Waresix aims to digital transform Indonesia’s trucking and warehousing logistics landscape
Indonesia-based trucking and warehousing tech startup Waresix has closed its Series B round of funding, accumulating a total of US$100 million over the year, the company announced in a statement yesterday.
The logistics tech startup raised the funds from the company’s existing investors EV Growth, a joint venture between East Ventures, SMDV, and YJ Capital, and Singapore-based venture capital firm Jungle Ventures, as well as new backers.
EV Growth and Jungle Ventures had earlier co-led a $11 million in a Series A round in the company in January this year. The company’s total funding pool now stands at $127.1 million, combining an earlier total capital of $27.1 million, according to Crunchbase data, and the current round.
The company’s new investors include SoftBank Ventures Asia, Indonesian media and tech conglomerate EMTEK Group, Temasek’s private equity investment subsidiary Pavilion Capital and Redbadge Pacific, the APAC arm of Robert L. Burch’s U.S.-based family office Redbadge.
The company’s network currently includes 40,000 trucks and 375 warehouse operators across Indonesia, the statement said. The company’s platform connects shippers and businesses with logistics service vendors such as transporters, trucks and warehouse operators in Indonesia.
Commenting on how the funds will be utilized, CEO of Waresix, Andree Susanto said in the statement that “the capital will be invested to develop the most robust logistics technology infrastructure in South East Asia, and further build out our world-class team to help us seize a large market opportunity.”
“We are excited to onboard a group of high-quality long term investors and partners that have committed to support Waresix in our journey to be the new engine for trade and commerce growth in Indonesia,” he also said.
Waresix’s business is majorly driven by the trucking segment, focusing on first- and mid-mile intercity shipments through consolidation, back-haul optimization and hub-and-spoke distribution.
Its first- and mid- mile services have seen growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the statement noted, with the company scaling to over 100 cities in Indonesia to aid in the distribution of essential goods and in logistics services to primary economic sectors.
The company’s solutions can help its customers attain 50% higher truck utilization than from traditional routes, the company claimed in the statement. Waresix has been net income positive since June last year, it added**.**
Further, the statement also noted that Waresix works with over 250 cross-industry enterprise clients, including Unilever, Indofood, Siam Cement Group, Wings, and JD.ID.
The logistics tech company is also partnered with logistics facilities such as national ports in Indonesia, to expand its reach beyond the populous Western islands of Java and Sumatra, the statement said.
“We are not just driven by technology, but also driven by a passion to solve real problems, and innovating via technology. We have proven this in the last two years, which is why our clients love us and our business has continued to scale until today,” CFO of Waresix, Edwin Wibowo said in the statement.
Waresix differentiates itself from its counterparts through its platform’s “passive load-board and listings” that match supply and demand, as well as its ecosystem of managed services, the statement noted.
Valued at $220.9 billion in 2020, research suggests that the overall logistics industry in Indonesia is expected to grow by 7.9% annually, crossing the $300 billion mark by 2024. This includes services provided by Waresix, such as transport, forwarding, and warehousing.
Further, the logistics and warehousing industry in Indonesia is expected to yield revenues of $74.9 billion by 2023, one study suggests.
Targeting digital transformation in the country’s trucking and warehousing sector through its logistics tech solutions, the statement noted that the company aims to address strains on the country’s logistics industry, such as high costs or distribution challenges, that detract from the pace of the Indonesian economy’s growth.
Header image courtesy of Waresix
