Building the operating system for tomorrow’s frontline teams, Manchester-based Zaptic raises $10 million

In the early 19th century, the city of Manchester was a manufacturing powerhouse and hub of global trade. Often labeled as the world's first industrial city, the implementation of scientific advancements and industrial practices set in motion in Manchester would forever change the face of the production of goods. Perhaps by chance, perhaps not, some 200 years later, Manchester is still upholding the tradition of fusing science and industry in Zaptic, a company that is aiming to change the face of manufacturing again; this time, digitally.

Armed with a fresh $10 million, the eight-year-old startup intends to ramp up its sales, product, and engineering teams in order to continue the development of its no-code “operating system for frontline teams” platform and expand into new markets and verticals.

Zaptic's $10 million Series A funding round was led by Molten Ventures, and saw the participation of existing investors. Since its inception, Zaptic has raised £7.4m from various investors, including Chalfen VC and Backed VC.

For all the focus that the digitalisation of business practices receives, one area that’s perhaps not had its fair share of attention is that of the frontline worker. You know, the living, breathing, humans that conduct a number of essential tasks that keep the gears turning on the factory floor. 

Much like any number of their counterparts that are working on the digitisation of traditionally pen and paper run industries, say, logistics for example, Zaptic is bringing the manufacturing process, particularly those who oversee and execute its operation, into the 21st century, eschewing the paper and replacing it with the ‘pad.

Offering a gamut of solutions that range from increasing and improving working productivity and agility to future-proofing a workforce to re-enforcing compliance and traceability at every stage of the manufacturing process, Zaptic is helping manufacturers not only increase the bottom line but keep workers satisfied and motivated along the way.

“We are seeing huge demand from manufacturers looking for solutions to help them transform their operations in the face of increasing pressures and a worsening skills gap." - Zaptic CEO Richard Milnes

As just one example of what's possible with Zaptic, instead of knowledge residing in various specialist silos, by employing Zaptic, manufacturers have the ability to provide frontline teams with guidance on what to do, when to do it, and how to do it all in real time.

Autonomous maintenance procedures, spotting and dealing with defects, quality checks, audits, and the list goes on, are all right in a worker's hands. And, in contrast to age-old methods, instead of filling out various piles of paperwork to get a job done or at least in motion, the connected frontline worker can get on with getting on with it.

And according to Zaptic and its clients, the benefits, and crucially, the numbers don't lie.

Centered around a no-code, drag-and-drop interface, Zaptic’s simplicity of use allowed clients including Carlsberg, Danone, Hovis, Berry Global, and Celgard to complete over 3 million tasks via the platform in 2022 resulting in driving savings from 10%+ in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) improvement and reducing downtime by up to 20%. 

"I am not an IT person, I have no clue what a code is and what is very good with this ‘no code approach’ is that a person like me can digitalise in an easy way with the drag and drop functionality all that I need." - Cédric Meyer, Global Excellence Senior Manager at Carlsberg

Beyond its core functionality of what to do and when to do it, in recent months, Zaptic has added a user-generated "guides" feature that allows for the sharing of knowledge of machines, lines, and tasks to be completed on-site, with clients reporting that new employees are onboarded 35% faster, worker capacity increases by up to 20%, and and 18% reduction in downtime.

On the investment, Molten Ventures' Principal Nelly Markova commented, "Zaptic is addressing one of the biggest challenges facing industrial companies today in a really smart way. By digitising processes and making knowledge more accessible to frontline workers, Zaptic is helping manufacturers significantly improve productivity, reduce waste and better meet customer demands."