At Beam, we build startups by trying not to.
We’ll explain.
We’re a startup studio in Berlin that launches companies in logistics and supply chain–not exactly known for their excitement levels, if we’re being honest. For us though, the thrill is in the hunt: searching for tricky, non-obvious problems no one’s cracked yet, then testing them to death. If we can falsify the problem (if it turns out to be already solved, not urgent, or unsolvable) then we move on. If we can’t, we build a company.
This is the story of ecomize and an unseen world of problems just waiting to be solved…until they weren’t..
The Problem (We Thought)
Like many of our favorite sectors, e-commerce has a volatility problem. If you’re a typical Courier, Express, Parcel (CEP) provider, you’re sorting hundreds of thousands of packages a day. Your infrastructure (sortation systems, trucks, etc) is designed for peak demand. But when your demand is less than peak, you’re overstaffed and underutilized. That’s not an accusation; it’s a fact: according to industry insiders, sortation capacity sits unused up to 40% of the time.
You can’t build infrastructure just for a peak demand time like December. But you also can’t not be ready for December.
What’s the Cost of a Little Volatility?
1. Hard-to-predict volumes lead to bloated infrastructure
No one can tell the future, and CEPs are no exception. Forecasting is incredibly difficult, but the consequences of underestimating demand still outweigh those of being over-prepared. CEPs must build capacity for the “worst-case” scenario–and let it run under-utilized the rest of the time.
2. Not enough time to consolidate shipments
When parcels have to leave immediately, you can’t wait for more to batch together. So you run half-empty trucks, schedule extra shifts, and chew through labor and fuel.
3. More infrastructure means more emissions
It’s simple math. Unpredictable peaks mean more trucks, more warehouses, and more energy use. And with most middle-mile transport still diesel-powered, that means more Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions.
Why Stakeholders Care
This problem has long stopped being solely a logistics problem and now firmly bleeds into the worlds of business, climate, and reputations. Here’s a quick overview of the three main stakeholders and why they take issue with these inefficiencies:
CEPs (Carriers)
- High OPEX from underused infrastructure.
- Real estate shortages in key markets.
- Pressure to reduce emissions, but no tools to control demand patterns.
- Difficulty forecasting peaks = operational uncertainty.
Retailers
- Can’t measure or manage delivery emissions effectively.
- Lose customer trust with greenwashing or a lack of transparency.
- ESG reporting complexity around Scope 3 emissions.
End Customers
- Say they want fast delivery, but studies show 70% would accept slower delivery if emissions were reduced.
- Sustainability is influencing purchase decisions—even more so among Gen Z.
The Solution (in Theory)
The inefficiencies laid out above are easy to understand. They’re bad for business, bad for sustainability, and bad for your carbon emissions reporting. Beam’s hypothesis? Let’s give CEPs and retailers a tool to smooth out the peaks. What if we could use flexible delivery windows and smart tech to shift parcels from peak to off-peak hours?
So we built ecomize.
Ecomize was designed as a bridge between retailers and CEPs, enabling smarter collaboration on delivery scheduling.
The idea:
- At checkout, customers could opt into Eco Deliveries: slower, greener delivery in exchange for lower impact
- Retailers could pass anonymized order data to CEPs earlier, improving forecasting
- CEPs could store and re-prioritize parcels using parcel buffer storage–for example, Pouch Sorter systems–leveraging underutilized space in their facilities
With AI-driven load balancing and seamless system integration, the promise was simple: fewer half-empty trucks, more efficient sortation centers, and traceable emissions reductions for all.
Sounds pretty slick, no?
Market Validation (and a Whole Lot of Research)
We didn’t just come up with a fun startup name and call it a day. We made a fresh pot of coffee and got to work with:
– 76 expert interviews across 44 companies
– 450+ structured outreach messages
– Real parcel volume simulations with a national postal provider
– Research into CO₂ reporting standards and EU Taxonomy regulations
– Field visits and pilot interest from major retailers and CEPs
And the feedback was promising! Consumers are willing to wait longer for greener shipping (over 70% said so). Retailers can use better emissions tracking. CEPs loved the operational benefits. And the pitch even got some “I’d pilot this tomorrow” reactions.
But before we could grab the champagne from the mini-fridge, reality came crashing through the door.
The Catch
Despite the enthusiasm, we hit one major blocker that we just couldn’t engineer away: lack of infrastructure.
The ecomize model depended on parcel buffer storage solutions like pouch sorters–and even if adoption is happening, it’s still limited. Less than 8% of CEP sorters currently support the necessary live data connections. And installing new systems would require a 12–18 month process at best. More importantly, most distribution centre physcial layouts does not support new add-on hardware–there’s just not enough space in those locations.
In short, the problem is real, the solution is viable, but the time just wasn’t right. The market wasn’t ready…yet.
Why It Matters (Even If We Didn’t Build It)
If you look at this and see a failure, well, you’re wrong (and negative).
At Beam, falsification is part of the build process. Ecomize helped us deeply understand an inefficiency at the heart of parcel logistics. We spoke with dozens of decision-makers, tested actual parcel flows, and modeled emissions savings down to the CO₂ gram.
We’ll hold on to that knowledge and use it for whatever comes next.
And here’s the best part: this problem may come back around. As pouch systems scale and regulatory pressure around Scope 3 emissions tightens, the demand for this kind of flexible, collaborative parcel logistics will spike.
If that happens, Beam will be ready.
Final Takeaways
- Problem: Underutilized sortation capacity in CEPs due to e-commerce demand volatility
- Solution: Flexible delivery windows and smarter infrastructure coordination via ecomize
- Falsification result: The tech and incentives align, but current infrastructure and data systems aren’t mature enough to support it. Not a startup… yet.
Lesson: Pragmatism matters–if our solution is tied to having enough space and specific tech (and companies’ adoption of said tech), then it’s not viable long-term.
Beam doesn’t just launch startups—we pressure-test logistics problems with full-force R&D, research sprints, and real-world simulations. If it breaks, we move on. If it holds, we build.
And if you’re the kind of founder who finds joy in the hunt—who likes the messy process of figuring out what shouldn’t be built—we’ve got a desk for you.
Check out our Entrepreneur in Residence program and help us falsify our way to the next great logistics company.
