🇲🇾 e-fulfillment startup eyes series C fundraise

IStore iSend, a Malaysian e-fulfillment startup, is in the process of raising its series C funding round. The company didn’t disclose how much it is looking to bring in but told Tech in Asia that it expects to complete the round within the next 12 to 18 months.

iStore iSend co-founders (from left): Tommy Yong and Joe Khoo / Photo credit: iStore iSend

If successful, it will be the company’s second institutional round of funding – the first being its over US$5.5 million series B round in January 2021. Six months later, it raised a seven-digit US dollar sum from Kuroneko Innovation Fund as part of the same round.

In 2009, Joe Koo and Tommy Yong initially launched as a warehousing business modeled after Fulfillment by Amazon. However, there was a lack of volume in the Malaysian ecommerce market, which drove them to switch to last-mile delivery. But in 2013, as demand for ecommerce grew, they returned to their original business model that focused on warehousing.

Today, iStore iSend has developed a system to automate ecommerce operations. It provides clients with services ranging from storage to delivery arrangements and also value-added options such as real-time inventory management and shipment tracking.

It has also expanded into offering ecommerce enablement services such as online store set-up, brand onboarding on marketplaces, official online store management, growth and marketing campaigns management, listing, and customer services for brands and retailers.

The company has been talking to existing as well as new investors for its series C round and has received strong interest from new investors amid strong demand for ecommerce logistics.

IStore iSend will use the fresh funds to boost its operations in Thailand, which it entered in the second half of 2021, and launch in Vietnam and the Philippines by the end of the year. Following the expansion, it will be present in six Southeast Asian countries, the others being Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Joe Khoo, co-founder and CEO of iStore iSend, told Tech in Asia that he estimated it would take US$1 million for a logistics firm to get started in a Southeast Asian country, and the firm plans to invest exactly that amount in each of Vietnam and the Philippines to get things running.

The company is also looking to make a substantial investment in the Thai market, as it looks to penetrate deeper into the market.

“In Thailand, we are going to invest more as it is a very promising market for us. If we just take a look at the initial numbers, it is quite a substantial growth area for us,” said Khoo.

See also: Series SEA: Who’s investing in the region’s logistics and transportation startups?

Currently, iStore iSend processes over 5 million items per year across a combined 375,000 square feet of warehouse space in four nations. It said it made over US$17 million in revenue in 2020 and saw a 15% month-on-month growth in volume of products processed via its warehouses. The company currently has a staff of over 200 employees and has expanded its business to Singapore, Indonesia, and China.