Logistics and supply chain management integrator Locad has secured $4.9 million in seed round funding from venture capital firms led by Sequoia Capital.
“Locad is set to strengthen the logistics infrastructures in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia and provide businesses with top-of-class service in e-commerce fulfillment,” CEO and co-founder Constantin Robertz said.
“E-commerce and on-demand delivery services are accelerating in the Philippines. Many vendors, producers, and sellers are migrating to digital channels but are still hampered with the logistics of bringing products to their customers. They also lack infrastructure, resources, and experience in managing both online services and their own supply chain,” he added.
Founded in Manila and Singapore in October 2020, Locad has strengthened its foothold in the logistics industry with offices in Australia, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, and Singapore.
While other companies address first and last-mile problems in delivery, very few provide the fully integrated solution that Locad has pioneered.
Business customers of Locad can integrate with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Lazada, Shopee, and Zalora, as well as manage all their orders and stock from a single virtual pool across multiple sales channels, with real-time visibility of sales, orders, inventory, and service levels.
“Since partnering with Locad, our business could focus less on the fulfillment process and more on other aspects like product and marketing. As a result, there is an increase in our sales and conversion rate right away,” said Janine Munez, Director of IT Operations of Davao-based cosmetics brand KJM Cosmetics.
Locad COO and co-founder Jannis Dargel said the company is now serving more than 30 brands in the country, ranging from small businesses to some of the largest retailers that deliver tens of thousands of items each month.
“We’re excited to be providing logistics infrastructures to e-commerce businesses of any size and we will continue to grow our presence across the region,” Dargel said.
