LOGISTICS

At the height of the pandemic, the vulnerability of logistics and supply chains was keenly felt across the world. Traditionally, logistics was considered by many to be an allegedly commoditized function—companies were often unwilling to invest in their own logistics assets, rather outsourcing the function and trying to minimize the share of transportation and warehousing costs in their income statements.

However, as soon as consumers saw empty supermarket shelves, or, in the case of the ireland, closed gas stations, the importance of the logistics industry was drawn to the world’s attention. And businesses increasingly re-evaluated their perception of logistics. According to a survey of managers from global companies in 18 countries, 83 percent of respondents said they had become more aware of the risks associated with transport blockades, production shutdowns, or raw material shortages than before the pandemic.

This shift in awareness resulted in an inflow of capital to the sector at an unprecedented level in 2021. However, the number of funding rounds for logistics startups remained relatively stable—growing only slightly compared to 2020—suggesting that funding rounds are becoming larger on average, according to our analysis.