Locad raises $11 million in Series-A funding

A fund anchored by Temasek and logistics giant Kuehne & Nagel, Reefknot Investments, led a Series- A funding round that saw the logistics management business Locad raise $11 million. The funding round also witnessed participation from returning investors Sequoia India and Southeast Asia's Surge, Febe Ventures, and Antler, and new investors Access Ventures, JG Summit, and WTI. In a statement, Locad said that the money raised would be put to use expanding its supply chain platform, which enables consumer brands in Thailand and the rest of Asia-Pacific to autonomously 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. Through a network of warehouses and shipping partners, the Locad platform orchestrates end-to-end order fulfilment for B2C and B2B orders, from storage through delivery. In total, Locad has shipped more than 2 million transactions while serving over 200 businesses in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Australia.

“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.