ShipBob

ShipBob
Private
Industry Third-party logistics, Fulfillment
Founded September 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Founders Dhruv Saxena, Divey Gulati
Headquarters Chicago, United States
Number of locations
 6
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Number of employees
 180+
Website shipbob.com

ShipBob is a tech-enabled fulfillment service that was launched in September 2014.[1] ShipBob allows businesses to sell products on their own websites where they can have full control over their customers' experiences, or via other online marketplaces. They focus on helping business owners and e-commerce sellers with logistics services such as inventory, order picking, packaging and labeling, shipping, and package tracking. They also provide a software solution to help users manage their business in a more efficient manner. They aim to help companies that don't have substantial resources or funding to achieve "Amazon-scale" logistics.[2] ShipBob is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and has fulfillment centers in Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. As of June 13, 2017, ShipBob employs 125 people and has received more than $23 million in funding.[3]

History

ShipBob was originally started in the summer of 2014 as part of Y Combinator's accelerator program.[1] The co-founders, Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati, came up with the idea while running their previous e-commerce business SnailMailPics. At SnailMailPics, Saxena and Gulati gained insight into the packing and shipping industry as well as the hassle of waiting in line at the post office.[4] Jivko Bojinov also assisted in founding the company.[5] In September 2014 the company launched publicly, choosing Chicago as its headquarters.[1]

In late 2014, ShipBob started to get early investors such as SV Angel and Joe Montana.[5] On April 29, 2015, ShipBob announced their seed-funding round of $1 million. This round was led by SV Angel, FundersClub, WeFunder, and others. This funding was utilized by ShipBob to add more employees and open a second fulfillment center located in Brooklyn.[1]

ShipBob announced a Series A funding round on June 16, 2016, which raised $4 million in funding, led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. Previous investors, such as FundersClub and SV Angel also took part in this round, along with such companies as Service Provider Capital and NFQ Capital. The money from this Series A round went toward hiring more staff and continuing expansion, with the goal of building more warehouses across the United States.[6] At this point in time, about two years after the initial involvement of Y Combinator, ShipBob employed 32 people full-time.[7]

On June 13, 2017, ShipBob announced their largest funding push to date, a Series B round that garnered $17.5 million. Bain Capital Ventures led the Series B investment. Previous investors also took part in the funding, including Hyde Park Venture Partners, FundersClub, Hyde Park Angels, and FJ Labs. Bain also gained a board seat in the company filled by Ajay Agarwal. With the help of this new investment, ShipBob added two more warehouses located in Los Angeles and San Francisco.[8] Additionally, ShipBob plans to hire more engineers to build out their software platform, with the goal of expanding into more cities. They will choose a new city for a new warehouse, focusing on areas of higher shopper density.[9] As of the date of the Series B announcement, ShipBob has 125 employees and has received over $23 million in funding since launching.[3]

In September 2018, Shipbob raised $40 million in new funding to expand the warehousing and technology services.[10]

Products/Features

ShipBob's main features include a software platform, storage, and third party logistics (3PL). Its software is proprietary technology that allows for the automation of each order and inventory management. The software keeps track of inventory, helps with the managing of orders, tracks shipping and allows the business using it to communicate with their customers. The platform also allows for integration with e-commerce websites such as eBay, Shopify, Amazon, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, ShipStation, and Backerkit. For storage, ShipBob has fulfillment centers in which the companies can warehouse inventory. Lastly they provide 3PL features such picking, packaging, and shipping via USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and others. Tracking numbers are provided for each package.[1][2][4]

Operations

ShipBob operates its own fulfillment centers. After receiving orders through their customers' e-commerce websites, they pick products out of stored inventory, package them, and ship them to purchasers.[11] ShipBob operates on two fronts: its software platform and its physical logistics.[2]

The software has features that make it easier for a company to manage its operations. It is an order management tool that integrates with e-commerce websites such as EBay, Etsy, and Amazon, allowing for the process of shipping to be automated. The platform also lets businesses manage inventory and orders and allows them to communicate with customers.[2][6]

Utilizing their warehouses, ShipBob stores the inventory for clients, so when orders are placed they can quickly package and ship the product.[12] ShipBob does not actually do each delivery. Instead, they hand the packaged orders off to shippers such as FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, or other regional carriers. With the combination of software and physical help, ShipBob provides entrepreneurs control of their customer experience.[1][13]

ShipBob does not charge for the use of their software as a service (SaaS); it is free for customers. ShipBob instead produces revenue from their fulfillment process and warehousing.[3] ShipBob charges a pre-negotiated fee per shipment. There is also a set charge for storage.

Partners

Partners and companies that ShipBob works with include eBay, Etsy, Shopify, BigCommerce, Woocommerce, Magento, Amazon, Shipstation, Backerkit, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL.[1][2][6][11]

Awards/Honors

In March 2015, Chicago hosted their first every Timmy Awards. Run by Tech in Motion, this award ceremony acknowledges the area's best companies in the technology field. The event had 30 finalists, including Sprout Social and Cars.com. These came from over 200+ nominations and over 11,000 votes were tallied. ShipBob took the crown for Chicago's best startup.[14]

In October 2015, Chicago Inno announced 150 nominees for their "50 on Fire" award, which honors people and companies that are performing well and growing fast on the Chicago tech scene. The nominees spanned many different industries. Anthony Watson, a Founding Partner and Head of Business Development at ShipBob, was nominated for this award. Since Watson joined the team, ShipBob grew at a month over month rate of 30%/[15]

On August 25, 2016, the second Timmy Awards were announced. This time ShipBob got a nomination in the category of best tech manager. Dhruv Saxena was one of 10 finalists for the award because of his company’s cultural values, which allow employees the power to make certain decisions.[16]

In May 2017, ShipBob was one of five finalists for the sixth annual Moxie Awards, presented by Built in Chicago, a hub for startups and technology. It honors entrepreneurs and companies that are helping improve the Chicago tech ecosystem. ShipBob was nominated for Best B2B Startup.[17]

FitSmallBusiness, a company focused on the success of small businesses, decided to give out their own honors for 3PL companies. ShipBob received the honors of best small business fulfillment center and best 3PL service.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "ShipBob raises $1M seed round, eyes launch in Brooklyn". Builtinchicago.org. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Have a Small eCommerce Business? You May Need ShipBob". Smallbiztrends.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "ShipBob raises $17.5 million to help ecommerce businesses with shipping and logistics". Venturebeat.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  4. 1 2 Shu, Catherine. "YC-Backed ShipBob Helps Small Business Owners Avoid Post Office Purgatory". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 "ShipBob". Angel.co. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Kolodny, Lora. "ShipBob raises $4 million to help small retailers ship goods like Amazon Prime". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  8. ↑ "ShipBob gains $17.5m in Series B funding". Americanshipper.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "E-commerce logistics startup raises $17.5 million". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Phillips, Erica E. (2018-09-06). "ShipBob Raises $40 Million to Back E-Commerce Fulfillment Growth". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  11. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  12. ↑ Russell, Kyle. "YC-Backed ShipBob Raises $1M To Help Small Businesses Deliver Orders On Time". Techcrunch.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "ShipBob gets $17.5 million from Bain, others". Chicagobusiness.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  14. ↑ "First Female Winner of "Best Technology Manager" at Inaugural Chicago Timmy Awards". TechInMotionEvents.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  15. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2017-07-05.
  16. ↑ "Meet 30 of Chicago's Top Tech Influencers (and 2016 Timmy Award Finalists)". TechInMotionEvents.com. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  17. ↑ "It's on: Meet the 2017 Moxie Awards finalists". Built In Chicago. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  18. ↑ "Order Fulfillment Services: Who's the Best 3PL Company?". Fitsmallbusiness.com. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
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