Packwise expands international business and sets new standards for digital supply chain management in the process industry
With its Industrial Internet of Things solution, Packwise enables companies in the chemical and food industry to quickly and easily digitize their supply chain and reduce their carbon footprint. Founded in 2017, the startup has now successfully closed a pre-series A financing round with a seven-figure euro amount. Investors include Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS) and the family offices Hüttenes hoch drei and Golzern Holding.
Packwise specializes in interconnecting industrial packaging and offers its customers a hardware-enabled SaaS solution. By creating a digital twin of their industrial packaging, Packwise customers gain transparency along their supply chain and can map a wide range of supply chain processes via the Packwise Flow platform. „In addition to automating processes, such as reordering and ensuring product quality, many of our customers focus on reinventing themselves in the area of customer service,“ describes Packwise CEO Gesche Weger. The startup’s technology offers new customer-oriented approaches to both inventory management and container logistics.
The hardware-enabled SaaS solution was developed in close cooperation with medium-sized companies and global players in the process industry to meet the specific application areas and implementation requirements of the industry. The existing cooperations with the German industrial group Diehl and the Swedish sensor manufacturer Acconeer will be continued and intensified in the future.
The newly acquired capital will be used to further expand the software platform, accelerate growth in the European market, establish sales partnerships and prepare the market launch in North America. The team, which has grown strongly in the areas of development and sales in recent months, will be successively expanded.
„Due to its strong focus on the management of mobile containers and high-volume container fleets, Packwise has the potential to drive the digitalization of the process industry internationally and on a large scale. We are extremely pleased that we can continue to support the excellently positioned Packwise team in successfully realizing this potential,“ says TGFS Managing Director Sören Schuster about the current transaction.
Last year, the Packwise technology was awarded the IQ Innovation Prize for Central Germany. In a joint project with RWTH Aachen University and the company Zentis, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, special food industry applications will be implemented in the coming months. Currently, Packwise is nominated for the German Innovation Award 2021 in a joint customer project with the companies BASF and Hesse Lignal.
About the Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen (TGFS)
The TGFS provides technology-oriented founders with equity capital for the seed and start-up phase. The fund was first launched in 2008 by the Free State of Saxony (including ERDF funding) and Saxon financial institutions and has since supported over 80 start-ups in what is now the second generation of funds. The total fund volume amounts to M€ 147. The target companies of the TGFS are young, innovative, technology-oriented founders and companies that belong to the ICT, semiconductor and microsystems technology, medical technology, life science, environmental and energy technology and new media sectors and have their registered office or place of business in Saxony.
Über Hüttenes hoch drei
Hüttenes hoch drei GmbH (H3) acts as a family office based in Düsseldorf and participates in newly founded companies (start-ups) by promoting them through the creation of growth potential, the establishment of contacts within networks in the SME and academic sectors, and the provision of business management information for running companies. Our focus is on cutting-edge technologies in mechanical engineering, materials science, nanotechnology and logistics to promote knowledge transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Über Golzern Holding
Golzern Holding is a family-run investment company from Leipzig. The team invests in passionate entrepreneurs with scalable ideas in the fields of circular economy, green/industry tech and sustainable materials & packaging. The focus is on (pre-)seed start-ups with a functioning prototype/MVP.