Stord, the cloud supply chain leader, announced $90 million in Series D funding led by Kleiner Perkins, with additional participation from Lux Capital, D1 Capital and Palm Tree Crew, and existing investors, including BOND, Dynamo Ventures, Founders Fund, Lineage Logistics, and Susa Ventures. In addition, Michael Rubin, Fanatics founder and founder of GSI Commerce, Carlos Cashman, CEO of Thrasio, Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart and Will Gaybrick, CPO at Stripe, joined the round. The new funding values the company at $1.1 billion and comes just six months after its $65 million Series C. Stord has raised $205 million in total funding.
Along with the funding, Stord also announced the closing of its acquisition of Fulfillment Works, a leading DTC fulfillment provider. Fulfillment Works’ decades of deep direct-to-consumer (DTC) experience and first-party warehouses on both coasts are critical to powering Stord’s next phase of growth.
These announcements come as Stord reports record growth. In the last year, the company has:
- Delivered its third consecutive year of 300%+ growth, and is on track to repeat that success in 2021
- Achieved more than $100 million in revenue
- Grown headcount from 160 staff in 2020 to over 400 so far in 2021
- Added Body Armor, DYPER and Thrasio to its roster of leading omnichannel brands also including Advance Auto Parts, Dollar General, Schneider Electric, and Veritiv.
- Opened a state-of-the-art, 386,000 square foot facility in Atlanta that is leveraging the latest warehouse robotics and automation technologies
“The supply chain is the new competitive battleground,” said Sean Henry, Stord CEO and co-founder. “Today’s buying expectations set by Amazon and the rise of the omnichannel shopper have placed immense pressure on companies to maintain more nimble and efficient supply chains. This new funding and the outstanding Fulfillment Works team bring us that much closer to our goal of being the last logistics partner businesses will ever need. We want every company to have world-class, Prime-like supply chains.”
With Fulfillment Works, Stord can provide even more specialized, first-party capacity, which, when combined with its network of hundreds of warehouse partners, offers businesses the most powerful supply chain network on the market. Fulfillment Works’ customers will now have access to Stord’s supply chain software and end-to-end logistics, and Stord will now use Fulfillment Works’ facilities to provide additional control and deeper customer service in key regions. These new warehouses will not only improve the supply chain experience for Stord’s customers, but Stord will share best practices across its entire partner network. Fulfillment Works’ whole team will join Stord.
“Our goal from day one was to help companies delight their customers through amazing fulfillment service,” said Amy Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Fulfillment Works. “Now, with Stord, we can realize that vision. Stord has built the only end-to-end logistics network that combines the physical infrastructure with software. Together, we will bring new levels of speed, efficiency and flexibility to brands everywhere, just in time for the busy holiday period.”
Today’s supply chain infrastructure and software tools haven’t evolved to meet the customer expectations of DTC commerce brands set by Amazon Prime, or the complex, fast-changing needs of B2B businesses. Resource and capacity constraints require companies to use a patchwork of disconnected 3PLs, creating an inflexible, expensive and opaque logistics network that slows innovation and time to market. The result is slower shipments, higher prices and unhappy customers.
The pandemic exacerbated this problem, as e-commerce boomed, further straining supply chains. Global e-commerce is set to surpass $5 trillion in 2021, while B2B online commerce is expected to reach $20.9 trillion by 2027. Stord is leveling the playing field for mid-market and enterprise companies that want to delight their customers with speedy deliveries, better prices, and great experiences. The company connects brands to an end-to-end logistics infrastructure—including warehousing, freight and fulfillment—in a single, integrated platform that’s available exactly when and where companies need it.
“Trillions of dollars will move online in the next few years, and supply chains need to catch up to this transition,” said Ilya Fushman, Stord board director and partner at Kleiner Perkins, who also led Stord’s Series A. “Stord is democratizing logistics for growing businesses at a time when retailers across the economy are massively increasing their investment in their supply chain. Stord will become for the supply chain what Amazon Web Services is for cloud computing—an intelligent, reliable, and scalable utility that lets companies focus on growing their business without having to worry about their logistics ever again.”
To learn more about Stord’s Cloud Supply Chain, visit stord.com.
About Stord
Stord is the cloud supply chain enabling companies to compete and grow with world-class logistics – including warehousing, freight and fulfillment – in a single, integrated platform that’s available exactly when and where they need it. Hundreds of B2B and B2C companies like BodyArmor, Advance Auto Parts and Dollar General use Stord to make their supply chains perform with the speed, flexibility and ease of the cloud. Led by former operators from Amazon, XPO and Manhattan Associates, Stord is headquartered in Atlanta and backed by Kleiner Perkins, BOND, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, D1 Capital, Palm Tree Crew, Salesforce Ventures, Susa Ventures and Lineage Logistics.
