E-commerce logistics startup Locad bags $11 million Series A funding
Logistics specialist Locad has announced an $11 million Series A funding round to expand its platform that allows consumer brands in Asia-Pacific to automatically store, pack, ship and track their orders in a distributed, end-to-end supply chain as-a-service.
The round was led by Reefknot Investments, a fund anchored by Temasek and Kuehne & Nagel.
Locad’s platform syncs inventory across sales channels such as Shopify, Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop, and orchestrates end-to-end order fulfilment for B2C and B2B orders, from storage to delivery, through a network of warehouses and shipping partners.
To date, it has served over 200 brands, including Havaianas, Reckitt Benckiser, and Emma Sleep, across Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Australia.
It lays claim to shipping more than two million orders while maintaining a 99% same-day order fulfilment rate.
“Ultimately, our goal is to enable a frictionless movement of physical goods and data across the supply chain for any brand and merchant, enabling anyone to sell anywhere, on any sales channel, and deliver seamlessly,” says Locad CEO and Co-founder Constantin Robertz,
“As modern consumer brands are transforming to direct-to-consumer and omnichannel retail, we have seen that the supply chain and fulfilment infrastructure is a key barrier to scaling the business for many brands, and the bar is only rising further, due to higher customer expectations for fast delivery, and the complexity driven by an increasing number of sales channels.”
The Series A round also saw participation from returning investors Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge, Febe Ventures, Antler, as well as new backers Access Ventures, JG Summit, and WTI.
“We are excited to partner with Locad to bring holistic end-to-end e-commerce logistics solutions to brands across Asia Pacific,” says Ervin Lim, Vice President at Reefknot Investments,
“Locad’s unique operating model of localising warehouses into the cities ensures that inventory is kept close to the customers thereby enabling significant cost and time savings for both brand and consumer.”
“We believe that Locad’s logistics engine will spur greater participation in the digital economy as consumers outside of Tier-1 cities can now receive their orders 2-3x faster at a fraction of the usual cost.”
The firm will put the $11 million towards building its fulfilment network.
It is adding warehouses, partnering with transport operators, and hiring talent across the region to scale in Southeast Asia and Australia.
“Over the next five years, we expect to build the region's largest network of warehouses, enabling next-day delivery in Tier 1 to 3 cities across the region, and make this available to brands and merchants in one integrated platform,” says Robertz.
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