Forto Expands into Italian Market with Office in Milan

Forto, a leading provider of digitized freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, announced its expansion into the Italian market with the opening of a commercial office in Milan, Italy.  Marking the next step in Forto’s European market expansion, a commercial base in Italy further strengthens the company’s position to support Mediterranean trade. 

Italy’s location at the Mediterranean Sea places it as a strategic gateway for trade between Europe and other parts of the world, with multiple ports of entry including Trieste, Genova, and Livorno. At the heart of Italian trade, Milan Malpensa airport is amongst the top airports for cargo shipments in Europe(1).

Cristian Casella has been appointed Director Italy.  In this role, Casella will lead the teams that will include local customer account management and logistics operations supported by Forto’s international network of logistics, operational, and technical teams around the world.  

Casella brings multiple years of experience in delivery of global logistics services.  He most recently was Milan Branch Manager at Mondiale VGL, where he supervised regional commercial operations. With Mondiale, he was previously Trade Lane Manager responsible for China-Europe.  Before joining Mondiale VGL, Cristian spent 10 years working in Asia,  building up Air and Sea logistics businesses with a focus on the Asia to Europe trade lane. He held Group General Manager and General Manager positions for WL Logistics Limited, based in Bangkok and Shanghai managing a team of 120+ people, and Country and Branch Manager positions for MAIMEX Far East.

Casella sees the digitization of supply chains as the future and a key success factor for the logistics industry. „Forto delivers a new approach to logistics and the Italian market is ready for change,“ explained Casella. „Customers need transparency and flexibility. Forto has the vision, the agility and the know-how to change the landscape of logistic offerings for customers in Italy.  I look forward to being part of the team bringing this vision to the market.“

„Milan and Italy are driving forces  in European and global trade,“ commented Michael Wax, Co-Founder and CEO of Forto. „With a strategic location and a leader with Cristian’s knowledge and background, we are positioned to be the ideal partner for customers as they look for solutions to support their supply chain activities.  We are excited to have him on board.“

Forto is using its digital platform to simplify interactions, remove process friction, and increase visibility around the supply chain — in turn empowering customers to make smarter commercial decisions.  It strives to make the movement of goods around the globe simpler and more certain, while simultaneously helping the logistics industry become more sustainable.  It aims to make climate action easy for customers, which starts with visibility on emissions and information that  empowers them to make impactful data-based decisions. The goal is for sustainable choices to become the default. 

Since its founding, Forto has grown from a small team in Berlin to a worldwide presence with offices across Germany and Asia including Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 2021, the company expanded its operations with offices in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Madrid, Rotterdam, and Ho Chi Minh City. The expansion into the Italian market follows  its recently announced expansion into Warsaw, Poland. 

Earlier this year, the company announced a new Series D investment of $250 Million led by Disruptive and including participation from previous investors including Softbank Vision Fund 2, G Squared, Northzone, Unbound, and A.P. Moeller Holding. 

About Forto

Forto advances the vision to deliver a highly transparent, frictionless, and sustainable digital supply chain. Forto platform technologies address the entire process stream, from offer, booking, document administration, tracking and tracing to pro-active exemption processing and analysis, supporting our customers with greater visibility, insight, and control. Leading manufacturers and e-commerce brands are among the 2.500 customers using Forto’s digitally-focused offerings as part of their supply chain delivery. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, the company currently has more than 800 employees with 18 locations across Europe and Asia including offices in Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Ho Chi Minh City, Madrid, Rotterdam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. For more information, please visit www.forto.com.

1) https://www.statista.com/statistics/434381/airfreight-volumes-in-europe-by-airport/