Another startup exemplifies the flourishing tech ecosystem being nurtured in Ann Arbor.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Nov. 7, 2019) – IndustryStar Solutions, an on-demand supply chain services and software technology startup that reduces the cost, time, and risk of new product launches, recently “graduated” from the Ann Arbor SPARK Central Innovation Center. After years of steady success, the two-time FastTrack Awardee has outgrown the incubator’s capacity and has moved to an expanded office space located south of downtown Ann Arbor.
“Ever since the IndustryStar Solutions co-founders graduated from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, they have been part of the SPARK family,” commented Bill Mayer, vice president of entrepreneurial services at Ann Arbor SPARK. “Helping them along the way as they refined their Supply Chain as a Service product into their now three core offerings of Managed Services, Services and Software has been very rewarding. The pace of their success has also been impressive. Not only have they onboarded and continue to support a number of early adopter startups across many sectors such as mobility and consumer products, but they also count large established companies like Honda, Thermo Fisher, and others as clients. And now, we’re very happy to see them outgrow the incubator and move into their own offices in Ann Arbor.”
William Crane, Founder and CEO of IndustryStar Solutions, expressed his appreciation of the company’s history with SPARK. “From our very first meeting, SPARK has been a valuable partner in numerous stages of growth for us. Our office expansion is the culmination of years of supportive collaboration, and we’re absolutely thrilled about this company milestone,” explained Crane.
IndustryStar Solutions’ end-to-end supply chain technology-enabled service offerings, spanning procurement, supplier quality, production control, and logistics required some unique office needs that SPARK aided in identifying locally for the team. “Our new office includes on-site warehousing and order fulfillment capabilities, enabling us to better partner with our customers in turning all-new product ideas into production products and supporting their ongoing production and delivery,” Crane added. “The new location is sure to help accelerate us into our next stage of growth. We have big dreams and this is just the beginning.”
Matthew Forster, IndustryStar’s Co-Founder and Vice President of Operations, shared his thoughts on the move. “SPARK really shined throughout this process. We were fairly specific about the characteristics we wanted for our next space and SPARK’s director of research, Alex West, was very thorough and resourceful as she toured nearly a dozen potential locations with us.” He continued, “We’re a technology-enabled services company, and given the current growth of our cloud-based software offerings, we were after a ‘high-tech friendly’ and flexible environment with both collaborative areas for innovation and quiet areas for focused execution. We’re very pleased with both the process and the outcome.”
With former top LLamasoft sales executive Jason Brewer newly on board as Vice President of Sales, the future of the company’s continued growth is bright. “I have thoroughly enjoyed diving in to become part of such an outstanding team focused on outlining upfront and then delivering quantitative results in the form of cost, time and risk savings for customers,” commented Brewer.
One of the company’s growth focus areas in the coming quarters is expanding their strategic partner network—often complementary services and software firms—to help further increase their value add to both customers and strategic partners. Brewer’s hiring is another nod to the continued maturity and expansion of Ann Arbor’s technology ecosystem of experienced professionals that have led and scaled multiple local companies. “We have many exciting workshops and networking events in process with strategic partners that we will be announcing in the days ahead. Our vision is to fully leverage our new world-class creative space as a resource for the community to do our small part to help accelerate new product innovation and launches,” added Brewer.
About IndustryStar Solutions
Founded in 2013, IndustryStar Solutions has been in the business of delivering end-to-end global supply chain solutions that enable companies to pursue innovative and impactful ideas, free from the weight of ramp-ups and operational costs. With a robust collection of experiences and expertise, IndustryStar’s Managed Services team accelerates product time to market while maintaining the flexibility and scalability that are essential during the ups and downs of a product lifecycle.
Ann Arbor SPARK has been an avid advocate of the company from its inception. Since joining the incubator network at the SPARK Central Innovation Center in 2014, IndustryStar has found support from various resources, including grants, trainings, and opportunities such as Tech Trek and the Eastern Michigan Digital Engagement Clinic summer internship programs that have served to strengthen and promote the company’s growth. Testament to IndustryStar’s successes is the recognition of William Crane as a finalist in the Sourcing Industry Group (SIG) 2019 Future of Sourcing Awards Sourcing Star category—a title given to the “industry titans” making a lasting impact on the industry.
About Ann Arbor SPARK
Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-profit organization, is advancing the region by encouraging and supporting business acceleration, attraction and retention. The organization identifies and meets the needs of business at every stage, from start-ups to large organizations. Ann Arbor SPARK collaborates with business, academic, government, and community investor partners to achieve its mission. SPARK Entrepreneurial Services are financially supported by the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti SmartZone Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) which receives funds from the State of Michigan designated for local company and product development. For more information, please call (734) 761-9317 or visit www.AnnArborUSA.org.
