Week in Review: When Series C Meets Medicare Part D

The supply chain’s moving faster than ever, and we’re sprinting right alongside it. Fresh from landing our $40 million Series C round, we’ve got front-row seats to an industry that never sleeps: holiday-happy cargo thieves playing cross-country tag in December, Big Pharma wrestling with Medicare’s $2 billion curveball (ask J&J), and railroads throwing winter slowdowns out the window with record-breaking volumes. Oh, and let’s not forget the hackers who decided to crash Ahold Delhaize USA’s grocery party, reminding us all just how connected—and vulnerable—our supply chains really are. Buckle up as we break it all down!

Tive Closes $40M Series C Round: Here’s What We’re Building Next

Big news from Tive HQ! We’ve secured $40 million in Series C funding, led by WiL and Sageview Capital, with strong backing from AVP, RRE Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Fifth Wall, Supply Chain Ventures, and Sorenson Capital. With 900+ customers already trusting our real-time tracking solutions, we’re gearing up to supercharge our tech—and extend our reach.

Putting $40M to Work: Building the Supply Chain’s Next Big Thing

Our trackers already monitor millions of shipments worldwide, but we’ve got bigger plans. With this fresh funding, we’re doubling down on our tech development—enhancing our multi-sensor capabilities, beefing up our cloud platform, and expanding our 24/7 monitoring team. We’re especially excited about diving deeper into AI applications and using our ground-truth shipment data to create even smarter supply chain solutions. The 350 new customers who joined us in 2024 are just the beginning.

Building Global: Expanding Our Reach & Impact

Our investors see what we see: huge potential to scale. WiL's Andy Cohen put it perfectly: companies are waking up to affordable, real-time tracking possibilities. That’s why we’re using this funding to grow our global footprint, especially in key markets where our 2 million trackers have already proven their worth. Whether you’re shipping lifesaving pharmaceuticals or perishable foods, we’re ramping up our capabilities to serve you better. And yes, we’re keeping our commitment to sustainability strong: our Green Program is proof that growth and environmental responsibility can work hand in hand.

Thieves Don’t Take Holiday Breaks: December’s Cargo Thefts Hit New Heights

The holiday spirit warmed the hearts of cargo thieves this December, according to Overhaul’s latest Intelligence Alert on December 2024’s cargo theft activity. While most Americans wrapped presents and sang carols, criminals wrapped up their most aggressive month of 2024—with a staggering 80% of theft incidents packed into the first three weeks alone. Let’s break down the unwanted gifts they left behind.

Coast-to-Coast Crime Spree: California’s Loss is Everyone’s Problem

California’s cargo theft numbers dropped 5%, but don’t celebrate yet. Like a game of criminal whac-a-mole, thieves simply popped up elsewhere. Memphis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Dallas-Fort Worth emerged as the new hot spots for these rolling robberies. The problem hasn’t decreased—it’s just spread out like spilled coffee across America’s logistics map.

Time is NOT on Your Side: The New Rules of the Theft Game

Wednesday through Friday became the new prime time for cargo criminals, breaking November’s even-steven pattern. But weekends still kept security teams sweating, claiming more than 10% of weekly incidents each Saturday and Sunday since October. The thieves’ favorite time slot remained unchanged: the shadowy hours between 4 p.m. and midnight saw the most action. Adding insult to injury, last-mile courier incidents and deceptive pickups jumped 13%. While January might bring some relief from courier capers, the first months of 2025 promise no shortage of creative crimes—with pilferage, facility thefts, and full truckload heists leading the way.

Medicare’s Money Punch: J&J Feels $2B Sting After Pfizer’s Billion-Dollar Reality Check

Remember when your mom said medicine would make you feel better? Well, medicine makers are feeling a bit under the weather themselves. Johnson & Johnson just dropped a bombshell: it’s looking at a $2 billion sales bruise from Medicare’s new prescription rules, right on the heels of Pfizer clutching its own $1 billion ouch.

From Piggy Bank to Pain Point: Big Pharma’s New Reality

Money talks, and J&J’s wallet is screaming. The $2 billion wake-up call crashed its Q4 party like an uninvited guest. Sure, star player Darzalex keeps knocking it out of the park for multiple myeloma patients, but Medicare’s new rules are raining on the growth parade. CFO Joe Wolk spilled the tea: these changes will nibble away at sales all year long, though J&J is still eyeing modest 2-3% growth. 

The Medicare Makeover That’s Making Waves

Think of it as Medicare’s extreme home makeover: it has slapped a $2,000 ceiling on seniors’ yearly medicine costs and told drug companies to dig deeper into their pockets for discounts. While everyone’s buzzing about Medicare’s new power to haggle over drug prices, these benefit changes are the silent uppercut nobody saw coming. J&J might have flexed its muscles with $88.8 billion in sales (up 4.3%) and $14.1 billion in earnings (up 5.6%) in 2024, but Wall Street wasn’t impressed: its stock took a 3% tumble faster than you can say “prescription.” Who knew making healthcare more affordable could give pharma giants such a headache?

Rail’s Winter Defiance: Intermodal Volumes Keep Breaking Records 

The rail industry kicked off 2025 with an unexpected plot twist: instead of the usual January slowdown, intermodal volumes soared 27% above last year’s figures. While winter typically brings a lull in container movement, this season tells a different story—powered by surging Chinese exports, steady consumer spending, and strategic inventory builds ahead of tariff changes.

Numbers That Make Railroaders Dance

The railroads’ performance sheet reads like a greatest hits album. CPKC leads the charge with a jaw-dropping 38% year-over-year growth in week three of 2025. Union Pacific isn’t far behind, posting a 36% jump, while Canadian National rounds out the top three with a solid 31% increase. BNSF (29%), CSX (28%), and Norfolk Southern (20%) complete the industry’s impressive intermodal showing.

Lean & Mean: The Workforce Balancing Act

The Big Four U.S. railroads pulled off a remarkable feat, managing record volumes while keeping their workforce lean. Head count dropped just 2% from last year, with minimal changes at CSX (-0.3%), BNSF (-0.7%), Norfolk Southern (+0.3%), and Union Pacific (+0.1%). Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena credits smarter operations for squeezing more productivity from each worker, a strategy that’s paying off across multiple fronts: Grain shipments surged 15%, petroleum products climbed 10%, and chemical volumes rose 7%. The big question looming over the industry: will we see any winter slowdown at all, or has this peak season decided to stick around for an extended encore?

Digital Grocery Heist: When Hackers Derail Your Food Supply

Your local supermarket might look fully stocked today, but a single cyberattack could empty those shelves faster than a holiday shopping rush. We learned this lesson the hard way when Ahold Delhaize USA fell victim to hackers in November, leaving 2,000+ stores scrambling. Credit card systems crashed, prescriptions stalled, and the attack showed how vulnerable our food supply chain really is.

Breaking the Digital Food Chain: One Hack at a Time

Modern farming runs on technology: smart harvesting equipment to temperature-monitoring systems keep food safe. The FBI warns that ransomware attacks, foreign malware, and data theft pose growing threats to farms, ranches, and food processors. Take the 2021 Schreiber Foods attack—one digital breach halted milk deliveries for five days and came with a $2.5 million ransom demand. That same year, when hackers hit meat-packing company JBS Foods, 47 Australian locations and nine U.S. facilities shut down for five days—driving up meat prices nationwide.

Supermarket Surveillance: Why Hackers Have Their Eyes on Your Dinner

Grocery stores make perfect targets because they rely heavily on third-party vendors and complex digital systems. When cybercriminals strike a single transportation company or warehouse, the ripple effects can leave entire regions without food supplies. The recent Hannaford and Food Lion attacks proved this point—weeks after the initial breach, New England shoppers still faced empty shelves and disrupted food deliveries. Congress has taken notice, with the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act now moving through both houses to strengthen defenses across the agriculture and food sectors.

The Supply Chain’s New Year’s Resolution? Don’t Get Caught Off Guard.

With $40 million in fresh Series C funding and chaos unfolding in real time, we’re watching it all: pharma giants swerving Medicare curveballs, railroads defying winter norms, and hackers targeting your local grocery store. But through it all, one truth shines clear time after time: real-time shipment visibility can make all the difference in strengthening your supply chain—from every angle. 

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So arm yourself with innovation and embrace the future of logistics—get started with Tive today.

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