Fr8Labs bags $1.5m from East Ventures, others to be the ‘Shopify of logistics’

Photo credit: Fr8Labs

Asia’s freight forwarding market is a pivotal part of global trade routes, but the players in the industry are mainly small and medium-sized businesses and mid-market forwarders who operate with outdated processes. This often leads to redundancies, missed opportunities, and extra expenses, such as demurrage penalties, for SMB clients.

Fr8Labs, which aims to be the “Shopify of logistics,” wants to solve this problem. The Singapore and Indonesia-based firm’s cloud-based operating system for freight forwarders streamlines the process. It integrates shipment job processes and links internal and external stakeholder functions, such as sales and operations.

The company has raised US$1.5 million in seed funding from investors including East Ventures, FEBE Ventures, and Venturra.

Fr8Labs CEO Glenn Lai told Tech in Asia that by using Fr8Labs’ system, a forwarder can simply upload a PDF of a shipping order. After that, the system automatically creates the shipment booking and other required workflows. This helps reduce human error, which – in the context of customs submissions, for instance – could cause lengthy delays.

The CEO added that its use of genAI applications is “first in the market for our segment.” This includes an AI assistant bot that acts as an AI co-pilot for forwarders.

The company operates on a subscription model, charging on a per user, per month basis for its base platform. Users can then choose to “plug and play” additional modules. Eventually, Fr8Labs looks to integrate ancillary products, such as a warehouse management system, forex trade, and financing solutions, among others.

Currently, the company has signed over 50 customers in its three key markets: Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It has also acquired customers from Taiwan and Australia.

“In the next five years, we aim to be the go-to system for all freight forwarders in ASEAN [and] expand deeper into Asia,” said Lai.

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