Singapore-headquartered cloud-based delivery platform Parcel Perform announced on Wednesday it has secured $20 million in Series A investments led by Cambridge Capital, a supply chain technology-focused global investment firm.
New investor SoftBank Ventures Asia, the corporate venture capital arm of Japan’s Softbank Group, has also joined the round alongside existing investors including Wavemaker Partners and Investible, the company said in a statement.
Parcel Perform said it will use the fresh funding to build out its technology offerings and invest further in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.
This includes scaling its proprietary ‘Date of Arrival’ prediction engine which allows customers to know precisely when their parcels will arrive.
With over 100 employees across Asia-Pacific and Europe, the new funding will also enable the company to establish a regional headquarters in North America and grow to 150 employees globally by the end of the year.
“With e-commerce becoming the primary retail channel, the need for merchants to provide an excellent post-purchase experience has become business-critical. Parcel Perform is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity with its enterprise-grade solutions and its globally standardized logistics data integrations,” said Parcel Perform Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Dr. Arne Jeroschewski.
The company, which has offices in Singapore, Vietnam, and Germany, currently manages over 100 million parcel tracking updates daily, providing real-time visibility of tracking data and helping businesses to increase customer lifetime value by up to 40 percent.
Already profitable, Parcel Perform said it continues to see stellar growth, with revenue growing by five times since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world by storm. Not only has it changed the e-commerce industry, but it has also changed the needs and demands of consumers today,” said Dr. Jeroschewski in an earlier interview with TechNode Global.
The strategic investment from these investors will help Parcel Perform cement its technology leadership and support its global expansion and recruitment efforts, the company said.
Parcel Perform is co-founded by Jeroschewski and Dana von der Heide, its Chief Commercial Officer. She is also an advisory member of the German Logistics Association and part of the distinguished eFounder Fellowship program by Alibaba.
Prior to establishing Parcel Perform, Jeroschewski was the Co-Founder and CEO of e-tail unicorn ZALORA. He has also held senior leadership roles in Singapore Post, a postal service and courier company in the country, and DHL, a multinational logistics company headquartered in Germany.
Parcel Perform was also a winner at the ORIGIN Innovation Awards in 2020 under the Startup Awards-Logistics category.
Cambridge Capital is an investment firm focused on the applied supply chain. The firm provides private equity to finance the expansion, recapitalization, or acquisition of growth companies in transportation, logistics, and supply chain technology.
Founded in 2000, SoftBank Ventures Asia is the early-stage venture capital arm of the SoftBank Group. Its expertise lies in ICT investments including AI, IoT, and smart robotics. SoftBank Ventures Asia currently operates approximately $1.5 billion under management, investing in innovative technology start-ups across the world.