[#93] Supply Chain in Numbers-Sep 20, 2021
OneRail raises $9M, Shipt adds 1,000 more locations, Portcast raises $3.2M, 60 DHL facilities are cleaned by autonomous bots, Ambi Robotics raises $26M
Welcome to “Supply Chain in Numbers.” This newsletter tracks significant digits from the world of the supply chain. Five prominent numbers are published every Monday. If you have any feedback, please send it to me.
$9 million
Orlando-based OneRail, a provider of final mile delivery services for enterprise shippers via a delivery fulfillment SaaS platform, recently announced it closed a $9 million Series A investment, bringing its total capital raise, to date, to $21.5 million. OneRail’s Logistics Partner Network, a managed marketplace for shippers and couriers, include carrier partners such as Frayt, Hailify, Lyft, SkipCart, Epic1, Dropoff, DoorDash. [Logistics Management]
1,000 locations
Grocery delivery company Shipt has announced its largest expansion in three years, adding nearly 1,000 more store locations that its contract workers will service, and enlarged its coverage area to include more customers. As a result, the Target-owned company has the potential to reach 2 million additional households across the United States, with Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle and Charlotte, N.C., markets among the markets seeing the most noticeable impact.[Star Tribune]
$3.2 million
For many manufacturers and freight forwarders, managing logistics is still a very manual process: tracking shipments with a call or online lookup, and entering that data into an Excel spreadsheet. Portcast makes the process more efficient by gathering data from myriad sources and not only tracks shipments in real time, but also predicts what might affect their progress, like major weather events, the tide and pandemic-related issues. The company has raised $3.2 million in pre-Series A funding. Portcast says it tracks more than 90% of world trade volume that travels by ocean carriers, and 35% of air cargo, and can forecast demand for 30,000 trade routes. [Tech Crunch]
60 facilities
As a result of their development efforts during the past three years, DHL now has autonomous bots cleaning more than 60 facilities from Alberta, Canada, to Florida. In addition, Avidbots, supplier of the autonomous floor scrubber, Neo, shipped the first bot to DHL Australia this summer. The largest of the facilities at 500,000 square feet requires two bots to provide two complete cleans a week. The smaller facilities require only a single bot. [MMH]
$26 million
Five months ago, Ambi Robotics emerged from stealth with a $6 million raise. This week, the Bay Area-based firm is back with several times that, announcing a $26 million Series A. Ambi operates in the pick and place robotics space — it’s a crowded category, but one with an intense level of interest, as more warehouse and fulfillment centers are accelerating toward automation. The company’s primary differentiation is in the AI that powers its picking robotics system. Ambi has already enlisted some high-profile partners, including Pitney Bowes.[Tech Crunch]