The Spanish scaleup focused on improving logistics and last mile delivery, SmartPointhas closed a round of financing that values the company at 40 million euros and 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, through the implementation of critical public infrastructures of smart lockers, in which it continues to innovate with multiple proprietary hardware and software patents. The product has been designed to reduce emissions associated with e-commerce deliveries and adapted to support local businesses allowing the “zero kilometer” delivery of their products and services beyond their local stores to multiple distribution points in the city. The key differentiator of the Smart Point locker is that it is universal, and usable by any courier, as well as by small businesses.
In December 2022, in Madrid, the EIT Urban Mobility “Challenge my City” program financed the testing of several pilots to solve urban mobility challenges which the city faces in improving its active mobility infrastructure. The Environment Delegate Borja Carabante, and the General Director of Planning and Mobility Infrastructures Lola Ortiz Sánchez of the Madrid City Council inaugurated the latest Smart Point project with which an ecological last-mile delivery system has been successfully implemented with a network of collection ticket offices installed throughout the center of the city.
An innovative system that helps reduce CO2 emissions
With a total of 5,040 ticket offices available, 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 operation, the new system in Madrid has registered 4,400 users, with more than 3,900 shipments managed to Smart Points at street level. Its universal system allows each and every courier company to deliver shipments to a Smart Point, next to which they can park in designated areas, and avoid emissions associated with failed deliveries.
Throughout the month of February, the eight main courier companies that made their deliveries at smart points reduced their CO2 emissions by a total of 3.8 tons, which can be considered equivalent to planting 180 trees in central Madrid. The system is innovative, since it informs the citizen of the reduction of CO2 thanks to the delivery method, and supports local businesses so that they can send products with the same ease as stores with electronic commerce.
Tom JungleCEO and co-founder of Smart Point explains, “The team has done a fantastic job in turning a highly successful smart locker solution for buildings across Europe into a must-have now for smart cities, determined to tackle climate change, pollution and traffic in urban areas. We are innovating further, collaborating with courier companies to deploy purpose-built electric vehicles that can offer fewer vehicle and more efficient solutions for cities.”
Edward Hamilton, president and co-founder of Smart Point adds, “we are very happy that EIT Urban Mobility has chosen to work with us. Our financing strategy has allowed us to have much more robust and stable growth, which is invaluable at a time when last-mile delivery and logistics is an increasingly important part of our daily lives.”
