“To serve the market that is underserved” is how Max Roz, CEO and Founder of Waypoint Commodities describes the company’s mission. Established just two years ago, the company has developed its own digital procurement platform specialising in water-soluble fertilizers. The platform uses digital technology to provide smaller companies with an end-to-end purchasing experience that delivers supply chain security. New AG International’s Luke Hutson spoke with Max Roz.

What was your route to Waypoint Commodities and what was the original plan when you founded the company?

MR: I have a pretty unassuming background in relation to this because I was previously in finance, although this became a very relevant point as we started building Waypoint due to the need for structuring trade finance solutions as part of the platform. I spent about six years primarily in private credit hedge funds, most recently at Oaktree Capital (which, more familiar to this industry, owns Hartree Partners).
Originally the mandate was to digitalise commodity chemical procurement and trading. We won a highly competitive grant from Innovate UK to get started. They really loved the angle digitalising an industry that is critical to the UK but in decline.
We started operations two years ago and the fertiliser focus came in 18 months ago as our go-to-market focus.

Why the move into fertilizer and how is Waypoint Commodities different from other trading houses?

MR: The trading of commodity chemicals and fertilisers is still mostly bilateral. If I’d like to purchase X tons of something, I’m going to have to ring five different people to get different offers, then compare them. And if I am overly reliant on a certain origin or source, I’m kind of stuck if export bans, supply chain issues or even sanctions come into play – something we have seen recently play out.
So how do we digitalize any part of this industry or process to allow you to reliably purchase from as many diversified options as possible to secure your product purchases and to do it efficiently? That was the initial thought, and after about nine months of field research and prototyping, we arrived at our first answer. Is it going to be a pure marketplace? No.
It cannot be just a marketplace. Because it’s international trade, there’s a lot more in the value chain that a marketplace just cannot provide. Simply trying to match supply and demand isn’t enough – that’s mostly what brokers do. What about the logistics? operations? financing?
So, we were thinking it needs to be more of an integrated, one-stop-shop play where you solve the problem of how we provide smaller companies downstream with supply chain security by leveraging technology. So that’s the idea because as you go down the chain, you get to the companies that are buying, anything from 200 tonnes to 500 tonnes, maybe 1,000 tonnes.

How does the Waypoint platform help those smaller players?
MR: You have this issue where if you are trying to serve this segment traditionally today you still must do the same amount of paperwork, same amount of chasing to do as the big volumes. There’s an opportunity to streamline the transaction and operational part where you can serve the 200-tonne purchaser with as good of a purchasing experience as the big players. And there’s also the opportunity to aggregate all those small buyers to give them much better prices. Technology can enable that to happen in real time in a way the purely traditional approach cannot.
We are starting to get closer to what looks like a digital trading house that can operate with an efficiency unmatched by anyone who is operating still purely on pen and paper.
We position ourselves as a procurement platform, because we are the contracting party. Waypoint purchases back-to-back on your behalf with the producers, and adds value through logistics, insurance and financing.
It looks like what a trading house does, but leveraging digital tooling to get the job done with unmatched speed and efficiency. We don’t speculate on the market. We don’t take positions. We are there to primarily serve spot demand, although we now have our first contract to supply in South Africa.

Why the focus on water-soluble fertilizers?
MR: We soon realised that we can’t just attempt to service all commodity chemicals because that’s not specific enough. We need to build liquidity in specific categories. We looked at things like water treatment, construction, general chemicals, but agriculture was an interesting one because it was the one where the supply chain is really fragmented. Then we looked closer at specialties and water-soluble fertilizers, which is the fastest-growing category today.
There still in many cases too many middlemen in the system when it comes to smaller purchases and that’s where we become the waypoint between the end consumer and the factory, which is great because we can achieve lower pricing. It’s a one-stop shop. You can buy all your solubles and specialties from all origins.
I don’t want to trivialise it too much, but conceptually why can’t you click to order a product that arrives at your nominated port in September, with payment terms included?
With Waypoint we also have a dashboard that enables you to track your vessel position, whether it’s one container or break bulk. And all the documents are available in one place. They get uploaded and are stored securely – available 24/7.

How do you price your service?
MR: Contractually Waypoint sells the product to you. So we just mark up our costs to cover the transaction servicing, so a customer just sees the final price with logistics and financing included. We make it super simple. There’s no charge for using the Waypoint platform, so if you don’t get value, you don’t pay anything.

Do you service requests for conventional fertilizers, such as DAP?
MR: Right now we are we are mostly water-solubles and specialties, products like TMAP, SOP, CN, MKP etc, but we do of course also provide pricing indications and data for the major nutrients because they’re an integral part of the market, and can offer smaller quantities of DAP as well as Ammonium Sulphate, mainly designed for the containerized market. We are here to provide an alternative for an underserved sector – smaller buyers that buy smaller quantities, rather than to compete with the established players in the bulk market.

Additional questions:
What are the trends that we’re seeing in the water-soluble markets?
[Alexander Plähn who recently joined Waypoint as Global Sales Director took this question]
One of the key drivers for Waypoint is the sustainability and ESG component—water-soluble fertilizers are significantly more efficient, and we’re seeing increasing demand as a result. The market is growing at a rate of up to 12% CAGR, with a clear trend toward nutrient efficiency.
At the same time, agriculture is becoming more sophisticated, with a stronger focus on precision nutrition and enhanced fertilizers. While input costs remain a concern for farmers worldwide, the right education and approach help them recognize the added value—especially the yield increases these solutions can provide.
Another major factor is the growth of aquaculture and greenhouse production, particularly in regions like the Middle East and Africa, where greenhouse farming is expanding rapidly. In many African countries, this sector is being driven by Israeli companies and other innovators, making it an increasingly significant part of the market.

How are the freight markets looking at the moment? Is there a difference in direction for containers and bulk?
[George Perkins who is Waypoint’s Senior Global Shipping Associate took this question]
The container and bulk markets are moving in different directions right now. Container rates, especially out of China, are under pressure due to weak demand, though carriers are trying to push through rate increases in March. The market is also shifting with new shipping alliances and ongoing oversupply.
On the bulk side, things are more stable, particularly for Supramax and Ultramax vessels in regions like the US Gulf and South Atlantic. However, Capesize and Panamax markets are still struggling with low demand and oversupply.
We’re closely watching these trends to find the best and most cost-effective shipping options for fertilizers. We recently optimized our break-bulk freight options to successfully deliver 10,000 tons of Kieserite to a major Polish agricultural player through Waypoint. If the Red Sea reopens, it could shake things up by increasing capacity and pushing container rates lower, though logistical challenges remain. Meanwhile, U.S. trade policies continue to influence global shipping, adding another layer of uncertainty to both markets.

Find out more about the latest technical and market developments in water-soluble fertilizers and biological inputs at the 23rd New AG International Annual conference and exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand, 29 April – 1 May. Sign up here.