Logistics tech platform Parcelly has today announced a new funding round of about €6 million, fuelling its plans to grow across Europe and the US. The round was led by Scania Growth Capital.
Parcelly is on a mission to revolutionise the world of urban logistics, resolving first and last-mile challenges by activating excess space in real estate for ecommerce and logistics through its mobile app technology. Founded in London in 2014 by Sebastian Steinhauser, the company has been experiencing impressive growth with its Pick-Up and Drop-Off (PUDO) solution.
Sebastian Steinhauser, CEO and Founder of Parcelly said: “I formulated the idea for Parcelly because I was dissatisfied with the last-mile delivery experience when placing an order online and it became my mission to change that. What started as a B2C centric consumer app back in 2014 has evolved into the highly scalable B2B technology platform Parcelly is today. We make effective use of available space to offer the broad range of services online retailers and carriers need to meet consumer expectations, efficiency and sustainability goals.”
The company integrates retailers and carries across all industries and of all sizes to a highly scalable and internationally growing platform of ‘logistics hubs’. The proprietary app allows local businesses to activate underused storage space for ecommerce. As a result, Parcelly is powering a new reality of retail – one that bridges the gap between online and offline worlds by converting physical space into storage and distribution hubs.
The Parcelly solution is asset-light, without the need for purpose-built infrastructure and enables a broad range of fully customisable services, addressing consumers’ increasingly demanding delivery expectations, and driving customer satisfaction at the most expensive end of the supply chain: the final mile.
Over the past year, the logistics disruptors have seen 450% YoY platform growth over the past financial year. It’s a reflection of the booming ecommerce trend and a need for innovative tech to facilitate it. Further, over the past year, Parcelly has been continuously innovating and updating its software – simplifying the integration of Parcelly’s first-mile services into e-tailers fulfilment processes and enabling the processing of items beyond just standard ecommerce parcels. The company focuses on B2B partnerships internationally, with clients across multiple industry verticals, including DHL Express, Stuart (GeoPost), Deliveroo, UberEats and JustEat and retailers such as Krispy Kreme, Aesop, Community Fibre and Bryson.
Christian Zeuchner, Partner at East Hill Equity, Investment Manager for Scania Growth Capital commented: “Parcelly are on an exciting journey to change the way local warehouses are sourced and managed, enabling efficient last mile delivery and making most efficient use of existing space and resources in relevant demand pockets. The offering suits most retail markets and segments, and supporting Parcelly in their continued growth with both investment and the industry experience from Scania is a very good strategic fit for the portfolio of Scania Growth Capital.”
With this new investment, Parcelly will be able to supercharge its international expansion around the existing offices in the UK, Germany and the US, with plans to triple the firm’s headcount in the coming 6 months. The funding will also further support platform development, with a particular focus on it’s Hyper-local Warehousing solution, allowing retailers and carriers to meet the needs of urban logistics whilst aligning with the growing focus on industry sustainability goals.
Sebastian Steinhauser continued: “We’re super excited and proud to be on this journey and to welcome Scania Growth Capital on board as investors. Our focus to date has been on establishing our core product proposition with global clients, and this Series A round will help us fulfill our expansion plans, technology and team development. We are looking forward to disrupting new industry sectors with our unique omni-channel logistics platform.”
