Stord Inc. this week said it has raised $90 million in Series D funding, bringing its valuation to $1.1 billion. The Atlanta-based “cloud supply chain” company also announced the closing of its acquisition of Fulfillment Works LLC, a direct-to-consumer fulfillment provider.
“The supply chain is the new competitive battleground,” said Sean Henry, co-founder and CEO of Stord. “Today's buying expectations set by Amazon and the rise of the omnichannel shopper have placed immense pressure on companies to maintain more nimble and efficient supply chains.”
“This new funding and the outstanding Fulfillment Works team bring us that much closer to our goal of being the last logistics partner businesses will ever need,” he added. “We want every company to have world-class, Prime-like supply chains.”
Stord said it provides a logistics platform for warehousing, freight, and fulfillment. The company's leadership includes former operators from Amazon, XPO, and Manhattan Associates. It claimed that hundreds of business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) use its platform to make their supply chains perform with the speed, flexibility, and ease of the cloud.
Stord sees market challenges
Today's supply chain infrastructure and software tools haven't evolved to meet the customer expectations of direct-to-consumer (DTC) commerce brands set by Amazon Prime or the complex, fast-changing needs of B2B businesses, said Stord.
Resource and capacity constraints require companies to use a patchwork of disconnected third-party logistics providers (3PLs), creating an inflexible, expensive, and opaque logistics network that slows innovation and time to market, the company said. The result is slower shipments, higher prices, and unhappy customers.
The pandemic exacerbated this problem, as e-commerce boomed, further straining supply chains, noted Stord. Global e-commerce is set to surpass $5 trillion in 2021, while B2B online commerce is expected to reach $20.9 trillion by 2027.
In addition, the warehousing market is projected to hit $627 billion by 2025, the supply chain software industry is expected to hit $37 billion by 2027, and the same-day delivery market could reach $20 billion by 2027.
Stord said it “is leveling the playing field for mid-market and enterprise companies that want to delight their customers with speedy deliveries, better prices, and great experiences.” The company said it connects brands to an end-to-end logistics infrastructure in a single, integrated platform that's available when and where companies need it.
In the past year, Stord reported record growth, including the following:
- Delivered its third consecutive year of 300%+ growth, and is on track to repeat that success in 2021
- Achieved more than $100 million in revenue
- Grown headcount from 160 staffers in 2020 to over 400 so far in 2021
- Added Body Armor, DYPER, and Thrasio to its roster of leading omnichannel brands also including Advance Auto Parts, Dollar General, Schneider Electric, and Veritiv
- Opened a state-of-the-art, 386,000-sq.-ft. facility in Atlanta that uses the latest warehouse robotics and automation technologies
Transaction details
Kleiner Perkins led Stord's Series D round, which came just six months after its $65 million Series C. Stord has raised a total of $205 million in funding to date.
Lux Capital, D1 Capital, and Palm Tree Crew also participated, as did existing investors including BOND, Dynamo Ventures, Founders Fund, Lineage Logistics, and Susa Ventures.
In addition, Michael Rubin, founder of Fanatics and GSI Commerce; Carlos Cashman, CEO of Thrasio; Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart; and Will Gaybrick, chief product officer at Stripe, joined the round.
“Trillions of dollars will move online in the next few years, and supply chains need to catch up to this transition,” said Ilya Fushman, Stord board director and partner at Kleiner Perkins, who also led Stord's Series A. “Stord is democratizing logistics for growing businesses at a time when retailers across the economy are massively increasing their investment in their supply chain.”
“Stord will become for the supply chain what Amazon Web Services is for cloud computing—an intelligent, reliable, and scalable utility that lets companies focus on growing their business without having to worry about their logistics ever again,” he said.
Fulfillment Works provides warehouses
Stord added that Fulfillment Works' decades of DTC experience and first-party warehouses on both U.S. coasts will be critical to powering its next phase of growth. North Haven, Conn.-based Fulfillment Works' entire team will join Stord.
With Fulfillment Works, Stord said it can provide more specialized, first-party capacity. When combined with its network of hundreds of warehouse partners, this will offer businesses “the most powerful supply chain network on the market,” it said.
Fulfillment Works' customers will now have access to Stord's supply chain software and end-to-end logistics. Stord said it will now use the company's facilities in Connecticut and Nevada to provide additional control and customer service in addition to Atlanta. Not only will these new warehouses improve the supply chain experience for Stord's customers, but the company said it will also share best practices across its entire partner network.
“Our goal from Day 1 was to help companies delight their customers through amazing fulfillment service,” said Amy Cooper, co-founder and CEO Fulfillment Works. “Now, with Stord, we can realize that vision. Stord has built the only end-to-end logistics network that combines the physical infrastructure with software. Together, we will bring new levels of speed, efficiency and flexibility to brands everywhere, just in time for the busy holiday period.”
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