Pre-COVID and dare I say it Brexit, there was modest to reasonable interest in logistics software. If there was a premier league for sectors mentioned in the professional community, the sector would have probably been somewhere mid-table in the technology space.
The lock-down and associated boom in e-commerce sales, disruption to supply chain logistics (air freight) has changed that landscape and driven a great deal of interest in logistics software companies.
With increased demand for tracking visibility from manufacturer to a consumer’s front-door, expectations management (set by the likes of Amazon Prime et al), or manufacturer supply chain visibility across air-land-sea, this has brought into sharp focus those who can help drive efficiencies and meet their client SLAs (98% for one well known brand), in what historically has been a fragmented market. In particular, those who can integrate/interact with multiple couriers, customs clearance, provide transparent shipping costs across a range of transport mediums around the globe.
Mr Bezos investment in Beacon is just one example of increased interest in this space and reflected in the values achieved for what is in this particular case, a British start-up. The latter is to be celebrated too (‘British’ technology start-up).
Investment characteristic fundamentals remain the same; a backable management team, scalable proprietary software and evidence of significant client wins with sound profile.
If you have a well developed proposition and require capital to help grow your business or continued investment, we would be delighted to speak with you.
Mr Bezos has agreed to back Beacon, a specialist in digital freight forwarding and supply chain finance.
Mr Bezos – who the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates is now worth $143bn (£116bn) – is understood to be participating in a $15m (£12.2m) Series A fundraising, to be announced by Beacon this week.
