It's not often the narrative follows a federal contractor expanding into the private sector. Too often, it's a story of a company that started as a consumer startup and then turned to federal contracting to build revenue.
But Savi Technology isn't the typical startup.
Founded in 1989, Alexandria, Va.-based Savi Technology creates tools allowing companies and military personnel to track their packages and cargo in realtime. The company started purely as a government solutions option, aimed at helping the military track precious cargo at the beginning, middle and end of travel. Now, it caters to plenty of businesses that are expected to ship goods as a part of their service.
"We're an exciting startup, but we've also been around for over 25 years," said Rich Carlson, Savi Technology's CEO.
Carlson joined the Savi team in March from a seasoned career in Internet of Things software firms, but Savi has been following its consumer product IoT expansion for a couple of years now.
In 2012, Savi spun out from Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin to expand into its own business. In 2015, the company raised $15 million to expand its offerings beyond the Department of Defense and into commercial and industrial markets.
From there, Carlson said the company has been experimenting. It still offers its services as a federal contractor, creating a stable base of customers and a stable foundation from which to experiment from. And in the other part of the company, Savi operates much like a startup. The team is learning quickly, growing rapidly and working to stay ahead of the competition.
"We've been extremely transparent both internally and externally about what we're trying to do," Carlson said.
Carlson couldn't comment on how many software customers Savi has for its commercial products yet, but he did say the company is aiming to have 10 by the end of the year and it's on track to do just that.
They're catering mostly to major consumer product companies, telecommunication companies and anyone shipping high-valued goods. That makes sense — Carlson said the company is one of the only ones that allows people to track their goods in real time at a time when the FBI estimates that cargo theft costs retailers in the U.S. between $15 billion to $30 billion annually.
"It's really almost different DNA," Carlson said. "The DNA to be great at servicing the government is a commitment to process and quality and dealing with fairly large quantities. The DNA of a good software startup is to be able to move very quickly when you get data and feedback from customers and to be able to quickly translate that into your application suite."
Savi offers the typical subscription model for its customers, much like any other software-as-a-service company. Customers can opt-in at any time and opt-out if they feel the product isn't working for them.
Looking forward, they're focusing on their product and continuing to make it accessible to as many of their customers as possible. Savi's newest device, which can be placed on any container, is reusable. It's $50 for the device and wireless services, and the battery life last for up to 45 days. Carlson and his team want to drive the cost down even further and use it for all of their shipments.
The D.C. metro area is the best place for them to do it, he said.
"This is absolutely the best place for us to be because we're close to our government clients and there is a stunning amount of talent in the D.C. area," Carlson said. "We're in the perfect place."
