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Next-gen innovation in supply chain & logistics

SCL-X is shaping the ecosystem where composable architectures unlock buy–build–invest opportunities, bringing together platforms, startups, scaleups and investors to harness the full potential of AI.

OUR MISSION

Accelerate investment & innovation

We need to overcome the barriers to supply chain innovation to accelerate the shift to a resilient, efficient and sustainable future.

THE CHALLENGE

An Innovation Model That Can’t Keep Up

Supply chains face a world defined by deglobalisation, decarbonisation, digitalisation, and shifting demographics. These forces create an environment that is volatile and unpredictable, yet most innovation still relies on monolithic IT architectures and large, slow projects with uncertain ROI. This model cannot keep pace with the speed of change.
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Deglobalisation, digitalisation, decarbonisation and shifting demographics are reshaping the future of supply chain and logistics.

In this landscape of accelerating change, operators risk misallocating up to 80% of their capital by sticking with outdated technologies and legacy thinking. What works today won’t work tomorrow.

So the questions become urgent:

  • As a supply chain operator: How should your business evolve and which technologies deserve your investment?
  • As a tech innovator: How can you anticipate shifting priorities and scale solutions that truly meet the moment? Who should you partner with?
  • As an investor: Which businesses will thrive a decade from now and how can you guide your portfolio companies toward lasting success?
SC disruption image

 

 

Strategic Resilience

Resilience is often framed as better visibility or having multiple suppliers. But strategic resilience requires the ability to innovate & scale faster with lower-risk by investing in and blending your own IP with best-of-breed innovators. 

AI Needs Systemic Innovation

AI today is mostly applied in point solutions, improving isolated processes but leaving the bigger picture unchanged. Its real value emerges only when embedded in composable, system-wide architectures that allow insights and actions to flow across the entire supply chain.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Unlocking Scalable Innovation and Investment

Europe hosts over half of the world’s major supply chains but receives under 5% of global supply chain VC despite rising demand for AI-driven solutions and a €7 trillion market.
Startups

 

 

Untapped Opportunity

Startups struggle to gain traction with supply chain operators due to long sales cycles, integration risks, and legacy complexity. This slows adoption, stalls validation, and limits scalability, making even strong solutions hard to fund...even as demand for supply chain AI surges.

Everybody Wins

Solving this adoption gap unlocks AI’s real potential. Operators gain wider access to AI-driven innovation. Established providers can extend their platforms by integrating specialised AI capabilities. Investors benefit as startups prove value in live environments, scale through clienting and find attractive exits.

"Over 50% of large supply chain companies are actually headquartered in Europe but Europe's underfunded on a VC perspective in supply chain by a factor of over 2x"

Christy McCaig, General Partner, Nine Realms
EU.VC Podcast

"Europe currently accounts for only 5% of logistics venture funding worldwide, while representing 13% of overall venture funding [of a €7 trillion market]"


European Investment Fund

"Nearly two-thirds (64%) of [supply chains] perceive AI as the key to supply chain improvements, in the form of lower costs and increased resilience. However, only 1% indicate that they have been able to fully automate processes, whether through partial robotic automation or full AI implementation"

From Disruption to Opportunity: Strategies for Rewiring Global Value Chains
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Supply Chain Innovation Ecosystem

Why SCL Investor?

Our deep experience supporting supply chain operators through digital transformation and operational improvement gives us a front-row seat to the barriers holding back faster technology adoption.

In a rapidly evolving world, it’s difficult to pinpoint which supply chain and logistics investments will truly drive profitability and long-term value.

CAPEX decision-makers often view supply chain as a cost centre and remain unconvinced that investing in new technologies will yield a strong return on limited capital, undermining its potential as a source of competitive advantage.

Time and attention are scarce. Navigating the full SC&L tech landscape is a major challenge, especially when it comes to startups and emerging challengers.

Yet, if we can overcome these obstacles and accelerate adoption, innovators will scale faster, make supply chains more agile, resilient & sustainable so that everyone who depends on them — which is all of us — will benefit.

Within their areas of focus, investors are already making informed bets on what the future holds: how customer needs will shift, how supply chains must evolve, and which technologies will underpin that transformation. The investor perspective is not just useful — it’s essential.

THE SOLUTION

Building the Ecosystem for Next-Gen Supply Chain Innovation

SCL-X is designed to address the innovation gap by focusing on how supply chains can innovate faster, smarter and with less risk through composable IT architectures and greater internal digital fluency.

Composable Architectures as a Catalyst

By moving away from rigid, monolithic systems, composable architectures enable:

  • Faster, lower-risk innovation cycles through iterative deployment.

  • Plug-and-play integration of best-of-breed platforms rather than over-reliance on single-vendor ecosystems.

  • Systemic use of AI, not just in point solutions, but across the entire value chain.

Building Digital Fluency

Innovation doesn’t just depend on technology...it depends on how organisations use it. SCL-X focuses on helping leaders to:

  • Become better buyers of external solutions, knowing what to integrate and when.

  • Leverage agentic AI to drive more in-house innovation without over-reliance on vendors.

  • Unlock the value of internal IP and datasets, turning them into strategic assets.

Opening the Door to Collaborative Innovation

Startups and scaleups often hold the key to targeted breakthroughs - especially in AI - but struggle to gain traction. Composable architecture removes integration barriers and supports clienting, co-creation, partnering and acquisition.SCL-X connects:

  • Operators with real-world challenge
  • Non-traditional innovators (startups, scaleups, deep-tech teams)
  • Investors and established tech leaders looking for scalable innovation pathways

A Practitioner-First Experience

Unlike traditional conferences, SCL-X is built around discussions and interactive workshops, not passive presentations. It’s a working environment for transformation leaders to think, collaborate, and act.

  • Decision Labs help leaders map out real innovation paths from today’s state to tomorrow’s outcomes
  • Roundtables bring operators, architects, and solution partners into candid peer exchange
  • Panels and case studies distill lessons from real transformation journeys
  • Startup sessions let operators give feedback, not just get pitched

Every format is designed to help participants solve problems, shape decisions and contribute to the next wave of supply chain innovation.

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KEY THEMES

Why Invest in Supply Chain & Logistics?

Supply chain & logistics is the backbone of the economy, remaining vital even during downturns. Paradigm shifts like deglobalisation, resilience, e-commerce and sustainability present risks and opportunities with increasing funding in:
  • AI-driven demand forecasting & supply optimisation
  • End-to-end supply chain visibility & blockchain
  • Automation & robotics
  • Sustainable logistics
  • Logistics infrastructure
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Supply chain & logistics homepage image-3

KEY THEMES

Innovation Frontiers


  • From Monolithic to Modular & Composable: Redesigning the Innovation Engine

     

  • Digital Fluency as a Strategic Capability

     

  • Agentic AI and In-House Innovation

     

  • Collaborating with Startups and Scaleups

     

  • Capital-Efficient Innovation Strategies

     

  • Resilience Reimagined: Innovation as a Continuously Adaptive System

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Who for?

Cover Main 5
  • Modernise your innovation strategy
  • Optimise your tech stack
  • Increase resilience & ROI
Cover Main
  • Build an investable business
  • Find funding & partners
  • Validate commercial proposition
Cover Main 2
  • Identify investment opportunities
  • Nurture portcos
  • Discover tech innovation
Cover Main 3-2
  • Attract investors & operators
  • Integrate innovative technologies
  • Support economic growth
Cover Main 4
  • Support innovation
  • Discover talent
  • Facilitate deals

 

Agenda

WHO's INTERESTED?

INNOVATION LEADERS

SCLI SPEAKER - JON BRADFORD, DYNAMO VENTURES
SCLI SPEAKER - ETHAN KHATRI, AIV CAPITAL
SCLI SPEAKER - ALEX RAHAMAN, IDÉKAPITAL
SCLI SPEAKER - SOPHIA KARANICHOLAS, DELOITTE-2
SCLI SPEAKER - WILL URBAN
SCLI SPEAKER - Adam Keasey
SCLI SPEAKER - LUCY HARDING, ODGERS BERNDTSON
SCLI SPEAKER - ARNAUD HOULES, NINE REALMS-2
SCLI SPEAKER - SEAN ELMURIB
SCLI SPEAKER - RAUL PORTELA
SCLI SPEAKER - VIKRAM SHANKAR-2
SCLI SPEAKER - Michael Archer
SCLI SPEAKER - James Butcher
SCLI SPEAKER - ALAN BRISTOW, ICON CORPORATE FINANCE
SCLI SPEAKER - CHRIS DIXON, UNIPART
SCLI SPEAKER - Geeta Malhotra
SCLI SPEAKER - Marc Escande
SCLI SPEAKER - Chris Turner
SCLI SPEAKER - CLARE BOTTLE, UKWA
SCLI SPEAKER - Ergem Senyuva-2
SCLI SPEAKER - DAVID EVANS
SCLI SPEAKER - Tim Lawrence
SCLI SPEAKER - BOUDEWIJN VAN NULAND
SCLI SPEAKER - Mark Williams
SCLI SPEAKER - JAMES MOFFATT, BARINGA

featured artcles

Chain makers magazine

Chainmakers logo transp-2

Latest news, strategy, investments, exits, value creation & transformation for rainmakers in supply chain & logistics

 

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FEB 2025 NEWS DIGEST

 

EVENTS

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Specialist Investors

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Supply Chain & Logistics Leaders

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Focused Roundtable Discussions

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One-to-One Meetings

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Years of SC&L Events

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Leaders Participated

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Sessions Delivered

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Connections Made

Agenda

Brands-2

SCL INVESTOR

The full eco-system event for value creation in logistics including investors, supply chain & logistics organisations, tech innovators and partners.
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Brands-2

SCL INVESTOR

The full eco-system event for value creation in logistics including investors, supply chain & logistics organisations, tech innovators and partners.
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SCLI OPERATORS-2

OPERATORS

For all operators of supply chain & logistics businesses looking to support investment in operational transformation and tech-driven value creation.
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SCLI ENT TECH-3

ENT TECH

Focused on innovations in enterprise technologies including:
  • Data & digitalisation
  • Advanced analytics & process optimisation
  • Planning & inventory optimisation
  • Procurement & contract management
  • Visibility, tracking & orchestration
  • ESG & risk management
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SCLI LOG TECH-2

LOG TECH

Focused on innovations in logistics technologies including:
  • Freight tech: multi-modal optimisation, fleet management, electric & autonomous vehicles
  • Warehouse tech: automation & robotics, AR, packaging, fulfilment & e-commerce / D2C
  • Last mile: autonomous vehicles & drones, delivery & returns
  • Asset monitoring, IoT & blockchain
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SCLI INFRA-2

INFRA

Focused on investments into logistics infrastructure including:
  • Emerging multimodal global hubs
  • Freight infrastructure for sea, rail, road and air
  • Real estate for distribution centres and warehouses
  • Energy transition for facilities & fleets
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BPC brand

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

BESTPRACTICE.CLUB

Peer-to-peer best practice-sharing for supply chain & logistics leaders.
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SupplyChainWise

AND

SUPPLY CHAIN WISE

Leading provider of advice on AI-powered solutions that help customers optimize their supply chain operations.
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Ready to Transform your value creation with scl investor?