Singapore logistics startup Anchanto closes undisclosed Series B

• To tap into Transcosmos’ global fulfilment, logistics and customer support infra
• Anchanto to help bring Transcosmos technology to Asean, other markets

 
SINGAPORE-headquartered e-commerce fulfilment company Anchanto said it has successfully completed a Series B round and “created an alliance” with Transcosmos Inc of Japan, but did not disclose the amount.
 
The Series B round is an all-cash investment which will be used to roll out pan-Asian services for online businesses, brands and retailers, Anchanto said in a statement, adding that the Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Transcosmos has a current market capitalisation in excess of US$1 billion.
 
The startup had secured Series A funding, also an undisclosed amount, in May 2014 in a round led by Innosight Ventures.
 
Anchanto said its online platform and purpose-built technology takes away all logistics bottlenecks and warehousing worries from e-commerce businesses.
 
“Our mission is to let e-commerce companies, sellers and brands focus on what they do best while we take care of providing world-class fulfilment technology and infrastructure to them at scale, on demand,” said cofounder and chief executive officer Vaibhav Dabhade (pic).
 
“This partnership will help Anchanto tap into the massive global fulfilment, logistics and customer support infrastructure of Transcosmos to extend our fulfilment capability for our customers, and to invest in technology, sales and marketing,” he added.
 
Anchanto claims to currently serve over 380 online sellers in Singapore, Malaysia and India, and said that more than 40 global brands use its channel management technology and services to operate their digital channels on marketplaces such as Qoo10, Lazada, and Zalora. Its clients include L’Oreal, 3M, Maybelline, Groupon, and The French Cellar.
 
It also facilitates cross-border e-commerce to Asia for over 160 e-commerce stores in Europe and the United States.
 
It claimed that over the last 18 months, it has processed over 1.27 million inventory units totalling more than S$27 million in gross merchandise value (GMV).
 
“Many of Transcosmos’ existing clients and potential clients in Japan and overseas are seeing huge market potential for e-commerce sales of their products in Asean countries,” said Transcosmos president and chief operating officer Masataka Okuda.
 
“In order to meet clients’ needs, Transcosmos has decided to invest in Anchanto to extend our service capability in e-commerce one-stop services to Asean as well as in India,” he added.
 
Anchanto said it and Transcosmos will work together to extend the latter’s one-stop e-commerce solution to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and India through Anchanto’s technology, services and logistics infrastructure in these markets.
 
“Transcosmos is an ideal investor for us to realise our goal,” said Vaibhav. “Our customers are asking us for larger regional and global coverage.”
 
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