Paris-based Spacefill raises €25M to make European logistics smarter, more flexible and connected; here’s how

Paris-based Spacefill, a B2B on-demand warehousing marketplace, announced that it has raised €25M in a fresh round of funding led by NGP Capital alongside Maersk Growth. The round also saw participation from existing investors Eurazeo and La Famiglia.

Commenting on the investment, Christian Noske, Partner at NGP Capital, says, “SpaceFill enables companies to build integrated logistics solutions from day one and flexibly scale them as their needs evolve. Thanks to Spacefill’s cloud approach, there is no need to create a patchwork of disconnected 3PLs in order to have real-time visibility into warehouse operations. We believe this model represents the future of logistics and we are excited to be part of their journey.”

NGP Capital is a global venture capital firm with over $1.6B in assets under management and invests in growth-stage technology companies. Since 2005, it has backed more than 100 companies, 17 of which have achieved unicorn status.

Capital utilisation

Spacefill is on a mission to become as indispensable for storing goods in supply chains as the Cloud is for storing data online. The company plans to use the funds to hire 80 people, mostly within their engineering department.

Maxime Huzar, CEO of Spacefill, says, “Our 2022 priorities are twofold. First, to keep building our platform to provide a smoother user experience and new features. Second, to expand our connected network to offer new locations and expertise to our customers across Europe.”

Issues faced by the current supply chain

Harbour blockages, warehouse space shortages and shipment costs grew 4X during the global pandemic. And these are just a few examples of how disturbed the global supply chains have been over the past few years.

So how can companies adapt and not only react to the unexpected? To make logistics operations more flexible, 80 per cent of enterprises rely on external logistics providers (3PLs) whether for warehousing or transportation solutions. 

However, this world is still opaque and poorly connected as most of the classical collaboration goes through emails, phone and Excel, which gets unsustainable when you scale your network. This is where software and integrations help a great deal. However, setting them up are still long and costly projects to undertake. These 1:1, hard-to-maintain integrations also come at the cost of flexibility. When you change partners or shift strategy, you need to integrate all over again.

Spacefill offers logistics all-in-one place

Founded in 2018 by Gustave Roche, Maxime Huzar and Quentin Drillon, Spacefill claims to disrupt the warehousing market by connecting mid to enterprise-sized customers with warehouse partners. The platform enables customers to build, visualise, manage, and optimise their logistics networks in one place with just one integration to the Spacefill platform.

Huzar says, “In 2022, selling great products is simply not enough to compete in the marketplace. It is not only about what you sell but how you get your product in the hands of your customer.”

“Our goal since day one has been to provide shippers with plug & play integrated solutions that encompass both software connectivity and real-life locations all over Europe”, adds Quentin Drillon.

The company’s platform is connected to more than 1500 partners in 6 European countries. Once onboarded, its customers can start building their network by collaborating with one of those partners directly on the platform or by connecting their existing locations. “Overflow, cross-docking, urban logistics or long-term outsourcing, our vision is to make any logistical challenge solvable directly on Spacefill’s cloud platform,” says Huzar.

Besides, the company also reduces warehouse space waste, which still accounts for 25 per cent of the total in Europe, while enabling shippers to choose the right warehouse locations, cutting transportation costs and CO2 emissions by up to 24 per cent.

Currently, Spacefill is serving more than 500 customers and surpassing €10M in revenues. It employs about 60 people in France and Germany.