Transformative freight procurement and management tool Loadar has raised $4 million in seed funding. The round was led by Irish VC Frontline Ventures (which backed Harriet and DUDE CHEM) with follow-on participation from existing investor Techstart Ventures.
The company will use the investment to grow the team headcount and expand to the US, building on the success to date in Europe. It will also grow the team, doubling it in size over the next 12 months.
What challenge does it resolve?
The logistics market is currently valued at nearly $9 trillion. It’s expected to more than double in size by 2033, as e-commerce continues to develop globally. Many industry giants are manually and individually procuring and managing carriers, often hundreds of individual relationships at a time. Companies making billions of dollars a year are spending anything up to around 8% of revenue on managing logistics. Loadar is designed for super-large enterprises, to automate and manage the shipping process.
Revolutionises logistics landscape
Global supply chains face growing challenges from events like COVID-19, the Suez Canal crisis, the Ukraine war, and potential future tariffs under US President Donald Trump. Quick, effective responses are crucial, as 89% of companies encountered supplier risks from 2017-2022.
Loadar was founded by Ciaran Doherty in 2022 in Belfast, who experienced the issue firsthand at sustainable packaging giant Huhtamaki. It works with a vision for a future where transportation is not just a service but a strategic advantage for businesses worldwide. It creates a connected and efficient ecosystem that empowers shippers and carriers, fostering collaboration, sustainability, and growth.
Its multi-modal solutions cover road, sea, air, and rail, streamlining logistics. It enhances carrier efficiency to reduce costs for shippers. The company simplifies transport sourcing, providing direct tools for shippers to collaborate with carriers. It eliminates the need for outsourcing, offering an efficient and powerful solution for freight management.
Loadar projects users can reduce transport costs by 15%, by streamlining processes. Furthermore, by digitising the entire workflow, real-time oversight of where freight is in the supply chain is made possible, making transport management significantly simpler.
Ciaran Doherty, founder and CEO at Loader said: “For the super-large enterprises moving product all over the globe, transport procurement and management is a major expense both financially and in terms of time. Teams are often individually managing hundreds of carrier relationships, it truly has become an impossible task to do well. Third-party logistic (3PL) companies are inefficient and fail at promoting crucial strategic partnerships between shippers and their carriers. It’s a challenge in need of a solution, and today’s funding announcement is the next major step for us to be able to provide that solution.”
Investors‘ views
Will Prendergast, Partner at Frontline Ventures, said: “Managing transport costs and reducing carbon footprint are two of the top priorities for large manufacturers. Loadar is unique in that it tackles both of these topics together, achieving significant cost savings for clients by reducing empty leg journeys for transport companies. It’s a win, win-win scenario for manufacturers, transport carriers and the climate.”
Jamie Andrews, Partner at Techstart Ventures, added: “Loadar is a wonderful example of innovation born out of Northern Ireland. Ciaran and his team have every necessary attribute to successfully scale what is a clearly needed solution to a problematic link in the supply chain.”
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