uses only renewable feedstocks, sourcing seaweed that has been farmed sustainably.

“We’ve been consistently impressed with Kelpi’s team and technology, and their pioneering approach to developing biopolymers from renewable feedstocks like seaweed,” says Cam Ross, CEO at Kelpi investment partner Green Angel Ventures. “At scale, the Kelpi approach will play a vital role in reducing fossil fuel dependency, addressing climate change and impacting on plastic pollution.”

Image: Kelpi

3. Tennders

Founded by: Michael Cuingnet, Simon Kurbiel, Adrià Pérez Sánchez and David Vives

Born from a belief in sustainable logistics, road transport technology provider Tennders is keeping fewer empty trucks on the road and avoiding unnecessary miles with its transformative freight management system TenndersFMS. This unique FMS tool is improving truckload capacity by connecting the transport networks of companies through a private

exchanger for their commercial agreements.

The startup’s founders, each coming from a supply chain background, felt there was a better way of doing things in the logistics sector. By taking a digital approach, the strain on workers is lessened, allowing people to operate more freely.

4. HIVED

Founded

by: Murvah Iqbal and Mathias Krieger

The first delivery company built for ecommerce, HIVED founders Murvah and Mathias created the company after noticing a lack of high quality, sustainable delivery options in the UK. They began by delivering parcels by bike, and the startup has only grown from there.

As one of the fastest growing startups in Europe, HIVED is on a mission to accelerate the transition towards tech-enabled and sustainable delivery methods –from reusable packaging to electric HGVs.

“No one is doing end-to-end electric delivery like HIVED,” says Leo Mulabdić, Vice President of Commercial Strategy and Network. “The business has developed the right value proposition combined with a clear market focus, which customers both recognise and appreciate. As HIVED now looks to supercharge the next phase of its growth across the UK, I’m hugely excited to lead our commercial strategy and network to create a fully integrated and scalable delivery model.”

5. Alrik

Founded by: Nici Sundén-Cullberg and Axel Enblad

Construction logistics startup Alrik is on a mission to decarbonise the industry with software solutions designed to optimise fleets and empower distributors and transporters. The startup is taking a data-driven approach to provide stakeholders with information about cost and emissions, allowing them to more easily facilitate the green transition.

“Construction sites across Europe continue to grapple with uncertain lead times for materials from a countless number of suppliers and distributors, which hinders

their progress,” says Nici. “The distributors also need to manage their own logistics network, with a bulk of this still being done over manual phone calls, hand-written records and whiteboards.

“The lack of coordination leads to poor supply chain visibility, expensive fleet operations and stalled projects on the client side. Alrik effectively eliminates manual coordination with, in many cases, 100 different suppliers and distributors, and unifies the entire supply chain network to deliver projects more efficiently.”

6. Tacto

Founded by: André Petry, Johannes Groll and Nico Bentenrieder

Software development startup Tacto is creating future-proof supply chains for industrial SMEs by digitising procurement, enabling effective supplier collaboration and optimising resource utilisation. With 90% of procurement processes in medium-sized industrial businesses currently not being digitalised, Tacto’s software could make a significant difference for many companies.

“Increasing regulation and disruptions in supply chains pose major challenges for our economic backbone, the industrial SME sector: the cost base is rising, material supply is at risk, and the business outlook is uncertain,” says André. “Tacto is developing a software solution for future-proof supply chains for and together with SMEs in response to the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Image: Tacto

7. Axmed

Founded by: Emmanuel Akpakwu, Felix Ohnmacht and Sofia Radley-Searle

Startup Axmed is on a mission to create an equitable distribution pathway for high-quality medicines to Low- and MiddleIncome Countries (LMICs), ensuring that no one is left behind due to logistical, financial or geographical constraints. The company is aiming to bridge the gap between the availability of medicines and the communities that need them with its B2B marketplace platform equipped with features to enhance

transparency, traceability and reliability.

“These regions face extraordinary challenges but also present immense opportunities for healthcare transformation,” says Emmanuel. “Our platform tackles these inequities by consolidating fragmented systems, empowering buyers with efficiency, high quality and affordability, while enabling suppliers to scale sustainably in untapped markets.”

8. Recyda

Founded by: Christian Knobloch, Vivian Loftin and Anna Zießow

Digital packaging expert

Recyda offers a SaaS platform for sustainable packaging management, helping internationally positioned packaging manufacturers, brand manufacturers, brand owners and retailers manage data effectively and adhere to the complex international landscape of sustainability requirements.

Its solution is designed to digitally manage packaging data along the packaging value chain and conduct thorough evaluations.

At the heart of the platform is a digital assessment of packaging recyclability and other sustainability

aspects, aligned with international standards.

“We know the current challenges of the packaging industry well and the numerous difficulties that companies are currently facing,” says Christian. “With this knowledge, we have developed a software solution that specifically supports the implementation of sustainable packaging solution requirements for different markets and significantly optimises reporting obligations. With our software, we want to contribute to a sustainable future in which resources are used sensibly, and valuable materials are kept in the cycle.”

Image: Recyda

Stay

Let’s collaborate…

CHAIN is a specialist technology platform with over 211,300+ readers.

Our community consists of C, V and D level executives from a wide range of industries. A unique blend of thought leadership interviews and features that cover digital transformation, supply chain, procurement, logistics, technology, AI and sustainability.

Team up with CHAIN and build media programs that deliver.

Find out more