Supply chain management startup SensosLabz.io Ltd. said today it has closed on a $20 million early-stage funding round led by Magenta Venture Partners in order to build out its platform and expand its go-to-market efforts.

Investors that included JAL Ventures, Israel Cargo Logistics and Sumitomo Corp. also participated in the Series A round.

The startup, which is a spinoff of Sony Semiconductor Israel, is building what it says is a more proactive logistics platform that relies on an artificial intelligence-powered “control tower” to keep track of products as they move through the supply chain and manage inventories. Another of its innovations is a unique cellular label, which can be applied to almost any kind of box or package in order to collect and analyze data regarding its transportation and storage, and generate useful insights for logistics teams.

As to why Sensos has done this, the company explains that the logistics industry has not yet fully digitized and that many of the processes and technologies it relies on are siloed and fragmented. With its partial reliance on paper documents and error-prone manual labor, supply chains today remain inefficient and wasteful, while visibility is extremely limited.

As a result, companies face increased operating costs as they’re forced to keep larger than necessary inventories and apply wider production margins to ensure no shortages. That can have a significant impact on profitability, and it means more damage done to the environment, too.

To address these inefficiencies, Sensos aims to provide more accurate logistics tracking capabilities and insights, enabling companies to manage their inventories more efficiently and reduce their operational costs.

The key innovation is Sensos’ globally connected, disposable cellular labels, which are the size of a credit card and can easily be attached to any package. Because the labels are paper-thin, they won’t be knocked off accidentally during transportation, ensuring that products can be tracked globally with GPS precision, no matter where they are in the supply chain.

But it’s not just the location that matters. Companies must also be able to ensure the quality of products as they move through the supply chain, which is why Sensos’ labels also monitor the temperature, pressure, tilt and shock of any shipment in real time.

Sensos says its labels are “zero-touch,” meaning that they’re activated automatically the moment they’re applied to a package, without any human intervention. In addition, they’re equipped with nonintrusive sensors that can detect whenever the parcel or package is opened and closed, supporting automatic proof-of-consumption and protecting against tampering.

Each label can be set up and managed in the cloud, with teams able to choose a real-time status reporting frequency of between once every five minutes up to once a month.

The cellular labels are managed by the Sensos AI control tower, which is a kind of hub that automates supply chain management, allowing teams to immediately identify the location and status of any shipment and generate insights that can improve inventory management processes.

Ori Israely, Magenta VP’s managing general partner, said the supply chain industry needs Sensos because it continues to suffer from a lack of real-time and actionable data, even as logistics operations in most industries continue to scale and grow in complexity. “We see a growing need for solutions that enable greater supply chain accountability and agility,” he said.

The startup says its offering is especially useful for tracking the shipment of cold chain life science products, consumer electronics, mission-critical shipments and high-value goods. Its clients include global enterprises such as Bayer AG and DB Schenker Inc.

Sensos Chief Executive Aviv Castro said today’s investment is a clear vote of confidence in the company’s team and product. “By using the Sensos solution, companies can optimize production planning, inventory levels and shipping efficiency and at the same time monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions meeting ESG regulations,” he explained.

Image: Sensos