Miami-based Grip, a perishable shipping logistics startup, recently emerged from stealth mode and announced a $2 million pre-seed funding round.
The round was backed by Soma Capital, Western Technology Investment and several angel investors from the logistics industry. The funding will be used to build out Grip’s software platform, which founder and CEO Juan C. Meisel says helps eCommerce businesses moving perishable items, from meal kits and pet food to flowers and pharaceuticals, reduce shipping errors and limit waste.
Grip, now a team of six, has built what it calls a smart logistics engine. Grip’s tech platform sits on top of customer’s order management systems to automate every perishable eCommerce shipment’s carrier, service, refrigerant quantity, packaging, and shipping facility selection based on real-time network conditions such as temperature through the journey, carrier on-time delivery, and box performance.
Grip also identifies and monitors weather that could impact orders, so shippers can proactively hold orders or alert customers about potential delays. Its data on on-time delivery, transit time, failure rates, and customer feedback help companies identify areas for improvement. By decreasing product and transportation waste, Grip enables their customers to reduce their environmental footprint, the company said.
It’s a big problem to tackle, because shipping mistakes and delays currently account for 30% of online shopping drawbacks and results in high customer churn.
“There was a clear gap in the market for software that could handle the ever-changing shipping conditions that perishable eCommerce brands experience. We built Grip to help brands focus on perfecting their actual product and take the headache out of the shipping aspect,” said Meisel. “They need a data-backed turnkey solution that they can reliably plug in with a seamless integration that will start working right away with their current systems, not after months or years of development.”
Launched only a few months ago, Grip says it has processed hundreds of thousands of shipments and customers have seen a 25% reduction in failure rates and 30% reduction in shipping costs. Customers are onboarded and can begin shipping in a matter of hours, and Grip makes money via monthly SaaS fees based on the size of the company and the complexity of integration, Meisel told TechCrunch.
Meisel previously was Head of Logistics at Boston-based ButcherBox. Jimmy Cooper, former Head of Data at ButcherBox recently joined Grip as co-founder and CTO.
Follow Nancy Dahlberg on Twitter @ndahlberg and email her at [email protected]
READ MORE ON REFRESH MIAMI
- MyBundle partners with 126 cable providers to give customers the best possible TV experience
- Remoov helps people declutter responsibly and the Miami market rolls in fast growth
- AutoLeadStar revs up with $40M funding round, strengthening ties between Israel and Miami
- Terran Orbital draws $100M Lockheed investment; cancels plans for Space Coast manufacturing plant
- What’s the lowdown on funding for female-founded startups? Pitchbook report and local data shed light
- 8+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Dapta and Siprocal raise funding, plus news from Jeff Bezos, MoonPay, Sustainable Skylines, Freebee & more - April 11, 2024
- Slow start for Q1 South Florida VC but deal count showed strength. Here are the top deals. - April 11, 2024
- Bucking the trends, Miami Angels posted a record 2023, a strong start in ’24, and more - April 10, 2024