Shippeo received $30 million from Woven Capital. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
Paris-based visibility services provider Shipio announced on Wednesday that it has received $30 million in strategic funding led by Toyota’s growth fund Woven Capital, which aims to accelerate the company’s expansion in the North American and Asia Pacific (APAC) markets. The round included participation from existing investors Battery Ventures, Partech, NGP Capital, BPFrance Digital Ventures, LFX Venture Partners, Shift4Good and Yamaha Motor Ventures.
“Across the board, the level of risk in our customers’ supply chains is increasing exponentially, and they need to manage that more efficiently and proactively. … In the North American market, our customers are now demanding alternative, reliable solutions and we’re pushing for growth opportunities in that market.” There is a competitive situation at play.
The company finally took off. Funds 2023 from its existing investors to fuel growth in these regions as well. Shippeo in 2010 Since its inception in 2014, it has raised a total of $140 million, the company said.
While the company could not confirm the post-investment valuation, a company representative explained to FreightWaves that it has “grown significantly compared to previous rounds.” Investment analyst site PitchBook valued the latest funding round at $154 million.
Based in France, Shippeo provides real-time transportation visibility, tracking more than 90 million shipments annually in 150 countries. The platform’s capabilities span all modes of transportation and provide accurate tracking and forecasting of ETAs for more than 228,000 carriers and 1,100 systems, including transportation management systems and enterprise resource planning tools, the company said.
Shippeo officials told FreightWaves that the annual growth in North America includes a 40% increase in customers, a 92% increase in cargo tracking and a 210% annual revenue growth in the region. In doing so, it captured major brands including Amazon and Yamaha Motor North America through technological transparency and strategic partnerships with companies such as e2open, SAP and Google.
In a conversation with FreightWaves, Bessie and Chris Mazza, senior vice president of global growth, explained that there are key differences in the technology landscape for supply chain visibility solutions between the North American and European markets.
Mazza called the North American market more “sophisticated” in terms of real-time transportation visibility, transportation management systems and the use of technology in general logistics. Customers in the US are already familiar with visibility solutions and know what to expect from them and have the experience to make good or bad comparisons with other providers. This allows Shippeo to focus more on identifying data quality and delivery excellence.
“In mature markets like the US, data accuracy and completeness are critical to building trust and delivering value,” Bessey emphasized.
“We had one customer, a large US freight forwarder, who was concerned about over-the-road activity being seen. They were promised about 90% location, but their tracking rate was around 60%, but the data didn’t get them there.
Amount of financial assistanceFunding roundA leading investor.Secondary investorsBusiness goals for the roundTotal funding
Mazza stressed the importance of developing a deep understanding of customer processes and relationships with their service provider partners. He said that this is crucial to obtain the highest possible data quality.
By taking the time to gain this operational insight, Mazza explained, the company has significantly improved its tracking rate by connecting and running its customers’ truckers. The client previously only achieved 50%-60% tracking but was able to increase it to 85%-90%, and in some cases, even 90%-95%.
In APAC, Shippeo saw a 53% increase in customer base and a 64% increase in shipment tracking, with notable clients including Fujifilm and Philip Morris International. The company looks to support its relationship with investor Woven to continue its growth in the region.
Despite its successes, Shippeo has faced intense competition in the past from established players such as project44 and FourKites, both of which have a strong presence in North America. Critics argue that Shippeo’s resources and scale may fall short of meeting the needs of large global enterprises. However, the ability of company officials to provide high-quality information and create strong partnerships stands out in a crowded market.
Besse acknowledged the competitive challenges but expressed confidence in ShipO’s strategy.
“Working with partners in a collaborative ecosystem has always been part of our DNA. We fully understand that the challenges our customers are trying to solve cannot be met with a single solution. At the end of the day, visibility is part of the puzzle, but it doesn’t complete the puzzle. If you want to be successful in customer conversion, you need to make many solutions, he explained.
By leveraging its European expertise and adapting to regional market needs, Shippeo aims to take a significant share of the North American and APAC markets from its competitors.
With the new funding, Shippeo plans to invest in sales and marketing efforts to gain that market share while enhancing the platform’s capabilities. The company’s roadmap includes advanced features for risk management and sustainability, as well as continued improvements in data quality and connectivity.
