Listen to this articleBelow is our recent interview with Sean Henry, CEO of STORD:
Q: Could you provide our readers with a brief introduction to STORD?
A: Our team at STORD believes that shippers deserve a better distribution experience. One that’s agile instead of rigid, automated instead of manual, and intelligent rather than opaque. A ‘next generation’ distribution experience transformed by technology and innovation.
Simultaneously, modern shippers require logistics expertise, strategy, and partnership to successfully navigate supply chains that are complex, brittle, and ever-changing. Those shippers that effectively harness technology and innovation to amplify rather than replace these crucial human elements will be the winners.
At the intersection of these requirements, Networked Distribution was born — a model that we’re proud to pioneer, and a new category that we’re excited to lead.
Combining technology and data, a vast network of 3PLs, and high-touch support and logistics expertise — all managed through a software interface — Networked Distribution gives shippers a central hub with one network, one platform, and one partner to simplify all warehousing and transportation.
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Q: You’ve recently announced $12.4m in Venture Round; could you tell us something more?
A: We are thrilled to confirm the news that STORD has closed a $12.3M Series A funding round, led by Kleiner Perkins and joined by existing investors including Susa Ventures and Dynamo, among others. This brings our total capital raised to-date to $15 million. In conjunction with this round, we are announcing our new model and a new category of distribution — Networked Distribution — which will further our mission to empower modern shippers to move products brilliantly.
In the last year, we have grown revenue roughly 10x and expanded our team from 5 employees in a small co-working space to surpass 30 in our own HQ in the heart of Atlanta’s thriving technology community. Simultaneously, we’ve been both honored and humbled to receive awards and recognition from the likes of Forbes, Inc., the Wall Street Journal, Supply & Demand Chain Executive, American Shipper, Atlanta Business Chronicle, and the Technology Association of Georgia.
None of this growth would have been possible without the partnership from our incredible customers. STORD has been fortunate to work with some of the leading enterprise brands, helping them achieve insight, visibility, and control as they move their products globally, while dramatically reducing time per order, last mile costs, damage and errors, and late deliveries.
Q: What does differentiate you from other warehousing companies?
A: While there has been a rise of “on-demand” companies and “marketplaces” that provide shippers a temporary band-aid for inventory overflow, the real problem that shippers face clearly goes much deeper than flexible capacity. Instead of spot capacity, shippers need the ability to add enterprise-level visibility, flexibility, and intelligence to their core distribution activities at scale.
Q: Could you tell us something more about your solution?
A: For example, we are fortunate to partner with one of the largest beverage companies in America who came to us because — with 20 different 3PLs across the country to manage, increasing last-mile costs, and highly flexible demand from their customers, they felt distribution was too complex, manual, and inefficient. Partnering with STORD they have eliminated the need to manage 20+ providers and have achieved all their warehousing and transportation through a single network. Additionally, they have increased speed-to-market and reduced IT requirements through one integration to STORD’s platform to manage it all, with real-time optimization and true visibility across all nodes in their supply chain.
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Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: Today, we move over $200M of product every month — undeniable proof of the power of our Networked Distribution model. While this number is substantial and growing, our journey is just getting started. The $12.3M investment will help us officially pioneer and scale this new category. With this new infusion of capital, we’ll aggressively expand our network of warehouses, distribution centers, and transportation partners to extend our network coverage and service capabilities.
We’ll grow our engineering organization to boost platform innovation, providing shippers and warehouse partners more visibility and automation than ever before. At the same time, we’ll continue to invest in people — the logistics talent needed to provide best-in-class services and support to meet the complex, global logistics requirements of our customers. We intend to hire more than 50 new team members before 2020. And we aim to build a staple technology brand in Atlanta — providing growth opportunities and a great place to work for the talented and innovative people in our vibrant city.
Last Updated on October 20, 2019
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