Updated Maturity Matrix 2019 of Supply Chain Start-ups

Maturity Matrix

The supply chain start-up landscape in Europe is changing rapidly, which is why this is the second consecutive year that Supply Chain Media has developed a Maturity Matrix 2019 showing the most important start-ups. A survey reveals that they are optimistic about their prospects, but that it remains difficult for them to close deals, secure investment and expand internationally.

Whenever talk turns to the topic of start-ups, they are often treated as a homogeneous group of fledgling businesses. In reality the start-up community is very diverse, with huge variation in terms of company size, maturity and type of solution. The same holds true for start-ups that offer a wide range of supply chain-related apps and software tools. To provide an overview of this rapidly evolving market, Supply Chain Media has produced the second edition of a matrix showing the maturity of European start-ups and scale-ups. All the scale-ups have secured at least €2 million in capital, and the start-ups have generally received seed funding of between €10,000 and €200,000. Between them, the European start-ups and scale-ups shown here have raised more than €190 million in funding.

Ten solution categories in Maturity Matrix 2019

The Maturity Matrix 2019 for Supply Chain Start-ups in Europe comprises ten different categories of solutions, stretching from supplier management upstream in the chain to last-mile delivery on the customer side. In between these two extremes there are solutions for ocean freight, 3D-printed spare parts, warehouse space on demand, inventory management, logistics tendering, road transport and e-fulfilment. The horizontal axis indicates for each category whether the solution is intended for a single stock keeping unit (SKU), a parcel, a pallet or a complete container of goods. The vertical axis of the matrix shows a company’s maturity based on its age, number of employees, awards won, number of customers, and capital raised.

Several companies that were on the matrix last year are not included this year because they were founded in 2013 and therefore no longer qualify as start-ups. The Dutch start-up Synple ceased trading last autumn. The Swedish start-up TenderEasy has been acquired by Alpega, a supplier of transport management software. Geopost has bought the French scale-up Stuart. This year’s matrix does not contain any start-ups that are focused on the delivery of online orders to consumers.

inNOWvate Supply Chain Event

Supply Chain Media will be organizing the European Supply Chain Start-up Contest for the second time on 22 May 2019. The award will once again be voted for and presented during the inNOWvate Supply Chain Event at The Rijtuigenloods venue in Amersfoort, the Netherlands.

Download: Maturity Matrix 2019