Northbound funding news – Berlin-based Northbound Secures €1.3 Million in Pre-Seed Funding

Leading the round was Apex Black, with participation from MVP Factory, IBB Ventures, id4 Ventures, Schenker Ventures, and a number of well-known business angels.

The money will be utilised to increase the platform's AI capabilities, hire more software engineers and go-to-market specialists to strengthen the team, and bring on new clients.

The business is creating a software-as-a-service platform to automate operational control throughout the supply chain for containers. In this way, Northbound maximises the flow of goods from the port to the warehouse while taking delivery guarantees, capacity, and penalty fees (such demurrage and detention, or "D&D") into account. The system shields businesses against mistakes and inefficiencies, such multi-million euro D&D expenses for containers and customer-annoying delivery delays.

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Up to 40% of containers are left in port terminals or storage facilities for extended periods of time, incurring fines of several thousand euros for each container. Businesses may access real-time information on the location, status, and upcoming D&D charges of containers via Northbound's user-friendly dashboard. This makes it possible to prioritise and manage container shipping control, optimise goods movements, and achieve delivery commitments.

Andreas Canel, co-founder and CEO of Northbound said, “International importers frequently incur millions in D&D penalties without having real control over them. Major shipping lines profit from these fees and have little incentive to change. Our vision is to empower importers to independently prevent these fees through active control and automated optimization of container flows,".

Several pilot customers, including a well-known German sports goods business, have already used Northbound's software to successfully validate it. It has been demonstrated that by utilising it's AI solution, which increases cost transparency and optimises control, over 90% of D&D expenses could have been avoided in less than two months. Up to 20% of all bills can have disputes enabled on them thanks to Northbound's AI technology, which also stops unwarranted payments.

Rani Saad, Founding Partner at Apex Black said, “Northbound’s innovative approach to optimizing the container supply chain, including the reduction of demurrage and detention charges, addresses a critical need in the market. The technology empowers importers with real-time cost transparency and intelligence, enabling precise and timely decision-making and significant cost savings,”.

About Northbound

Andreas Canel and Rahul Yadav created Northbound in 2023, with MVP Factory and DB Schenker, a worldwide logistics service provider, providing initial support and acceleration. By optimising operational planning and execution for container movements from port to warehouse and offering real-time visibility of accruing fees, Northbound lowers D&D costs for importers, freight forwarders, and 4PLs.