Seven Senders, a Berlin-based logistics startup for e-commerce, just closed a Series A financing round led by btov Partners. Together with René Köhler, founder of Internetstores, and other existing investors, the venture capitalist invests a combined €6.5 million in the startup which was founded in 2015. The fresh capital will allow the company to further develop its software-solution as well as to facilitate geographic expansion beyond Germany.
Internationalization may represent both an enormous potential and challenge to aspiring online shops. Increasing customer expectations for delivery time and associated costs have led to a critical level of delivery complexity, especially in the field of cross-border delivery. This is where Seven Senders comes in. Through using its virtual carrier network, Seven Senders connects online shops with more than 40 European carriers, facilitating carrier selection tailored to the requested service level at lowest cost. To achieve this, Seven Senders bundles parcel deliveries of multiple online shops, subsequently feeding them into existing local carrier networks. The inherent need of such shipping solutions is not only evidenced by a significant number of notable customers such as Lesara, Juniqe, Mister Spex or Westwing, but also by a 30% month over month top line growth over the last 15 months.
Seven Senders Co-founder Dr. Johannes Plehn commented: “Every country in Europe already has several excellent last mile carriers to provide customers of online shops an ideal shipping experience. Only the integration of these carriers remains a big challenge for online shops today. Seven Senders connects local carriers with European online shops and guarantees maximum control over all packages with process transparency in real time using our software solutions. We are pleased about the trust btov Partners has placed in us, which will enable us to rapidly expand our customer portfolios and secure the necessary resources to further develop our products and services.”
Florian Schweitzer from btov Partners adds: “Johannes Plehn and Thomas Hagemann portray the stereotype of extremely gifted founders and have continuously excelled on all fronts. It is a privilege to work with them and to be part of this growth story. The fact that we have raised a Series A in the sum of 6.5 million euros with our Digital Tech Fund and first-class business angels underlines the aforementioned.”
Seven Senders currently sends almost half a million parcels to e-commerce customers all over Europe every month. Each connected online retailer has access to a software solution that analyses delivery times, delivery and return rates in real time, and ensures seamless tracking from pick-up to delivery. In addition to lower shipping costs and shorter delivery times, online merchants benefit from the high level of transparency in parcel shipping.
Countries currently being shipped to include Austria, Switzerland, France, the Benelux countries, Great Britain, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and additional countries in Eastern Europe. In the coming months, the Scandinavian countries and various courier networks in urban regions will be added.
