Flexport
Flexport Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on supply chain management and logistics, including order management, delivery, trade financing, insurance, freight forwarding and customs brokerage. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California,[4] has thousands of employees and has annual revenues of more than $3.3 billion.
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Type | Private |
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Industry | |
Founded | 2013 |
Founders |
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Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Ryan Petersen (Chairman and CEO) |
Revenue | ![]() |
Number of employees | 3,200 (2022)[3] |
Website | flexport |
Business
Flexport's software integrates and connects ERP data from various companies involved in a supply chain, which allows them to manage information about cargo and streamline freight processing.[5] It has raised $304M as of 2017, including $110M in its latest Series C round.[6]
In a 2017 interview to Forbes, Flexport's CEO Ryan Petersen said the company started opening their own warehouses for consolidating cargo customer shipments located in Hong Kong and L.A. with plans "to have a global network where we can load and unload cargo".[7]
In 2021, Flexport participated in seed round investment of Pakistan-based trucking startup Bridgelinx.[8] In 2022, Flexport "raised $935 million in a Series E funding round that values the freight forwarding company at $8 billion". It has raised $2.3 billion since its inception.[9] In June 2022, Flexport announced that Amazon worldwide consumer chief Dave Clark would be joining Flexport as its new CEO.[10] Clark resigned in September 2023 after one year in the role to founder and then executive chair Ryan Petersen.[11]
Growth
In May 2015, the company told Chinese media outlet 36kr.com that they were on pace to generate $60 million in sales for 2015.[12] It had more than 600 customers in 2016. It has increased revenue by 25% every month in the 30 months since Flexport was founded, according to Petersen. As of 2017, Flexport has raised $94 million in venture capital from such investors as Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, First Round Capital and Google Venture.[4][13] In July 2016, it had 420 employees in seven offices, including Atlanta, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and was worth $365 million.[13]
In August 2018, Flexport was named the 8th fastest growing company in the United States, with a three-year growth of 15,911%.[14]
In 2019, Flexport was named to the 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50,[15] CNBC's annual list of private companies that are transforming the economy, and Inc.'s Best Workplaces.[16]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Flexport announced layoffs along with other Silicon Valley tech startups.[17]
In December 2021, Flexport launched the Flexport Certified Partner Network to bring together local expertise and global accessibility.[18]
In May 2023, Shopify sold its logistics service to Flexport in exchange for 13% of the company.[19]
In September 2023, Ryan Petersen regained the CEO position after the departure of Dave Clark.[20]
References
- "Ryan Petersen's Flexport Aims To Simplify Global Freight Transport Business". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
- "Flexport is Silicon Valley's Solution to the Supply Chain Mess—Why do Insiders Hope It Sinks?". Forbes.
- de León, Riley (2023-01-11). "Flexport to lay off 20% of its global workforce". CNBC.
- Rogers, Bruce. "Ryan Petersen's Flexport Aims To Simplify Global Freight Transport Business". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- "FreightTech 25: Flexport demystifies trade with more visibility tools". FreightWaves. 2020-12-23. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
- "Freight Startup Flexport Raises $110 Million And Turns Down A $1 Billion Valuation". Flexport. October 26, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- Adams, Susan. "Flexport Wants To Do For Freight Shipping What FedEx Does For Small Packages". Forbes. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- "Digital freight marketplace BridgeLinx raises $10 million in Pakistan's largest seed funding". TechCrunch. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- León, Riley de (2022-02-07). "Freight forwarding firm Flexport raises nearly $1 billion in funding, adds Shopify, Michael Dell as investors". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
- Palmer, Annie (2022-06-08). "Amazon consumer chief Dave Clark to join Flexport as its new CEO". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
- Goswami, Annie Palmer,Rohan (2023-09-06). "Flexport CEO Dave Clark resigns from logistics startup after one year in the role". CNBC. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "货运业的Uber来了,Flexport开启大宗物流透明化的2.0时代_36氪". 36氪. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- Adams, Susan. "Flexport Wants To Do For Freight Shipping What FedEx Does For Small Packages". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- "These Are the 10 Fastest-Growing Companies in America in 2018". Inc.com. 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- staff, CNBC com (2019-05-15). "24. Flexport". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
- "The 346 Best Places to Work in 2019". Inc.com. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
- Griffith, Erin (2020-02-24). "As the Start-Up Boom Deflates, Tech Is Humbled (Published 2020)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- "Flexport Launches Certified Partner Network". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- "Shopify sells shipping service firm Deliverr, other assets amid narrowing ambitions". The Economic Times. 2023-05-04. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-05-04.
- Young, Liz; Mattioli, Dana (6 September 2023). "WSJ News Exclusive | Dave Clark Resigns as Flexport CEO". Wall Street Journal.