Meet
BlueCargo, a logistics startup focused on seaport terminals. The company was
part of Y Combinator’s latest batch and recently raised a $3 million funding
round from 1984 Ventures, Green Bay Ventures, Sound Ventures, Kima Ventures and
others.
If you
picture a terminal, chances are you see huge piles of containers. But current
sorting methods are not efficient at all. Yard cranes end up moving a ton of
containers just to reach a container sitting at the bottom of the pile.
BlueCargo
wants to optimize those movements by helping you store containers at the right
spot. The first container that is going to leave the terminal is going to be at
the top of the pile.
“Terminals
spend a lot of time making unproductive or undesired movements,” co-founder and
CEO Alexandra Griffon told me. “And yet, terminals only generate revenue every
time they unload or load a container.”
Right now,
ERP-like solutions only manage containers according to a handful of business
rules that don’t take into account the timeline of a container. Empty
containers are all stored in one area, containers with dangerous goods are in
another area, etc.
The startup
leverages as much data as possible on each container — where it’s coming from,
the type of container, if it’s full or empty, the cargo ship that carried it,
the time of the year and more.
Every time
BlueCargo works with a new terminal, the startup collects past data and
processes it to create a model. The team can then predict how BlueCargo can
optimize the terminal.
“At
Saint-Nazaire, we could save 22 percent on container shifting,” Griffon told
me.
The company
will test its solution in Saint-Nazaire in December. It integrates directly
with existing ERP solutions. Cranes already scan container identification
numbers. BlueCargo could then instantly push relevant information to crane
operators so that they know where to put down a container.
Saint-Nazaire
is a relatively small port compared to the biggest European ports. But the
company is already talking with terminals in Long Beach, one of the largest
container ports in the U.S.
BlueCargo
also knows that it needs to tread carefully — many companies already promised
magical IT solutions in the past. But it hasn’t changed much in seaports.
That’s why
the startup wants to be as seamless as possible. It only charges fees based on
shifting savings — 30 percent of what it would have cost you with the old
model. And it doesn’t want to alter workflows for people working at terminals —
it’s like an invisible crane that helps you work faster.
There are
six dominant players managing terminals around the world. If BlueCargo can
convince those companies to work with the startup, it would represent a good
business opportunity.
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