European eCommerce shipping startup Sendcloud closed a $177 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with sizable backing from L Catterton and participation from HPE Growth.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, with an office in Belgium, Sendcloud offers an all-in-one flexible eCommerce shipping platform that offers its 23,000 retailers a multi-carrier solution that streamlines options.
With a 133 percent increase in annual parcel volumes, Sendcloud said in a press release that it is planning to use the fresh capital to grow its global presence. The company also plans to add 250 new employees to its current workforce of 400.
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The company was founded in 2012 by Rob Van Den Heuvel, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer; Bas Smeulders, chief finance officer; and Sabi Tolou, chief commercial officer.
As part of the Series C, investors at SoftBank Investment Advisers Neil Cunha-Gomes and Monika Wilk will join Sendcloud’s board of directors alongside L Catterton’s Ido Krakowsky.
“At a time when consumers around the world want to decide where, when and how they want to receive a parcel, leading online merchants depend on Sendcloud to fuel their logistics process,” van den Heuvel said.
“To engage consumers in the long term and successfully process growing parcel volumes, a multi-carrier solution like Sendcloud is essential,” he added.
See: Salesforce, FedEx Ink Multi-Year Logistics Partnership for eCommerce Merchants
The acceleration of eCommerce triggered exponentially fast expansion in the delivery market, with anticipated growth reaching $591 billion in 2024 from $475 billion today. Most merchants rely on just one carrier for shipments, however, a recent Sendcloud study showed that 71 percent of shoppers indicated that flexibility is an important part of delivery.
“Growing parcel volume and demand for flexible delivery have increased the need for smart shipping solutions amongst online merchants,” said Yanni Pipilis, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
“Sendcloud has built a leading all-in-one shipping platform that aims to help merchants easily integrate functionalities such as checkout, shipping, tracking, returns, and analytics,” Pipilis added.
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