Building, selling to supply chain businesses

The supply chain technology space has seen an unprecedented wave of new tech startups over the past decade. While venture capital inflow into the logistics sector is retracting to normal levels since its peak in 2021, the logistics software market is primed for adoption of new technologies and solutions.

Transportation and logistics providers are actively looking to reduce costs, improve efficiency and increase automation in their end-to-end operations now more so than ever.

Broadly, technology companies help achieve one or several of the following outcomes for transportation and logistics providers.
• Reduce costs
• Improve throughput
• Improve visibility and tracking
• Accelerate hiring and training, and improve retention
• Automate repetitive tasks to unlock human bandwidth for value-add tasks
• Reduce shrink and fraud
• Reduce variance caused by human error

Building Products
Supply chains typically have a plethora of inefficient status-quo processes that have been in place forever. Tech companies often develop an efficient way of executing a use-case faster and cheaper. Companies that are most successful generally build software that is foundational to day-to-day operations such as warehouse and transportation management systems, compliance software that’s mandated by federal agencies, and optimization and workforce planning systems.

There’s also an increasing awareness and demand for solutions such as end-to-end visibility, fuel consumption analytics, and behavioral insights at an individual and network level. These solutions consume data from foundational systems and provide a layer of intelligence to operators to help improve outcomes. It’s important to have enough insight into end-to-end process flows, user pain points, bottlenecks, and opportunities that are sizeable and can be solved by technology. Such insight can be gained by immersing yourself in operations and leveraging expert operators.

Demonstrate Value
In supply chain, introducing new technology always requires non-trivial changes to a well-established operational process. Operators often show intense resistance to change, especially if the new offering doesn’t materially impact their cost to operate. When selling a novel offering/alternative to the supply chain industry, it is critical to articulate the process improvements and the net benefit of the solution, typically quantified via real dollar savings.

To help customers test your solution in a real-world setting, be prepared to help design a hassle-free pilot that requires a minimal amount of operational, technical and compliance-related changes to their existing processes. When selling to enterprise customers, it further helps to have multiple internal champions who see value in your solution and can help you navigate processes and roadblocks.

Ecosystem Integrations
As a supply chain technology supplier, it is important for companies to understand the existing landscape and kick off integration conversations with the top five players that can provide or consume data from your solution. Partnerships with established upstream and downstream solution providers can unlock access to their existing client base and help you accelerate your sales cycle.

By following these strategies, entrepreneurs can effectively position themselves to sell to supply chain companies. Success in this sector often comes down to proving reliability, understanding unique industry challenges, and demonstrating clear value beyond competitive pricing. With the right approach and mindset, you can build lasting relationships that drive growth for both your business and your clients in the supply chain ecosystem.

Editor’s note: Vijay Cherukuru is director of product for Walmart GoLocal, a last-mile delivery service used by national retailers. The opinions expressed are those of the author.