ARTICLE BY BRADLEY MULLIS
Simply put?
Plug and Play Tech Center provides really good solutions. No, like…really good solutions.
“We tend to find pain points, either in the industry at large or that our corporate partners have experienced,” says program manager Catherine Saunders. “We then go in and source startups that solve those solutions.
Plug and Play operates in 21 industries across North and South America, Europe and Asia. They’ve invested in cutting edge technology, and are often referred to as “Silicon Valley in a box.”
In order to understand why Plug and Play is changing the game on the east coast, we must first understand the value Savannah holds as a logistics utopia.
Catherine Saunders is the Program Manager for Plug and Play Tech Center in Savannah.
Savannah’s port is one of the busiest in the United States. The total container trade expanded by 19.9% in the 2021 calendar year, reaching 5.61 million TEUs (A TEU stands for “Twenty-foot equivalent”. It’s an exact unit of measurement derived from the dimensions of a 20 foot standard shipping container.)
Technology plays a massive role in ensuring cargo is shipped quickly and efficiently. Savannah Morning News noted this could include things like “…tracking devices, such as RFID tags, to automated delivery systems, be they aerial drones, robot cargo loaders or driverless trucks.”
Ok, now we can go back to Plug and Play. I mean, would you have read this far if I started off with “the need for a corporate innovation consultancy in the southeast Georgia region is more important than ever?” Of course not. And I wouldn’t blame you.
But Plug and Play is doing some really cool things to fuel growth in the Savannah area! They held their annual startup accelerator program which included 12 startups offering their own unique solutions to the logistics industry. Plug and Play’s recent “Focus Week” in Savannah took place from September 19th-23rd and gave these businesses the opportunity to prepare their products for showcasing, as well as receive input on their innovative problem-solving.
“A lot of our startups are tenacious in their own right,” Saunders says. “They see the value in the Southeast and the Savannah area.”
Savannah’s port is growing at an astronomical rate. Plug and Play’s answer to the rapid expansion?
“We essentially match entrepreneurs that are young and scrappy and nimble with good business solutions aimed at fighting supply chain problems specifically at the Port,” says Saunders. “It all comes together very magically.”
To learn more about Plug and Play in Savannah, read the 2020 story of their partnership with the Savannah Economic Development Authority to establish a first-mile innovation hub in Savannah.
Learn more about Plug and Play Tech Center at https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/.
