ShipBob

ShipBob
Private
Industry Third-party logisitcs, Fulfillment
Founded Septemper 2014 in Chicago, Illinois, United States
Founders Dhruv Saxena, Divey Gulati and Jivko Bojinov
Headquarters Chicago, United States
Number of locations
 4
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Number of employees
 125
Website https://www.ShipBob.com

ShipBob is a tech-enabled fulfillment service that was launched in September of 2014[1]. ShipBob allows businesses to sell their products on their own website where they can have full control over customer experience, along with on other marketplaces. They focus on helping business owners and e-commerce sellers with logistics services such as inventory, picking and packaging, and tracking and shipping. Along with that they provide a software solution to help users manage their business in a more efficient manner. Their goal is to help companies, who don't have the resources or funding, to achieve "Amazon-scale" logistics[2]. ShipBob is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has fulfillment centers in Chicago, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. As of June 13th, 2017 ShipBob employs 125 people and has gathered upward of $23 million in funding since its inception[3][4].


History

ShipBob was originally started in the summer of 2014 as part of Y Combinator's accelerator program[1]. The co-founders, Dhruv Saxena and Divey Gulati, came up with the idea while running their previous e-commerce business SnailMailPics. At SnailMailPics, Saxena and Gulati gained valuable insight into the packing and shipping industry, as well as the hassle of waiting in line at the post office[5]. There is also a third co-founder, Jivko Bojinov[6]. In September of 2014 the company launched publicly and placed itself in Chicago[1].

ShipBob did not start to get notoriety until late 2014 when they started to get early investors such as SV Angel and Joe Montana[6]. On April 29, 2015 ShipBob announced their seed-funding round of $1 million. This round was lead by SV Angel, FundersClub, and WeFunder, and others. This funding was utilized by ShipBob to add more employees and open a second fulfillment center, located in Brooklyn[1].

About a year later the company decided it was time for a Series A funding round. On June 16, 2016 ShipBob announced the Series A round, raising $4 million in funding in an investment that was lead by Hyde Park Venture Partners. Previous investors, such as FundersClub and SV Angel also took part in the investment along with others, including Service Provider Capital, NFQ Capital and more. The money from this Series A round was used for the continuation of adding on new hires. The funding also went toward continuing expansion, with the goal of building more warehouses across the United States[7][8]. At this point in time, about two years since the Y Combinator, ShipBob employs 32 people full-time[9].

Almost a year to date from announcing their Series A round, ShipBob announced another round of funding. On June 13, 2017 ShipBob announced their biggest funding to date. This time it was a Series B round in which they received $17.5 million. Bain Capital Ventures led the Series B investment. Previous investors also took part in the funding, including Hyde Park Venture Partners, FundersClub, Hyde Park Angels and FJ Labs. Bain will also gain a board seat in the company with this investment, which will be filled by Ajay Agarwal. Since the Series A round and with help from this new investment ShipBob has added two more warehouses. These are located in Los Angeles and San Francisco[10][11]. Additionally, ShipBob will build out their software platform (which includes hiring more engineers) and a goal of expanding into more cities is in the plan. ShipBob will use data in choosing a new city to locate a new warehouse, focusing on higher shopper density areas[3][12]. As of the date of the Series B announcement, ShipBob has 125 employees and has received over $23 million in funding since launching[4].

Products/Features

ShipBob’s main features include a software platform, storage, and third party logistics (3PL). Its software is proprietary technology that allows for the automation of each order and inventory management. The software keeps track of inventory, helps with the managing of orders, tracks shipping and allows the business using it to have communication with their customers. Along with that the platform allows for integration with e-commerce websites that include eBay, Shopify, Amazon, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, ShipStation and Backerkit. For storage, ShipBob has fulfillment centers in which the companies can warehouse inventory. Lastly they provide 3PL features such picking, packaging and getting the shipment to a mailing company, such as USPS, UPS, FedEx or DHL, and provide tracking numbers for each package[1][2][5].

Operations

ShipBob operates its own fulfillment centers. This means they receive orders through their customers e-commerce websites, pick the product(s) out of the stored inventory, package that order and finally ship it off to whomever purchased it[13]. ShipBob operates on two fronts: its software platform and its physical logistics infrastructure[2].

The software has features that make it easier for a company to manage its operations. It is an order management tool that will integrate with e-commerce websites such as EBay, Etsy, Shopify, BigCommerce, Woocommerce, Magento, Shipstation, Backerkit and Amazon, allowing for the process of shipping to be automated. The platform also lets the businesses manage/control inventory and orders, and allows them to communicate with customers[2][7].

Utilizing their warehouses, ShipBob stores the inventory for clients, so when orders are placed they can quickly package and ship the product[14]. ShipBob does not actually do each delivery. Instead, they hand the packaged orders off to shippers such as FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL or other regional carriers. With the combination of software and physical help, ShipBob hopes to provide entrepreneurs control of their customer experience and to help protect their businesses from being a commodity[1][15].

ShipBob does not make any money for their software as a service (SaaS). This means it is free and they do not charge for the use of the software. ShipBob instead produces revenue from their fulfillment process and warehousing[4]. ShipBob will charge a pre-negotiated fee per shipment. Along with that, there will be a set charge for storage use whether it be a bin or a pallet. Lastly, each time a company sends a shipment to ShipBob from their manufacturer there will be a small charge[10].

Partners

Partners/companies that ShipBob works with include: eBay, Etsy, Shopify, BigCommerce, Woocommerce, Magento, Amazon, Shipstation, Backerkit, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL plus others[1][2][7][13].


Awards/Honors

In March of 2015, Chicago hosted their first every Timmy Awards. Run by Tech in Motion, this award ceremony acknowledges the area's best companies in the technology field. The event had 30 finalists, including Sprout Social and cars.com. These came from over 200+ nominations and over 11,000 votes were tallied. ShipBob took the crown for Chicago’s best startup[16].

In October of 2015, Chicago Inno announced its 150 nominees for their 50 on Fire award. This award is for people and companies that are performing well and growing fast in the Chicago tech scene. The nominees span across many different industries. Anthony Watson, a Founding Partner and Head of Business Development at ShipBob, was nominated for this award. Since Watson joined the team, ShipBob was growing at a rate of 30% month over month at this time[17].

On August 25, 2016, the second Timmy Awards hosted by Tech in Motion was announced. This time ShipBob got a nomination in the category of best tech manager. Dhruv Saxena was one of the 10 finalists for the award because of his company’s cultural values along with allowing his employees the power to make certain decisions[18].

In May of 2017 ShipBob was one of five finalists for the Moxie Awards. An award that honors entrepreneurs and companies that are helping improve the ecosystem that is Chicago tech. They were nominated in the category of Startup Awards, in the Best B2B Startup section within that category[19].

FitSmallBusiness, a company focused on the success of small businesses, decided to give out their own honors for 3PL companies. ShipBob received the honors of best small business fulfillment center and 3PL service[20].

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pitorak, D. (2014, April 29). ShipBob raises $1M seed round, eyes launch in Brooklyn. Retrieved July 3, 2017, from http://www.builtinchicago.org/2015/04/29/ShipBob-raises-1m-seed-round-eyes-launch-brooklyn
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Chaney, P. (2016, August 17). Have a Small eCommerce Business? You May Need ShipBob. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/08/small-ecommerce-business-ShipBob.html
  3. 1 2 Baskin, B. (2017, June 13). Warehouse Startup ShipBob Raises $17.5 Million Amid Expansion Push. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/warehouse-startupShipBob-raises-17-5-million-amid-expansion-push-1497353404
  4. 1 2 3 Magistretti, B. (2017, June 13). ShipBob raises $17.5 million to help ecommerce businesses with shipping and logistics. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/13/ShipBob-raises-17-5-million-to-help-e-commerce-businesses-with-shipping-and-logistics/
  5. 1 2 Shu, C. (2014, August 14). YC-Backed ShipBob Helps Small Business Owners Avoid Post Office Purgatory. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://techcrunch.com/2014/08/14/yc-backed-ShipBob-helps-small-business-owners-avoid-post-office-purgatory/
  6. 1 2 ShipBob. (n.d.). Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://angel.co/ShipBob
  7. 1 2 3 Kolodny, L. (2016, June 16). ShipBob raises $4 million to help small retailers ship goods like Amazon Prime. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/16/ShipBob-raises-4-million-to-help-small-retailers-ship-good-like-amazon-prime/
  8. ↑ ShipBob - Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ShipBob/timeline#/timeline/index
  9. ↑ Marotti, A. (2016, August 02). ShipBob gets $4M to expand small business-focused shipping network. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-ShipBob-shipping-series-a-bsi-20160616-story.html
  10. 1 2 Elahi, A. (2017, June 15). ShipBob raises $17.5 million to help small businesses ship stuff faster. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-bsi-ShipBob-funding-17-million-20170613-story.html
  11. ↑ Desormeaux, H. (2017, June 13). ShipBob gains $17.5m in Series B funding. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.americanshipper.com/main/news/ShipBob-gains-175m-in-series-b-funding-67808.aspx#hide
  12. ↑ Pandolph, S. (2017, June 14). E-commerce logistics startup raises $17.5 million. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/e-commerce-logistics-startup-raises-175-2017-6
  13. 1 2 Jackson, C. V. (2016, May 02). ShipBob finds a place serving crowdfunding success stories. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-ShipBob-kickstarter-shipping-bsi-20160502-story.html
  14. ↑ Russell, K. (2015, April 29). YC-Backed ShipBob Raises $1M To Help Small Businesses Deliver Orders On Time. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from https://techcrunch.com/2015/04/29/yc-backed-ShipBob-raises-1m-to-help-small-businesses-deliver-orders-on-time/
  15. ↑ Pletz, J. (2017, June 13). ShipBob gets $17.5 million from Bain, others. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170613/BLOGS11/170619981/ShipBob-gets-17-5-million-from-bain-others
  16. ↑ Tech in Motion. (2015, March 8). First Female Winner of "Best Technology Manager" at Inaugural Chicago Timmy Awards. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.techinmotionevents.com/blog/post/2016/03/08/best-technology-manager-female
  17. ↑ Dallke, J. (2015, October 20). #50onFire: The 18 People and Companies Heating Up B2C Tech in Chicago. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/all-series/50onfire-the-18-people-and-companies-heating-up-b2c-tech-in-chicago/
  18. ↑ Tech In Motion. (2016, August 10). Meet 30 of Chicago's Top Tech Influencers (and 2016 Timmy Award Finalists). Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.techinmotionevents.com/blog/post/2016/08/10/30-chicago-tech-influencers-and-2016-timmy-award-finalists
  19. ↑ Built in Chicago. (2017, May 4). It's on: Meet the 2017 Moxie Awards finalists. Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://www.builtinchicago.org/2017/05/04/moxie-finalists-2017
  20. ↑ Fabregas, K. (2017, June 22). Order Fulfillment Services: Who's the Best 3PL Company? Retrieved July 03, 2017, from http://fitsmallbusiness.com/order-fulfillment-services/#

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