ShipMonk Raises $290M to Fuel Ecommerce Logistics Growth
Jan Bednar founded ShipMonk utilizing $70,000 secured through success in several student business plan contests, and initially operated the company from a warehouse lacking air conditioning in Florida. This venture recently secured $290 million in new funding.
Bednar’s current offices remain within the original warehouse facility, though improvements have been made – including the addition of air conditioning – alongside a $290 million financing round provided by Summit Partners to facilitate business expansion.
Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, ShipMonk delivers a comprehensive range of shipping and logistics solutions tailored for small and medium-sized eCommerce businesses. Current market conditions, particularly the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, are contributing to strong demand for these services.
“We support SMBs and mid-market direct-to-consumer businesses in managing their supply chains, from sourcing products from suppliers and receiving them at facilities, to connecting with all sales channels – encompassing B2B, order management, transportation management, and reverse logistics,” explained Bednar.
While some of the company’s larger clients generate between $150 million and $250 million in revenue, the majority of ShipMonk’s customer base consists of smaller businesses with average revenues ranging from $1 million to $10 million.
ShipMonk will utilize its facilities in Pennsylvania, California, and Florida to store approximately 60,000 unique stock keeping units, typically managing around 50 different items for each client.
Bednar stated that the newly acquired funds will be allocated to further enhance the company’s automation capabilities, increase its workforce, and pursue international expansion opportunities.
Having been profitable since its inception, ShipMonk recently achieved a particularly successful year, generating revenue exceeding $140 million.
Bednar initially launched the business independently, but quickly welcomed co-founders Kevin Sides, responsible for marketing, and Vash Jares, also originally from the Czech Republic, who serves as the company’s Chief Technology Officer.
The circumstances surrounding Jares’s joining the company exemplify the dedication and resourcefulness that have enabled Bednar to build a thriving tech and logistics business from Ft. Lauderdale.
Jares, a student at a leading technical university in the Czech Republic, was drawn to ShipMonk by Florida’s favorable climate. Bednar had advertised an internship (unpaid, but including accommodation and meals) on a university job board in January. Numerous applications were received, but Jares, a programmer with a passion for computers since the age of 14, was ultimately selected.
From that point forward, the company’s trajectory mirrored ShipMonk’s growth. Jares developed the majority of the backend infrastructure for the company’s initial services, often dedicating close to 20 hours each day to coding.
This commitment to efficiency and diligent effort has propelled ShipMonk from a 15,000 square foot warehousing operation to a nearly 1 million square foot storage and logistics network spanning the United States.
The timing of this funding round is particularly advantageous, as projections from the National Retail Federation anticipate a 20% increase in online sales, potentially reaching $202 billion this year.
According to data from Adobe Analytics, Black Friday alone generated $9 billion in online purchases, and consumer spending is expected to continue shifting towards online channels as the pandemic continues to impact public health and safety.
ShipMonk’s technology seamlessly integrates with eCommerce platforms and marketplaces such as Shopify, enabling the import of orders from various sales channels. These orders are then efficiently processed at the company’s warehouse locations, allowing customers to potentially reduce their operational expenses by up to 50%.
“We are impressed by ShipMonk’s demonstration of a bootstrapped, sustainable growth strategy. Jan recognized a significant market need and, alongside the ShipMonk team, has strategically and efficiently scaled the business to address it. The outcomes have been remarkable,” stated Christopher Dean, a Managing Director at Summit Partners, who will be joining the company’s board.
