Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

GXO pairs with investment firm to back logistics tech startups

Partners will boost warehouse innovation firms with pilot programs, research & development help, and strategic investments.

gxo sente Screen Shot 2022-05-17 at 1.22.58 PM.png
Ben Ames
By Ben AmesMay 17, 2022
Ben Ames
Ben Ames is Editor at Large and a Senior Editor at Supply Chain Xchange's sister publication, DC Velocity.
See Full Bio

Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics Inc. will partner with the investment firm Sente Foundry to boost warehouse innovation startup firms with operating cash and pilot programs, the firms said today.

Chicago-based Sente says it brings corporations, public institutions, and investors together to discover high-potential technology startups with inventive ideas and scalable solutions that can help solve today’s greatest supply chain challenges.

GXO, which is the former warehousing arm of logistics conglomerate XPO, plans to use the arrangement to generate cutting-edge automated solutions, GXO Chief Information Officer Sandeep Sakharkar said in a release.

During the year-long collaboration, Sente will conduct a global search for promising technology-focused startups, selecting them for their potential to help GXO accelerate warehouse innovation and automate logistics operations.

“We’re excited by this opportunity to connect GXO with startups with scalable groundbreaking ideas,” Sente COO Gerod Carfantan, leader of Sente’s Supply Chain and Transportation domain, said in a release. “Today’s logistics challenges are increasingly complex, and GXO has led the way globally with creative solutions, innovation and collaboration. We’re inspired by GXO’s mission to realize logistics at full potential and we look forward to helping the company achieve even greater success.”

Sente says it is looking for technology-focused startups at multiple stages of development (from prototype through commercialization) to collaborate on pilot projects across GXO’s global logistics footprint. Specific areas of focus could include: warehouse technology, robotics, supply chain technology, artificial intelligence (AI) & the Internet of Things (IoT), e-commerce technology, and communications infrastructure. Participating startups will have the opportunity for commercial pilots, R&D partnerships, and strategic investment.

Since its founding in 2013, Sente says it has supported early-stage companies that operate in over 40 countries, have received over $35 million in funding, and have generated revenues exceeding $80 million.

ArticleMoveStoreE-CommerceTech & InfrastructureTechnology
gxo logisticssente foundry
ArticleMoveStoreE-CommerceTech & InfrastructureTechnology
gxo logisticssente foundry

Recent

forklifts working in a warehouse
Move

Averitt tracks three hurdles for international trade in 2025

chart of robot adoption in factories
Article

Global robot density in factories has doubled in 7 years

person using AI at a laptop
Procure

Gartner: GenAI set to impact procurement processes

A photo of brown paper packages tied up with shiny red ribbons.
Plan

SMEs hopeful ahead of holiday peak

More Stories

screen shot of AI chat box

Accenture and Microsoft launch business AI unit

In a move to meet rising demand for AI transformation, Accenture and Microsoft are launching a copilot business transformation practice to help organizations reinvent their business functions with both generative and agentic AI and with Copilot technologies.


The practice consists of 5,000 professionals from Accenture and from Avanade—the consulting firm’s joint venture with Microsoft. They will be supported by Microsoft product specialists who will work closely with the Accenture Center for Advanced AI. Together, that group will collaborate on AI and Copilot agent templates, extensions, plugins, and connectors to help organizations leverage their data and gen AI to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and drive growth, they said on Thursday.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

SCQ21_SOL_inventory600x400.jpg
Article

From standing still to sprinting full-out

SCQ22_SOL_inventory.jpg
Article

Riding the bullwhip

On the same page
Article

On the same page

Mobile robots, drones move beyond the hype
Featured

Mobile robots, drones move beyond the hype

holiday shopping mall

Consumer sales kept ticking in October, NRF says

Retail sales grew solidly over the past two months, demonstrating households’ capacity to spend and the strength of the economy, according to a National Retail Federation (NRF) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Census data showed that overall retail sales in October were up 0.4% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 2.8% unadjusted year over year. That compared with increases of 0.8% month over month and 2% year over year in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of sectors leasing warehouse space

3PLs claim growing share of large industrial leases, CBRE says

Third-party logistics (3PL) providers’ share of large real estate leases across the U.S. rose significantly through the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year, as more retailers and wholesalers have been outsourcing their warehouse and distribution operations to 3PLs, according to a report from real estate firm CBRE.

Specifically, 3PLs’ share of bulk industrial leasing activity—covering leases of 100,000 square feet or more—rose to 34.1% through Q3 of this year from 30.6% through Q3 last year. By raw numbers, 3PLs have accounted for 498 bulk leases so far this year, up by 9% from the 457 at this time last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of global supply chain capacity

Suppliers report spare capacity for fourth straight month

Factory demand weakened across global economies in October, resulting in one of the highest levels of spare capacity at suppliers in over a year, according to a report from the New Jersey-based procurement and supply chain solutions provider GEP.

That result came from the company’s “GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index,” an indicator tracking demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories, and backlogs based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses. The October index number was -0.39, which was up only slightly from its level of -0.43 in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
employees working together at office

Small e-com firms struggle to find enough investment cash

Even as the e-commerce sector overall continues expanding toward a forecasted 41% of all retail sales by 2027, many small to medium e-commerce companies are struggling to find the investment funding they need to increase sales, according to a sector survey from online capital platform Stenn.

Global geopolitical instability and increasing inflation are causing e-commerce firms to face a liquidity crisis, which means companies may not be able to access the funds they need to grow, Stenn’s survey of 500 senior e-commerce leaders found. The research was conducted by Opinion Matters between August 29 and September 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2024.