Full-stack, software driven fulfilment provider Huboo has raised £14m in funding led by European technology VC Stride.
Founded in 2017, Bristol-based Huboo uses ‘micro hub’ technology to enable online retailers to access its end-to-end fulfilment.
Its software provides transaction management and quality control, stock control, order tracking, billing, and integration with Amazon, eBay and Shopify.
The funding will be used to support three strategic priorities – software development, UK expansion and establishing an on-the-ground European presence for the business.
The firm said it will increase its software development team 10-fold in the next year to further expand the capabilities of its fulfilment software platform and, to support its rapid domestic client growth, the business will be opening a third UK warehouse in October 2020 with a fourth warehouse planned to open in January 2021.
The plans follow fast growth in the last 18 months. The business reports it has grown from two employees, 60 clients and £20,000 in monthly recurring revenues (MRR) to 120 employees, over 500 clients and £800k MRR.
This latest round of funding sees Stride and also Hearst Ventures join previous investors – among them Maersk Growth, Episode 1, True Capital and Ada Ventures. The Series A investment takes Huboo’s total raised so far to £18million since April 2019.
Martin Bysh, co-founder of Huboo, said: “Not only has the global pandemic provided the catalyst for a mass shift into multi-channel commerce over the next five years, but there is a real D2C revolution happening. Thousands of young D2C businesses are bypassing conventional retail channels to engage directly with consumers.
“Huboo is directly placed to benefit from this opportunity. While the problems with existing fulfilment suppliers have worsened during 2020 such as long lead times, delays and incorrect items dispatched – our unique micro hubs are designed to minimise, if not eradicate these issues.”
Megumi Ikeda, MD of Hearst Ventures, added: “Along the with the massive acceleration in eCommerce comes the need for quality fulfilment. This can become an overwhelming burden for SMBs and a driver of poor customer experience. In Huboo, we found a company that provides excellent service with its complete full-stack rebuild of multi-channel fulfilment – from client-facing software to warehouse operations. We are beyond excited to support Huboo in growing its business and offering.”