Chazz Sims is the CEO and co-founder of Wise Systems, a logistics firm he started in 2014. The startup commenced as a class project at MIT and uses AI to schedule delivery routes and make adjustments in real-time to account for traffic, new orders and drivers’ current location, according to Forbes.
“We’re solving the old ‘cable guy scenario,’ where you know you’re going to get a package at some point, but you could wait all day,” he told Forbes. “We are on a mission to enable perfect deliveries.”
Sims and his co-founder first met in the 2014 Development Ventures class at MIT’s Media Lab. The program challenges students to come up with ideas that have the potential to impact a billion lives.
The duo took interest in machine learning and data to improve last-mile delivery. After coming up with their idea, which is Wise Systems, they got introduced to companies who help them to pilot their startup.
Since then, the company has gone on to raise $24 million in venture funding, according to Forbes. In 2021, the startup raised $50 million in Series C financing led by Tiger Global Management with participation from new and existing investors that include Section 32, Valo Ventures, Gradient Ventures, and Prologis Ventures.
Wise Systems seeks to resolve the time with which recipients can expect delivery, usually within a 20-minute window. According to MIT News, the startup’s web app provides a high level of visibility into fleet operations in real-time while its mobile app leverages drivers on the ground by enabling them to make notes on unique stops, communicate with dispatchers and confirm deliveries.
“Today Wise Systems’ platform allows for easy communication between drivers and dispatchers. Drivers can use the mobile app for navigation, collecting signatures, taking photos, scanning barcodes, and accessing notes on specific spots. Dispatchers can make sure deliveries are occurring on time and make updates to schedules in real-time. All of that information is documented to give companies a better understanding of fleet performance,” according to MIT News.
Wise Systems currently works with some of the giant courier companies in the world, including Anheuser-Busch, as well as Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. to improve last-mile delivery in Japan, and it recently opened an office in that country.
The company was also instrumental in having people’s orders delivered on time during the height of the pandemic when remote purchase and delivery became the norm.
Forbes named Sims to its 30 Under 30 list in 2021 because of Wise’s impact during the pandemic, providing necessary assistance for companies like Anheuser-Busch and Lyft to keep running in the face of economic challenges.
Sims received his B.S. in computer science at MIT, before completing his Master of Engineering at the MIT Media Lab.
