[#265] Supply Chain in Numbers - Dec 23, 2024
Circle K plans 3 new DCs, 4k seamen were abandoned this year, Amazon's new 9.1k sqft grocery stores, HappyRobot raised $15.6M, and Vooma raised $16M funding
Welcome to “Supply Chain in Numbers.” This newsletter tracks significant numbers from the supply chain world. Five prominent numbers are published every Monday. If you have any feedback, please send it to me.
3 facilities of 266,000 sqft average size
Circle K has signed lease agreements for three distribution centers in three different Midwestern states. The convenience retailer, a subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard, will open the facilities in Otsego, Minn., Lockbourne, Ohio, and Hazelwood, Mo. The centers average approximately 266,000 square feet. and supply approximately 1,600 Circle K and Holiday stores in 14 states with national- and private-brand packaged snacks, candy, beverages, tobacco/nicotine and other convenience items not normally supported via direct store delivery. The retailer plans to contract out all warehouse and distribution operations at these sites to third-party logistics (3PL) providers. With the addition of these three facilities, Circle K will have five 3PL distribution centers supplying more than 2,600 company-owned stores in the U.S. The company’s existing 3PL facilities are in the San Antonio and Phoenix areas and supply stores in parts of Texas as well as Arizona and Nevada. [Chain Storeage]
4,000 seamen abandoned
The vessels are often managed or owned through complex structures, making it difficult for regulators to determine who controls them. The ships can end up at anchor when their fragile support collapses, or when authorities move in. Crew members are effectively marooned because port authorities require them to stay with the ship to ensure the vessels are safe. As of mid-November, a record 282 ships carrying over 4,000 seamen had been abandoned by their owners this year, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation. That is more than double the vessel total for all of 2023. [WSJ]
9,100 sqft retail grocery stores
Amazon is going small in its latest effort to get a bigger share of American grocery business. The company’s anchor Whole Foods Market operation is crafting a growth strategy around smaller-scale stores in dense urban neighborhoods to win over shoppers who may not visit one of the chain’s traditional full-sized stores. The strategy comes with challenging logistics: sites like the 9,100-square-foot Daily Shop location on Manhattan’s Upper East Side are more difficult to restock than spacious supermarkets. And the tight shelf space doesn’t offer the economies of scale that underpin operations at big stores. To make up for construction, setup, labor and operating costs, small-format stores need high inventory turnover. [WSJ]
$15.6 million Series A
San Francisco startup HappyRobot has gained $15.6 million in venture funding for its AI platform that automates the communication needs of freight brokerages and other logistics users such as third-party logistics providers and warehouses. According to the firm, its conversational AI platform uses agentic AI — a term for systems that can autonomously make decisions and take actions to achieve specific goals — to simplify logistics operations. HappyRobot says its tech can automate tasks like inbound and outbound calls, carrier negotiations, and data capture, thus enabling brokers to enhance efficiency and capacity, improve margins, and free up human agents to focus on higher-value activities. [DC Velocity]
$16 million funding
Vooma, a San Francisco, CA-based provider of an AI platform designed for freight brokers and carriers of all sizes, raised over $16M in Seed and Series A funding. The amount was $13M in Series A and $3.6M in seed round. The company intends to use the funds to invest in its go-to-market and customer success to support demand for products powered by Vooma Agents: Vooma Quote (identifies quotes, drafts email responses and determines whether opportunities were won or lost), Vooma Build (a data-entry assistant for load building), Vooma Voice (can make and receive calls for brokers and carriers to streamline tasks such as inbound load bookings). [CityBiz]