The Entrepreneur Driving A AI-Powered Supply Chains Revolution

Smart Logistics as a Service (LaaS) platform KlearNow is leading efforts to repair broken supply chains

Retailers in the UK have been battling with shipping delays and worker shortages since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which have severely impacted stock availability.

The COVID-19 outbreak in early 2019 triggered a sharp decline in global maritime trade, which fell by approximately 10% in the first eight months of 2020. Once restrictions started to ease, demand across industries, including energy and toys, surged, resulting in a fivefold increase in container freight rates over the last two years. It also led to backlogs at container ports, such as Felixstowe and Dover in the UK, which has been exacerbated by the new customs rules imposed as part of the Brexit deal.

“With competition for container space so high, some smaller businesses are simply being priced out of landing the goods and materials that they need,” said Sam Tyagi, founder and CEO of KlearNow.

“UK businesses are facing an increasing array of supply chain challenges already and it’s only going to get worse. The one word we keep hearing is chaos.”

These disruptions have been years in the making. The supply chain process has been in desperate need of modernisation; a lot of the processing, from loading containers at ports to putting stock on shelves, is still done using paper-based systems. One of the biggest issues is the lack of visibility across supply chains, which is the key for solving logistics problems in real-time to avoid congestion, and helping retailers with forward planning. The groundbreaking possibility of creating a more streamlined system is what inspired Sam Tyagi to found KlearNow in 2018, whose mission is to simplify logistics processes and ease disruptions.

KlearNow is a pioneer smart Logistics as a Service (LaaS) platform that was founded in the US, but made its way to the UK in 2021. Using AI and cloud-based technology, the platform gives everyone within the supply chain full visibility, from the importer to the carrier, 24 hours a day. Logistics teams are able to track shipments in real time, fill out documents and store them directly on the platform and use tracking alerts to eliminate additional fees. Making this information readily available brings unprecedented money-saving advantages to businesses who are able to save time on filing through physical clearance documents, and avoid common human errors.

And it’s clear that the industry is in desperate need of these new, innovative solutions. In December 2021, KlearNow raised £38 million in a Series B investment round, led by  Kayne Partners Fund. Its new capital is being filtered into transforming broken supply chains that have been hampered by delays and shortages as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. It will also help the company to bolster the drayage marketplace that it recently added to its smart LaaS platform.

Solving supply chain bottlenecks is no small feat, but Sam Tyagi seems more than equipped to take on the task. Tyagi founded KlearNow at the peak of a diverse 25 year career that spans corporate management, serving as an advisory board member of Merrill Lynch Private Client group and advising the American Red Cross.

“Global supply chains have been in a chaotic state for the past couple of years. We’re proud that our platform has been able to ease the burden for a wide range of UK businesses, from flower growers to car parts manufacturers. This funding partnership will help us offer more innovative solutions to more businesses in the UK, EU and around the world.”