Principal Product Manager

Beyond the box: how Flexe and Crisp are driving 'Intelligence in Motion' in the supply chain. At the Prologis Groundbreakers event, Flexe CEO Karl Siebrecht and Crisp CEO Are Traasdahl discussed how Flexe's "Capacity in Motion" and Crisp's data insights are powering the next era of intelligent, flexible supply chains. Key takeaways. * Flexe enables true supply chain flexibility through fractional warehousing. * Agility drives critical CFO KPIs reducing costs, improving margins, and accelerating revenue. * Real-time data transforms the supply chain into an intelligent, interconnected network. At the recent Prologis Groundbreakers event, Flexe Inc. explored the future of logistics in a rapid-fire panel called "Port to Plate Intelligence in Motion." It was a powerful discussion featuring its CEO and co-founder, Karl Siebrecht, and Crisp CEO, Are Traasdahl. Flexe Inc. agree that the supply chain has moved past mere speed. Today, it demands a new level of intelligent agility. The moderator framed this perfectly: Flexe handles the physical reconfiguration of logistics - what Flexe Inc. call Capacity in Motion - while Crisp provides the data-driven insights that complement that agility. Here are the core takeaways from the conversation, showing how Flexe is driving the most essential change in logistics: supply chain agilitization. Flexe: offering fractional warehousing for a flexible future. For years, the freight industry has relied on a mature "spot market" for trucking, allowing companies to react quickly to demand. Yet, the warehousing space lacked this critical component. At Flexe, Flexe Inc. has created the equivalent: fractional warehousing exactly when and where its customers need it. As Karl explained, "All companies who are moving stuff have these two tools in their toolkit; contract and spot to apply to the given scenario." By building a spot market for warehousing, Flexe Inc. give its customers the agility to respond instantly to unexpected demand or major opportunities. How Flexe Inc. drive critical CFO KPIs. Its platform delivers value that goes far beyond simple cost-cutting, focusing instead on significant margin improvements through fractionalized purchasing of capacity. * Savings on Seasonality: Flexe Inc. helped a customer with highly seasonal needs save 65% on their total cost per pallet. They initially planned for 200,000 sq ft for peak but, by paying on a fractionalized, pay-for-what-you-use basis, they only paid for what they actually needed - saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. * Speed to Revenue: Agility directly drives top-line growth. Flexe Inc. recently enabled a beverage distributor to win a new brand and a new product launch by leveraging the Flexe network to inbound thousands of pallets of promotional material in a rapid three-day turnaround. In a final reflection, Karl suggested Flexe Inc. retire the generic term "supply chain digitization," replacing it with a more descriptive focus on "supply chain agilitization." Flexe Inc. believe this captures the dynamic, future-focused capability that Flexe provides. Crisp: from waste to profit with real-time data. The physical agility provided by Flexe is optimized when paired with real-time data from platforms like Crisp, which provides the Insights and Signals in Motion. Crisp CEO Are Traasdahl noted that by syncing data across retailers, distributors, and brands, their platform helps to optimize decisions and prevent the massive amounts of food waste that plague the industry. By using AI to act on real-time data - sometimes updated hourly - retailers are seeing major reductions in waste and substantial increases in profitability. As Traasdahl argued, the system is too complex to be called a "chain." Instead, he sees it as a "very complex web of interconnected companies" that collaborate to deliver products to consumers. The panel concluded with a rapid-fire round on technology and the future, highlighting a key point: The modern supply chain is characterized by the intelligent interplay between physical and digital elements. As Flexe enables the capacity to be in motion, Crisp provides the signals to ensure the right product is placed at the right time. Together, this is the future of Intelligence in Motion. Rapid fire Q&A: the future is fast, but human. Fractional warehousing is the future. Flexe is the leader in flexible, asset-lite warehousing solutions. Replace the rigidity of traditional, long-term leases and fixed costs with Flexible Warehousing Infrastructure. By utilizing fractionalized warehouse space and transactional pricing, instantly scale warehousing up or down - from managing seasonal peaks to dealing with excess or bulky inventory - without the constraints of fixed-term agreements or specific locations. Watch the full Prologis Groundbreakers event discussion. Flexe

The Seattle waterfront and Port of Seattle properties, with a container ship and West Seattle in the background. (GeekWire Photo / Taylor Soper)Buoyed by longtime logistics giants such as Amazon and the rapid rise of trucking startup Convoy, the Seattle region has emerged as a major epicenter for supply chain software innovation.There are at least 15 startups in the Seattle area (listed below) that develop logistics software to help companies move and manage physical goods.The supply chain talent pool in Seattle has a unique blend of “technical skill and customer focus required to win in today’s economy,” said Jason Murray, a former Amazon vice president and co-founder of Seattle-based shipping logistics startup Shipium.That talent can be traced back to global corporations in Seattle such as Starbucks, Costco, Expeditors, and Amazon.The city has an abundance of “supply chain awareness,” said Dan Lewis, co-founder and former CEO of Convoy, a one-time darling of Seattle’s startup scene that raised investment from the likes of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. The digital trucking marketplace was valued at more than $3 billion before shutting down in 2023 and selling its assets to Flexport, which re-launched the platform this year and has a Seattle-area satellite office.The supply chain crisis during the pandemic, along with advances in mobile, AI, and other software-related technologies, has driven interest and funding to logistics startups, Lewis said. Lewis and his co-founder Grant Goodale cut their teeth at Amazon before launching Convoy in 2015.Other Amazon leaders have taken the startup leap into logistics in Seattle, including Dave Clark, the former Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO who just raised $100 million for Auger, a supply chain tech startup.An Amazon electric van in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)Clark, who was recently based in Dallas, returned to the Seattle area to launch Auger.“I think some of the best talent in the world for this particular problem space lives in Seattle,” he told GeekWire in October.Bryan Lacaillade is another former Amazonian now leading a Seattle-area logistics startup, launching Freightmate earlier this year.“Seattle’s logistics tech ecosystem is truly world-class and was the primary reason we chose to launch Freightmate here,” said Lacaillade, who previously worked at Flexport.Mo Afshar, CEO of Pipe17, a Seattle e-commerce operations startup, said the physical proximity to Amazon gives his company an advantage.“Amazon has defined a lot of what logistics means in the modern world, so being in the same city really makes a difference,” he said. Seattle has built a reputation around the country as a hub for logistics tech talent

Flexe ranked number 370 fastest-growing company in North America on the 2024 Deloitte Technology Fast 500(TM).