An insight into how RTI Blockchain improves cargo carrier management

Milou Klooster and Yves du Bois are co-founders of RTI Blockchain | Image credit: Techleap.nl

Blockchain is arguably one of the most powerful technologies introduced in the last decade, but it is usually only mentioned as an aside in discussions about cryptocurrencies. As cryptocurrencies lost their charm, blockchain technology stood the test of time. We are now increasingly seeing blockchain technology, or decentralization, become a facet of every industry.

Can it be used to remove supply chain weaknesses and manage cargo carriers? Dutch startup RTI Blockchain is transforming blockchain into the world’s leading solution for managing cargo carriers.

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RTI means return transport goods

RTI Blockchain’s journey is not the most unusual in the startup world, but it is a profound example of how problem solving leads to the start of important companies. Milou Klooster, one of the founders of RTI Blockchain, got the idea for her startup while working as a fifth-generation flight attendant in her family-owned business that sells smoked fish to retail and foodservice companies.

In this industry, the customer (retailer) decides what type of box or pallet you use to deliver your goods. And on the other hand, if you don’t have your suppliers under control, a mess of return packaging also flows towards you, which also requires proper registration if you don’t want to end up in endless discussions and lose money. .

Often this is reusable packaging or returnable transport items (RTI) that are not owned by the manufacturer but by the contractor [pooler] own and lease the assets. “Often this is a short- or long-term contract combined with a travel fee,” she says.

The challenge, Klooster explains, is that poolers have their own rules, regulations and online portals where you have to declare your moves. Then there are also open pool assets such as Euro pallet, where you have to set your own agreements with supply chain partners. For a family business like Kloosters, the immediate challenge is to keep track of these returnable assets in an overview with practical insight.

So Klooster went to work. She made an animated video explaining what the RTI Blockchain will be. While building her team, she read a blog post by Yves du Bois, a serial entrepreneur with 15 years of experience in cargo carrier handling.

“When Milou told me about RTI Blockchain I was immediately enthusiastic and it was clearly a logical step in my career,” says Du Bois.

They connected under the “validation lab” program of YES!Delft and began to explore how blockchain techniques could support problem solving in the cargo carrier market. With Blocklab (100 percent owned by the Port of Rotterdam), they found that the technique would actually be a perfect fit for cargo carrier handling.

The story of how the RTI Blockchain came to be is a perfect example of how the solutions to most problems are right in front of us, but require the attention of a leader like Milou Klooster and an entrepreneur like Yves du Bois to bring them to life.

Proof of Concept

When they identified blockchain as suitable for load carrier management, they started working on their first proof of concept. “While developing the proof of concept, we made ourselves investor-ready,” says Klooster. “We pitched several times to former founders and current investors we knew. One of them got really excited and we asked him and his companion to invest in RTI Blockchain and they did.”

Klooster, Du Bois and the team at RTI Blockchain are currently preparing for the Series A round. However, this proof of concept did not come without its fair share of obstacles. The most obvious for Klooster is the difficult decision to quit the family business and start his own.

On the professional front, she highlights the challenge of finding organizations that are first movers. “If they [early adopters] becoming ambassadors, they will motivate and support their supply chain to join the RTI Blockchain as well. As with any disruptive innovation, someone has to be the early adopter. The next challenge is to generate an automatic sales system so that anyone can sell the RTI Blockchain to every company worldwide using any type of cargo carrier, she says.

Like Klooster, Du Bois also had to make the hard decision to leave his consulting business to work with RTI Blockchain. “Obviously, there’s this never-ending struggle in balancing business and private life. But to get things done, you need a kind of focus and dedication to bring it to the next level,” he says.

Techleap.nl’s Rise learns with peers

RTI Blockchain is one of the nine Dutch scaleups joining batch #8 of Techleap.nl’s Rise program this year. Klooster says they joined this program to “learn from each other in a trusted environment.”

As a serious tech player, RTI Blockchain does not shy away from various growth challenges faced by scale-up. To overcome these obstacles, Techleap.nl has a number of experienced entrepreneurs engaged in the community, as well as many scaling experts to help by sharing their knowledge.

“Since we are always open and eager to learn more every day, the growth program fits our growth path on a personal and professional level,” adds Klooster.

Du Bois says the Rise program is a commercial tailwind for RTI Blockchain. With the scale-up about to raise the Series A round, the Rise program couldn’t come at a better time. “[The Rise programme] ensures some proof points in our journey as a company, says Du Bois.

He compares the Rise program to a guided power tour through one’s own organization and says discussing the challenges in breakouts worked perfectly for him. For Du Bois, the way Techleap.nl plans meetings and the results of the meetings in the organization was a revelation and helped to distinguish between the challenges. He says the Rise program is a perfect situation to learn and define your action or limitation.

“As a young company, we sometimes hit roadblocks while connecting with the right people. We now get in touch with relevant people more easily via or because of [Techleap.nl’s] Rise program”, sums up Du Bois.

RTI administration done right with blockchain

At the heart of the RTI Blockchain is the knowledge that RTI governance is not easy and that there is a technology available that can simplify the lives of all supply chain companies. Now that RTI Blockchain has done so with its proof of concept, it wants to set the industry standard in the grocery sector, focusing mainly on fast-moving consumer goods.

Klooster says they are also focusing on quickly adopting other industries. “Our goal is to reach 10 trillion movements across different industries by 2025. By becoming the industry standard, we will be able to facilitate on-chain payment of cargo carriers and have fully replaced electronic data exchange using our APIs regarding cargo carriers,” adds Klooster.

In addition to this, Yves also envisions the RTI Blockchain to become an example for the college. It is important to say that a large part of this success can also be attributed to how carefully the founders have been with the team building exercise.

“We let the team grow based on our warm contacts and can therefore ensure there is a culture fit in the team. In terms of scaling up, we also hired an experienced CTO. By doing this, we can build our own hybrid (development) team , says Du Bois.

In the end, it all comes down to focus, and Klooster claims that any entrepreneur starting their own business should have “full focus on their business” and always be “open to learning more and getting new information every day.”