Interview With Niko Polvinen, CEO At Logistics Data Startup Logmore

Logmore is a high-growth startup that aims to reduce waste and loss for fragile and perishable products by simplifying and streamlining condition monitoring and data logging for supply chains. At the centre of Logmore’s solution is a data logging system that uses QR codes to send collected shipment condition details to the cloud.

Anyone with a smartphone can scan the dynamic e-ink QR codes on Logmore’s devices, removing the need for wired connections or complex, expensive RFID tags. As a result of their accessibility, Logmore’s tags can be used almost anywhere in the world and on any kind of shipment, including air freight, delivering a new level of visibility and accountability to the world of logistics.

In addition to its standard data logger solutions, Logmore has developed the Dry Ice logger, created specifically to improve data insights into the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines that need to be kept in ultra cold conditions. This technology has been used by Logmore partners like Sofrigam and DHL to ship over 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to date.

Founded in 2017, Logmore is headquartered in Finland and now has close to 50 employees based around the world.

Why Did You Start Logmore and What Are You Trying to Achieve With It?

We wanted to erase the unknown from the distribution chain and make logistics truly transparent, to enable safety and security for all of us.

We knew about the challenges of logistics, especially for products that are easily spoiled. In the worst-case scenario, some products become dangerous after exposure to too high or low temperatures. To address these challenges, Antti Tapio, one of my co-founders, came up with the concept of using QR codes to dynamically keep track of changing conditions.

While applicable to other industries, we had already been with logistics and knew that there’s a definite need for something like this. Supply chains are long, processes complex, packages handled by so many different contractors, and companies often have very little visibility to all of it.

There were some existing solutions to answer these needs, but generally, they’ve had clear downsides like being very slow to use. We decided to fix these problems by creating a solution that would be easy to use in addition to matching all the other requirements.

As a result, we make logistics more transparent, safer, and more efficient. Our long-term goal is to be the premier source of logistics insights and quality assurance solutions.

How Has Logmore Evolved During the Pandemic and What Have Your Biggest Challenges Been?

The logistics industry is going through a big shift when it comes to approaches and tech right now, and the pandemic has only sped up how people are opening up to newer solutions. There’s a clear window for new tech to be tested and implemented all over the world.

Logmore has been able to expand our customer base quickly, due to the logistics tech revolution currently taking place in the wake of the rampant supply chain disruptions that we’ve seen during the pandemic.

What’s more, as an obvious answer directly related to the pandemic, the Covid-19 vaccine is a direct answer to the Covid-19 virus. The importance of high-quality vaccine cold chains is greater than ever, and the volume of products requiring strict temperature consistency has increased hand-in-hand with the importance.

As a partner in multiple vaccine supply chains, we have seen massive growth in the life science vertical. While it also proves that our solution is ready for the most demanding deliveries, it makes what we do truly meaningful.

Our growth is also plain to see in the company size as well, tripling the size of our team during the pandemic. We’ve been able to create an amazing team, and we owe all of our victories to the people working hard to secure the life-saving shipments.

As for the challenges, the global component shortages have impacted us as well, both directly and indirectly, via our customers and suppliers. It’s been quite a rollercoaster. The shift from offices to remote work was relatively easy for us in general, but we needed to find new ways to communicate and work with our customers just like everyone else. Where we’d previously visit the customer warehouses and distribution centres, the pandemic made that impossible.

What’s Next for Logmore?

Right now, we are in the middle of a major global expansion effort. We already have customers on most continents. To best answer customer needs, we need to be where they are. We just opened a new office in Germany in late September, and another one in the US in August. I’m looking forward to soon having members of our team officially based all around the world.

On a somewhat longer timeframe, I see Logmore being the change-maker in giving physical products a voice. We have already managed to do it with vaccines and Covid-19 test kits for most of their journeys, but scaling up to different consumer products to be able to make the lives of hundreds of millions of people better every day is powerful.

The industry is currently implementing automated quality assurance processes for perishable products like food and pharmaceuticals, to make them as reliable as possible. This is bringing us closer and closer to the goods, which enables us as consumers to make more informed decisions regarding the lifetime of goods.

This trend is bound to change Logmore’s business model in various ways, moving from logistics monitoring with loggers towards integrated packaging solutions that empower consumers – and bring transparency, safety, and better decision-making to the industry, every step of the way from the producer. For us, this means becoming truly value-based as a solution provider.

From a technical perspective, we have already made this possible with a cloud-based reporting and data management platform, combined with novel devices monitoring things like temperature, humidity, and shocks in shipments. Still, there is still a long way to go, to make all of this accessible to everyone in the world.