Businesses dependent on the physical supply chain — the network of facilities and transportation systems used to move materials from one location to another — face a number of challenges, from staff shortages to increasing customer expectations. The pressures aren’t easing up. According to a survey from Prologis, a real estate investment trust, two-thirds of executives say that they’re losing sleep over supply chain-related problems.
Barry Conlon and David Broe ran into some of these stressors themselves while founding FreightWatch, a startup that provided “cargo visibility” and supply chain security solutions to corporate clients. After selling FreightWatch in 2012, Conlon and Broe saw an opportunity to address supply chain blockers in a more innovative way, harnessing telemetry and data.
So, four years after FreightWatch’s exit, Conlon and Broe funneled what they learned into Overhaul, a platform that helps companies track the location of their goods in the supply chain while combating theft. Overhaul also reports on the quality and compliance of products while in transit and tries to identify areas of possible cost savings.
Cargo theft is on the rise, a consequence of emboldened organized crime groups. According to CargoNet, a company focused on cargo theft prevention and recovery, cargo theft across the U.S. and Canada increased 14% year-over-year in Q3 2024. The total value of stolen goods exceeded $39 million for the quarter.
“Many in our industry struggle to gain visibility into their supply chains, especially when dealing with multiple suppliers and partners,” Conlon, Overhaul’s CEO, told TechCrunch. “Without visibility, it’s difficult to identify and mitigate risks.”
Image Credits:Overhaul Overhaul, which has roughly 350 customers today, including Microsoft, Dyson, and pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb, develops software to anticipate freight shipping delays. Powering the software are AI models trained on in-transit telemetry and contextual data, which can detect events like when a cargo load is at risk, said Conlon.
“Our platform can alert our global security operations,” Conlon added, “who can push shipment and cargo data via a ‘smartlink’ in real time to responding local law enforcement to move into action and prevent and recover cargo in the event of a theft.”
Overhaul certainly has no shortage of competition in the market for supply chain visibility software, which could be worth $12.6 billion by 2032, by one estimate. Tive, Altana, Project44, and FourKites are among Overhaul’s top rivals.
And it’s not getting easier for supply chain startups to raise money. According to PitchBook, only $7.1 billion was invested in the sector last year through Q3 — a far cry from 2021, when it brought in $63.7 billion.
To stay competitive, Overhaul has launched new apps, an “intelligence as a service” offering, a cargo insurance program, and a cold chain quality solution for pharma and food and beverage clients.
That strategy has helped the company to net new investors. Today, Overhaul announced that it raised $55 million in a funding round led by Springcoast Partners with participation from Edison Partners and Americo.
Bringing Overhaul’s total raised to around $150 million, the fresh cash will be put toward product development, strategic acquisitions, and growing the Austin-based firm’s 600-person team, Conlon said.
