Cloud-based procurement platform GoodShip announced Thursday it has closed on a $5 million seed round co-led by Ironspring Ventures and Chicago Ventures with participation from previous investors including Fuse VC, Cercano Management and project44’s Jett McCandless.
Including its previous seed round that closed in October, which involved several industry leaders including Stord founder Sean Henry, Convoy founder Dan Lewis and FreightWaves founder Craig Fuller, the company has raised $7.4 million to expedite the development of its procurement platform’s features.
“Industry leaders want solutions designed by and for industry leaders who understand the challenges unique to transportation procurement, especially when facing disruption and volatility. GoodShip’s team, partnerships and platform all reflect their deep roots in freight and, consequently, an even deeper understanding of what transportation procurement products enterprise supply chains need to create resilience and thrive in a post-pandemic world,” said Ty Findley, co-founder and general partner at Ironspring Ventures, of the company’s management, which pulls from veterans of Coyote Logistics, Convoy and Stord.
It was also announced that Findley will join the GoodShip board.
Funding detailsGoodShipFunding amount$5 millionFunding roundSeed round (second)Lead investorsIronspring Ventures and Chicago VenturesSecondary investorsFuse VC, Cercano Management and Jett McCandlessBusiness goals for the roundAccelerate bid feature development, artificial intelligence recommendation engine and go-to-market effortsTotal funding$7.4 million
Purely technology
While some procurement platforms offer their own acquired carrier networks, GoodShip co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Soskin told FreightWaves the company’s intention was not to facilitate those transactions but to provide data analytics and insight into shippers’ individual procurement ecosystems.
“There is no conflict of interest here. We are not doing any physical logistics, it’s purely technology,” explained Soskin. “Once shippers get up and running on GoodShip, they invite their carriers onto the platform. This creates a multiplayer experience where each party has access to modern analytics, creating a single source of truth.”
Project44 CEO McCandless said this single source of truth was one reason for his continued investment in GoodShip.
“Actionability — rather than brokering or executing freight — makes their platform neutral and unique. Unifying siloed sources of data, identifying areas of opportunity and providing the necessary tools to proactively optimize outcomes is a game changer for shippers, carriers and the broader freight ecosystem,” McCandless said.
Through GoodShip’s platform, carriers and shippers can see metrics including lane volume, loads to date, total revenue, tender acceptance rates, and pickup and delivery appointment on-time percentage.
To provide market transparency to shippers and carrier bidding as well, lane metrics include seasonality trends, volume by day of the week and pricing analytics that include an integration with FreightWaves SONAR.
Related: FreightWaves integrates with GoodShip’s freight analytics and procurement platform
“There are a lot of generic solutions that miss a lot of important components and do not account for industry context. You need to know what the seasonality is and how much lead time you will receive. We can expose that to carriers when they are bidding so they are no longer flying blind,” said Soskin.
Soskin and GoodShip’s team also aimed to provide a more seamless procurement experience for shippers by gamifying the process and providing pronounced suggestions for improvement.
“You can hide the healthy areas of your carrier network and hone in on where attention is needed. For example, green lanes mean that you are buying capacity competitively. Red lanes are opportunities to negotiate rates and try to meet the suggested cost savings,” he said.
After six months, customers have seen late deliveries improve by 20% and freight spend drop by 3% to 5%, according to the company.
“The platform allows us to combine detailed analytics, procurement events and carrier development into a single tool in a way we haven’t seen elsewhere in the market. In addition to the platform itself, the GoodShip team are true collaborative partners who understand the needs of shippers,” said Tim Worona, vice president of supply chain planning and logistics at Utz Brands Inc.
Watch now: F3 Goodship Rapid Fire Demo
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