The startup will utilise fresh capital to scale its domestic operations and strengthen its foothold across Europe & Southeast Asia
Before this the startup has received angel funding in 2013-14
3SC claims to grow at 2-3X in the next couple of years on the back of growing demand of digitisation
Gurgaon-based supply chain planning and logistics startup 3SC has raised $15 Mn in Series B round led by GEF Capital’s South Asia Fund. The startup will utilise the fresh capital to scale its domestic business and strengthen its foothold across Europe and Southeast Asia. It will also improve its existing software and analytics through both organic and inorganic routes.
The startup has earlier raised angel investment in 2013- 14. Founded by Lalit Das and Sarita Das in 2012, 3SC provides logistics services and supply chain analytics solutions to companies across pharma, FMCG, ecommerce, and industrial industries. The startup offers solutions in planning, distribution, control tower, and 4PL, leveraging AI/ML.
A 4PL is a fourth-party logistics provider that takes third-party logistics a step further by looking after resources, technology, and infrastructure. A 4PL service provider will even provide supply chain solutions for businesses.
The startup boasts of having a higher customer base in both India and Europe. The startup claims that its product/service offerings have powered many organisations and helped propel their ‘Digital Transformation’ journey by achieving industry leading business outcomes in operational excellence, cost leadership, sustainability measures, and productivity gains
Lalit who is the founder and CEO of the company claimed that with strong industry tailwinds towards digitisation and their capitalised balance sheet, the startup is poised to grow 2-3X in the next couple of years.
The startup has also highlighted that it helps in reducing its clients’ greenhouse gas emissions by leveraging technology and analytics offering.
Commenting on the investment, Raj Pai, managing partner at GEF Capital Partners, said, “With the onset of Covid, the global SCM industry is ripe for modernization and 3SC is uniquely positioned as an end-to-end Execution plus Analytics service provider suited for customers of all scale and size.”
The logistics market after initial hiccups due to the imposition of the lockdown during the first Covid wave, saw a gradual growth. As people remained indoors to curb the spread of the virus, demand for home delivery services skyrocketed. During the lockdown, we saw several startups pivot their operations to deliver groceries showing a high demand for essential services.
According to a Technavio report, India’s third-party logistics is expected to grow by $10.74 Bn progressing at a CAGR of almost 8% during 2021-2025
According to ReportLinker’s report, manufacturing in India, which will contribute 25%-30% of the country’s GDP by 2025 will drive the warehousing segment of India. The logistics market in the country is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% between 2019-2025. Growing demand for ecommerce services is expected to spur the growth of logistics services.
Apart from major logistics players operating in the country such as DHL and Bluedart, startups are attracting investors’ interest. India already houses two logistics startups Delhivery and BlackBuck which have achieved unicorn status.