This month we had 10 questions for Helena Most, founder and CEO of Resourcly. With its AI-based shared inventory approach, Resourcly helps manufacturers turn idle inventory into profit. Helena shares her thoughts on circularity in manufacturing and explains their way of thinking about inventory management and capital efficiency.
Company Name: Resourcly
No. of Employees: 4
Headquarters: Mannheim
Funding (How much money was invested into Resourcly to date): -
Operating Markets (Countries in which you do business): Europe
Founders: Helena Most, Ian Draxten
Website: https://www.resourcly.earth/
E-Mail Contact: welcome@resourcly.earth
Please give us a brief company description of Resourcly.
Resourcly turns idle inventory into profit. With our AI-based Shared Inventory, we help manufacturers improve working capital, ensure cost-effective, low-carbon materials sourcing, and increase uptime by leveraging product data and AI. One manufacturer's idle inventory is another's resource. By connecting manufacturers and value chain partners with our transformative technology, we reduce emissions and improve resource efficiency.
Tell us a bit about the founding story of Resourcly. When and how was Resourcly born?
My co-founder Ian and I combine over 15 years of industry experience from leading machinery manufacturers. We started a company before, working with customers like Bosch Rexroth, Carl Zeiss and Wago. The idea behind Resourcly was born in times of crisis. Disrupted supply chains and manufacturing component shortages threatened sales and manufacturing processes. At the same time, we observed the massive amount of industrial inventory ($2.5 trillion) tied up in capital worldwide, ultimately being thrown away. Talking to industry, we saw how the power of knowledge and networks could strengthen critical supply chain infrastructure and save manufacturers from high capital cost. One manufacturer's idle inventory soon became another's resource. In an era where sustainability is not only preferred but required, there is an urgent need for a solution that seamlessly combines sustainability with profitability. This is what we stand for with Resourcly.
Who are the people behind Resourcly? Tell us about the founders and initiators of Resourcly and what motivates them.
My entire career has been about the reuse of manufacturing components. I studied business informatics in Karlsruhe, Germany, and started my career as an IT systems developer implementing solutions for after-sales service. The focus was on repair, refurbishment and remanufacturing. At that time, no one was talking about the circular economy. I soon became an IT project manager, and then responsible for the global implementation and rollout of the service process focused on the reuse of manufacturing components and complex products. Ian and I met during our undergraduate studies. His background as a financial analyst and controller gave him insight into the economics of inventory management and how much idle inventory was being wasted. It soon became clear that there was untapped potential in reusing and repurposing idle inventory, an opportunity to drive circularity in business. Shortly after my MBA, Ian and I started our first company. I remember him saying that in the time we live in, we can only create business models that are sustainable and regenerative. With my background in remanufacturing and a desire to make an impact to transform traditional manufacturing, I knew I wanted to do everything I could with Resourcly.
Who are typical customers for Resourcly (ICP)? Which problems do you solve for them, and what’s usually their most significant pain point?
Industrial machinery manufacturers, millions tied up in capital, uncertainty due to lack of parts leading to stillstand.
How would you describe the core competence / USP of Resourcly with regards to your customers?
Our experienced team of manufacturing leaders and experienced technology enthusiasts is unique. The fact that we improve manufacturers' profitability from day one with a circular approach is also something not many companies can prove today.
How do you usually integrate your solution into your customers' existing operations and IT infrastructure? What is needed from their side?
Currently, we have the possibility to upload our customers idle inventory and demand on our platform as an automated self-service. We turn data from multiple data sources into one. With resourcly we transform unstructured and structured data, necessary to make suggestions which components and complex products can be shared and reused.
Relying on a decentralized, shared inventory for critical parts requires a lot of trust from your customers towards Resourcly but also towards other participants in the network. How do you build that trust in Resourcly and how do you ensure that the network participants trust each other?
With our trusted networks and customized privacy layers, we make it possible for our customers to exchange inventory and data securely.
Coming back to your vision of circular supply chains: are sustainability and circularity key motivators for your customers or positive side effects for your customers and - if the latter is true - do you expect that to change in the future?
Economic drivers are still the key motivator. If you can increase revenue, improve profitability or reduce costs with your business model you have a foot in the door. However, being able to proof, that you can combine circularity with the economic goals, that’s not only the cherry on top but competitive advantage.
Talking about circularity: today, you’re taking the first steps towards waste prevention and recovering working capital bound in idle inventory. What’s your vision for the future in terms of closing the loop and enabling real circularity? Will that be possible with Resourcly?
With Resourcly, we are not only enabling manufacturers to resell, reuse and eliminate idle inventory, we are transforming the way value is created in manufacturing. We transform linear manufacturing and planning processes into connected, circular supply chains with the intelligence to know what kind of inventory item can be someone else's resource. With shared inventory and its data, we can reduce material consumption, eliminate lean waste, and redesign with circular components. Resourcly is the end-to-end solution for the circular manufacturing of the future.
What’s the ultimate vision behind Resourcly and what are the next steps on your journey: both product wise and as a company?
We are on our way to building not only the #1 Ai-based shared inventory for circular manufacturing, but a holistic one-stop-shop for manufacturers and their value chain partners to transform their linear processes into a connected, circular economy. We are building a team that embraces our values and shares our mission to building a global leader, transforming the industry and creating real impact.
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