Logistics management firm Locad raises $11 million in Series-A funding

Logistics management company Locad said it has raised $11 million in a Series-A funding round led by Reefknot Investments, a fund anchored by Temasek and logistics powerhouse Kuehne & Nagel.

The funding round also saw participation from returning investors Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge, Febe Ventures, Antler, as well as new investors Access Ventures, JG Summit, and WTI.

Locad said in a statement the funds raised will be used to expand its supply chain platform that allows consumer brands in Thailand and across Asia-Pacific to automatically store, pack, ship and track orders in a distributed and end-to-end supply chain as-a-service.

“Tech and data are at the heart of what we’re building here at Locad. To realise this, we’re doubling down on our hiring efforts in key locations such as Bangalore where we have a strong team of developers and marketers helping grow the product and business end-to-end,” said Locad CTO and co-founder Shrey Jain.

Locad’s platform syncs inventory across sales channels and orchestrates end-to-end order fulfillment for B2C and B2B orders, from storage to delivery, through a network of warehouses and shipping partners. To date, Locad has served over 200 brands across Singapore, where they’re headquartered, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Australia, and shipped more than 2 million transactions.

“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,” said Ervin Lim, vice president of Reefknot Investments.

Locad’s logistics engine works with brands such as Levi’s, Reckitt Benckiser, and Emma Sleep in the region.

Committed to democratising the back-end supply chain of e-commerce, Locad will use its $11 million Series-A funding towards building the region’s largest fulfillment network. The company is adding warehouses, partnering with transport operators, and hiring talent for their Bangalore office.