Smart Point, the Spanish scale-up focused on improving last-mile logistics and delivery using smart locker solutions, has continued its success in attracting strategic investors by closing a round of investment valuing the company at €40m which includes an investment from EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
Smart Point provides smart delivery solutions to smart cities and logistics providers, by implementing critical public smart locker infrastructure, where it continues to innovate with multiple proprietary hardware and software patents. The product has been designed to reduce the carbon intensity associated with ecommerce deliveries and adapted to support local businesses allowing “kilometre zero” delivery of their products and services beyond their local shops to multiple distribution points across their cities. The key differentiator of the Smart Point locker is that it is universal, and usable by any courier, as well as local and large retailers.
In December 2022, in Madrid, EIT Urban Mobility’s programme “Challenge my City”, has funded the trial of several pilots to solve the urban mobility challenges faced by the city in improving its active mobility infrastructure. Within this programme, Smart Point successfully implemented a green last-mile delivery system with a network of pick-up lockers installed throughout the city centre.
With 5,040 lockers, Smart Point has opted for locations closer to the consumer, at an ideal distance of 50 meters in the most populated areas of Madrid. In the first two months of operations, Smart Point has registered 4,400 users, with over 3,900 shipments managed to street-level Smart Points. Its universal system allows any and all courier companies to deliver shipments into a Smart Point, next to which they can park safely, and avoid emissions associated with failed deliveries. Throughout the month of February, the top 8 courier companies delivering to Smart Points reduced their CO2 emissions by a total 3.8 tonnes, which can be considered equivalent to planting 180 trees in the space of 30 days. The system is innovative, informing the citizen of the reduced CO2 thanks to the delivery method, and supports local shops and businesses so that they can ship products with the same ease as e-commerce retailers.
Tomas Selva, CEO and Co-Founder of Smart Point said: “The team has done a fantastic job in converting an already successful smart locker solution for private buildings, which is hailed by both tenants and landlords as a key component to their ESG strategies, to a must-have for smart cities, that are determined to tackle climate change, pollution, and traffic within urban areas. We are innovating further, working with couriers to deploy purpose-built electric vehicles that should provide very interesting large-scale solutions to cities. Why not think big!”
Edward Hamilton, President, and Co-Founder of Smart Point said: “We are extremely excited EIT Urban Mobility has chosen to work with us. Our funding strategy has permitted us to have a much more robust and stable growth which is particularly valuable in a time where last-mile delivery and logistics is an increasingly critical part of our every-day lives.”
Lluis Puerto, Director at EIT Urban Mobility: ““The programme #ChallengeMyCity conducted in Madrid has tested a solution that tackles a real problem faced by many cities in Europe today: the huge increase of last-mile logistics operations and the need to decarbonise it. Following the successful pilot implementation in Madrid, EIT Urban Mobility is proud to announce that Smart Point has joined its investment portfolio, as we have decided to support its scale-up process. We will be supporting them in their impact growth and identifying possibilities for new locations to benefit from its positive impact in reducing emissions and making urban logistics operations more efficient and sustainable. Committed to our core mission, we are also looking forward to supporting them in developing an impact mindset, as they take on these new challenges.”
Identifying changing consumer trends, Smart Point, under its prior brand name Mayordomo, started its journey providing smart locker solutions in private buildings which could range from office buildings to residential complexes to student accommodation to hospitals, among others. The company now operates in 6 international markets, with the purpose of facilitating the delivery of packages and services in a single concentrated point, providing additional value to the occupiers of the building and making delivery more efficient, reducing wasted time and failed deliveries. Through its in-house design of both the hardware and software it has managed to create a best-in-class locker solution which is also easily adaptable to different requirements and innovations and is EPD certified as “climate-positive”, meaning the emissions avoided through its operation outweigh the CO2e released into the atmosphere from its manufacture.
The business has since evolved and grown, identifying the possibility to expand its philosophy to public locations, reaching a much larger audience and assisting cities in resolving some of the key problems they are facing including pollution, traffic and suffering local retail.
BACKGROUND
About Smart Point Company
Smart Point is the universal standard for sustainable delivery of products and services to Europe’s Smart Buildings and Smart Cities. Formally known as Mayordomo, the Barcelona-based scale-up is focused on the delivery of packages and services via smart lockers and sustainable logistics solutions. Smart Point is already active in 5 Spanish Cities (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Girona) and 5 further European Countries (Portugal, Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, and the UK). As of February 2023, Smart Point provides its services to 722 companies and 55 residential properties.
Smart Point has received multiple recognitions including MIPIM’s World PropTech of the Year, being selected to represent Spain at the G20 as a Smart Cities solution, PwC Global Top 5 in London, BuiltWorld Germany Award Winner and being a finalist at the Nordic PropTech awards. All of the above has led it to be identified by the European Union’s Climate-KIC as one of the 15 best Spanish technologies working against climate change.
