Rotterdam-based Shypple raises €7.14M to reduce overall freight spend by 10%; here’s how

Rotterdam, Netherlands-based Shypple, a digital freight forwarding platform, has raised $8.5M (approx €7.14M) in its Series A round of funding from Dutch Founders Fund, Newtown Partners via the Imperial Venture Fund, BOM Brabant Ventures, and InnovationQuarter. 

Funds for further development

The raised capital will be used by Shypple to further develop its platform, which it claims is disrupting the $350B global traditional freight forwarding market. Besides the development of its technology-driven platform, the company says the funds will also enable them to initiate acquisitions to further accelerate growth.

Speaking on the development, Jarell Habets, Founder & CEO of Shypple, says, “With our investors backing us with funding, supply chain expertise, and global industry leadership, we are very excited about the future. This strengthens our determination to further develop the Shypple platform and increase usability for our customers. In addition, this funding also enables us to initiate acquisitions to grow the volume of our business.”

Currently, the company is also hiring for various positions. 

The pain point of the industry

According to Sypple, about 90 per cent of global trade is transported by sea, and about 90 per cent of this freight forwarding business is fragmented and heavily dependent on excel spreadsheets, emails, telephone calls, and other error-prone modes to communicate and manage the trade. 

Besides the unprecedented issues due to the pandemic – most recently the Suez Canal – shows how fragile global trade can be and how much need there is for more real-time planning, control, and flexibility. With each vessel, the amount of paperwork is flown to the destination port shows that this $350B market is desperately longing for innovation. And this is where Shypple is making its mark by providing a technology-driven platform.

How is Shypplpe providing for the sector?

Shypple’s vision is to make global trade virtually frictionless and therefore easier and cheaper to conduct. 

The company’s digital freight forwarding service offers 24/7 real-time insights on status and location for all product orders and shipments. It offers businesses insights that are configurable per stakeholder and party. All data is instantly available and standard reports on lead times, forwarder performance, and costs.

The company connects over 3,000 businesses to manage, improve as well as provide end-to-end transparency and complete control over their supply chain. This creates value through increased efficiency, direct transport cost savings, minimising errors, performance improvements of suppliers and forwarders, and better consolidations, optimising global trade.

Shypple claims that its technology also helps companies to increase their operational FTE efficiency by 30 per cent.

Founded in 2016 by Jarell Habets, the company is headquartered in Rotterdam, also home to Europe’s largest port, with close proximity to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and has offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.

Shypple raised its last funding round of €1.7M back in September 2018. Backers included regional development fund Brabantse Ontwikkelmaatschappij (BOM), August Ventures, and private investors. With the investment, Patrick Kerssemakers from August Ventures joined Shypple as an advisor.