Road transport is critical to European trade as it supports the entire continent’s consumption, construction and commercial activity. Yet, the transport sector is a woefully inefficient industry that suffers from ineffective scheduling, an absence of optimisation and low levels of customer satisfaction. Transport is a massive segment that is yet to benefit from the advances in the ‘consumerisation of tech’, user-centered design, and AI-powered optimisation.
Taking up the challenge of building a next-generation transport management system (TMS) for road freight, London-based Qargo has picked up $6 million in funding. The seed round was led by Fred Destin at Stride.VC (who previously backed the likes of Deliveroo and Cazoo) with participation from noted executives, including Stephane Kurgan (ex COO of King) and Breon Corcoran (CEO of WorldRemit, ex CEO of Betfair). The platform will use the extra cash to expand internationally.
Founded by Adriaan Coppens, Joeri De Turck and Sander De Wilde, Qargo aims to deliver immediate environmental impact and emissions reductions by making road freight radically more efficient. It streamlines administration with its user-friendly design and workflow automation and claims to lower wasted trucking mileage through optimised planning and modernised communication.
Joeri De Turck, Qargo co-founder and CTO said: “Developing a next-generation road T MS is extremely complicated once you dive into the details. You need exceptional engineering, product and design capabilities.”
Adriaan Coppens, Qargo co-founder and CEO added: “Trucks drive empty 1/3 of the time, which produces more emissions than all international flights combined. Qargo is a clear example of the next wave of disruption being delivered by ‘vertical SaaS’ companies.”
Fred Destin, founder of Stride.VC concluded: “At Stride, we are big fans of teams who go after overlooked and underserved markets and have done the hard work of understanding the unique needs of their customers deeply.”
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