Auctane expands end to end delivery experiences portfolio through Return Rabbit acquisition
Auctane, the delivery experience company that operates brands such as Metapack, ShipStation, Packlink, and ShipEngine, ShippingEasy, ShipWorks, and Endicia, has acquired the assets of Return Rabbit, a returns management platform that launched in 2021.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“In today’s e-commerce landscape, virtually every merchant has to grapple with how to handle customer returns, and the stakes are high,” says Albert Ko, Chief Executive Officer at Auctane, which is backed by investors Thoma Bravo.
“The analytics and exchange focused approach that Return Rabbit brings to the conversation empowers merchants to make smart decisions about this critical part of the delivery experience.”
Lena Song, Vice President of Operations at Honeylove, a Return Rabbit customer, says: “We see returns as a chance to get to know our customers. If the product they purchased isn’t right for them, we want to know why, and we want to give them suggestions for something that might work better.”
“With Return Rabbit, those efforts yielded millions in retained revenue last year and a 112% increase in upsells for our business.”
"When we started the company, the aim was not just to streamline the returns process for retailers but also to convert the entire process into a positive experience for shoppers, with a relentless focus on increasing revenue retention through increased exchanges and store credits,” says Gagandeep Singh Suri, founder and Chief Executive Officer at Return Rabbit.
“By joining Auctane, we will gain access to a broader set of global resources and capabilities to apply our expertise and solutions to a global client base.”
Albert Ko
Ko took on the role of CEO at Auctane this month.
He succeeded Nathan Jones and joined the company’s Board of Directors.
Ko was previously at Early Warning Services (EWS), best known for the Zelle payments network, where he also served as CEO.
“Al has deep expertise in bringing organisations together to achieve large scale growth and transformational change. His proven track record of empowering employees around a shared vision will serve Auctane well as we accelerate momentum across our portfolio of brands,” says Gene Austin, Chairman of Auctane’s Board of Directors.
“I look forward to working alongside Al as he brings this expertise to bear at Auctane.”
“With extensive experience delivering product innovation and operational excellence at large scale organisations, Al will help us usher in a new stage of growth,” says Holden Spaht, a Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo, which acquired Auctane in October 2021.
“Under his leadership, we will continue to drive innovation in the expanding e-commerce shipping market, where increasing expectations around shipping speed, complexity and globalisation present enormous opportunity.”
Prior to his time at EWS, Ko spent more than 13 years at Intuit, where he served in various executive leadership roles, including Chief Transformation Officer, General Manager of Mint, and Head of Product for QuickBooks, where he was instrumental in its global expansion.
He says: “Auctane has been on the forefront of innovation in shipping since its inception. I look forward to joining a team of passionate innovators dedicated to bringing solutions to merchants around the world to help grow their businesses.”
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