Forto
Forto is a Berlin-based digital supply chain platform that handles freight booking, tracking, and analytics for manufacturers and e-commerce brands. It has raised $593M and serves 2,500 customers with a team of 484 employees across 15 offices in Europe and Asia.
The growth story
Forto grew from 338 to 484 employees between 2020 and 2026, raising $593M along the way, most recently a Series D in March 2022.
About
Forto sells software that manages the end-to-end logistics process, including freight booking, document management, and shipment tracking. Its customers are primarily manufacturers and e-commerce companies seeking greater visibility and control over their supply chains.
The company has grown rapidly since its 2016 founding, raising $593M in funding as of its Series D round in March 2022. It now operates 15 offices across Europe and Asia, with its largest presence in Berlin.
Founders and leadership
Engineering is Forto's largest function, accounting for 60 of its 484 employees. The company operates with a distributed leadership model across its 15 locations, with its headquarters in Berlin.
The Forto org chart
Dr. Fabian Heilemann (Co-Founder (Chairman of the Board 2016 - 2020)) leads 59 mapped leaders with 7 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Operations 105 (-5% YoY), Engineering 91 (-7% YoY), Sales 69 (+10% YoY), Business Development 38 (+6% YoY), Finance 20 (-13% YoY), Accounting 19 (-14% YoY).
Talent flow
Forto recruits heavily from traditional logistics firms, with Kuehne+Nagel, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, and DB Schenker being its top talent sources. Its alumni often move to tech companies like Parloa, DP World, and Delivery Hero.
Most common previous employers of Forto staff: Kuehne+Nagel (19), Hellmann Worldwide Logistics (10), DB Schenker (9), DHL Global Forwarding (7), DSV - Global Transport and Logistics (7), Panalpina (6). Former Forto employees most often moved to Parloa (10), DP World (10), Delivery Hero (6), SAP (6), SupplyX (6), Google (5).
Alumni worth knowing
The Forto mafia
Forto alumni have founded 43 companies, including Supernal AI (59 staff), Flagright (57 staff), and tozero (41 staff). These startups span AI, logistics, and sustainability sectors.
45Baran Ozkan, CAMS, was Senior Product Manager until 2020Madhu G Nadig, was Full Stack Engineer until 2020Sarah Fleischer, was Lead Commercial Strategy & Partnerships until 2022James Maund, was Chief of Staff // Head of FP&A and Investor Relations until 2023Adrian Detlefs, was CoS to CEO and Director of Business Operations until 2023Jeppe Høier, was Board Member until 2021
Marc D. Ritter, was Business Development Executive until 2019
Erik Muttersbach, was Co-Founder | Board Member until 2024
Sebastian Hader, was Sales Intern | Development Intern until 2016
Matthäus W., was Sales & Growth Operations until 2019
Philipp Römer, was Vice President Of Product Management until 2022
Nikolaus Pinger, was Intern Procurement until 2018
Jan Bodenbach, was Business Development & Sales (now: Forto) until 2017
Dr. Hendrik Braun, was Advisor Financial Supply Chain Services until 2022
Constantin Lutz, was Product Development until 2020
Adrian Ziegler, was Product Development until 2020
Alexander P. Mueller, was Head of Revenue Operations until 2022
Chia-Lun Wu, was Software Engineer until 2019
Alejandro González Novo, was Senior Sales Manager until 2024
Joseph Carnarius, was Director of New Business Development until 2021
Gökalp ALTUN, MSc, was Senior Software Engineer (Consultancy by BYTEGALE TECH) until 2022
Kevin Costa, was Product, Ops & BizDev until 2019
Varun Tyagi, was Director Business and Data Analytics until 2024
Konstantin J. Wilckens, was Entrepreneur in Residence - Project Management until 2017
Francois E., was Head of Sales Development until 2021
Konstantin G., was Team Lead Office Management until 2023
Chiara Cokieng, was Senior Product Operations Manager until 2024
Sebastian Glenschek, was Director Sales until 2023
Alex Karim Howard, was Product Manager until 2018
Ines Currie, was Senior TA Manager until 2025
Konrad Kirner, was 1st Sales Engineer until 2021
Rashid Shobaki, was Engineering Manager until 2023
Damir Jakirlic, CFA, was Head of Finance until 2017
Stefan Marx, was Supply Chain Consultant until 2020
Mathias Salomon, was Head of Growth until 2019
Martin Buhl, was Intern | Global Supply Chain until 2019
Jan Bausback, was Expert Lead Growth Operations until 2025
Minhyung Lee, was Startup MBA Consultant - Supply Chain Strategy until 2019
Veronika Molcan, was Head of Sales South until 2024
Julia Kazubek, was Senior Marketing Manager until 2020
Peter M Murken, was Head of Strategic Business Development Europe until 2023
Volker Kohl, was Director Sales Steering & Processes Asia until 2023Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 53% direct, 33% search, 4% social, 1% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Forto: Microsoft Office (106), Project Management (94), Microsoft Excel (92), Communication (85), English (82), Business Development (76), JavaScript (72), Teamwork (68).
Where the team actually sits
Forto people are concentrated in Berlin, Germany (115), Hamburg, Germany (37), Berlin Metropolitan Area (27), Germany (27). 10 offices on record.
Search footprint
Forto attracts about 1,356 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $3K a month if bought through ads. It gained 187 ranking keywords and lost 160 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 3.30 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 3.20 / 5
- Senior management
- 2.90 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 3.70 / 5
Frequently asked
Forto has 484 employees as of September 2026.
Forto has raised $593M in total, most recently a Series D round in March 2022.
Forto was founded in 2016 by Dr. Fabian Heilemann.
Dr. Fabian Heilemann (Co-Founder (Chairman of the Board 2016 - 2020)) sits at the top of Forto's reporting structure, with 7 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Forto staff are Kuehne+Nagel (19 people), Hellmann Worldwide Logistics (10 people), DB Schenker (9 people).
Former Forto employees most often move to Parloa (10), DP World (10), Delivery Hero (6).
At least 43 companies have a founder who previously worked at Forto, including Supernal AI, Flagright, tozero.
Forto attracts about 1,356 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $3K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Forto staff are Microsoft Office, Project Management, Microsoft Excel, Communication, English.
Forto staff are concentrated in Berlin, Germany (115), Hamburg, Germany (37), Berlin Metropolitan Area (27).
Forto has about 105 people in Operations, down 5% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Forto has about 91 people in Engineering, down 7% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 334 current and 918 former Forto profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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