INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sometimes that means building free software for your clients
It can be frustrating aligning your fates with a fellow business if they operate on email, phone and fax like much of the freight-forwarding
So today, the new Flexport Platform launches, allowing brand clients, their factories and their Flexport logistics reps to all team up to
startup that was valued at $3.2 billion after raising $1 billion from SoftBank in February (to bring it to $1.3 billion in funding)
whole freight-forwarding industry grows 4% per year.The Flexboard Platform dashboard offers maps, notifications, task lists, and chat for
Flexport clients and their factory suppliers.The Flexport Platform lets 10,000 clients, like Bombas socks, invite their suppliers to
collaborate on managing shipments together
An integrated calendar makes shipping timelines clear
A map gives clients a god-view of their freight criss-crossing the globe
Pre-filled forms expedite compliance
critical for a marketing launch event
Collaborators also can sync up via a Facebook Wall-style feature, or direct message the team with threaded conversations, much like
shipping documentation filled out 50% faster with 4X more accurate data
Flexport is on the tip of the tongue as software eats the world, with antiquated sectors suddenly leveling up.Petersen saw the inefficiency
first-hand growing up running his own import/export and customs business
He is part of a wave of entrepreneurs attacking unsexy businesses that the typical Silicon Valley enterprise exec might never stumble across
But three years after we profiled his scrappy company, when it had raised just $26 million in funding and had 700 clients, Petersen tells me
But with competitors trying to chase it and incumbents trying to adopt similar technologies, Flexport must maintain its agility to avoid
especially after a certain other logistics giant startup had some uber-painful troubles with workplace toxicity
Flexport wanted to give clients with the new platform
consumer software for new users
Petersen is still enthusiastic, curious and charmingly rough around the edges, but he carries it all with more dignity and gravity than a
cash in the bank, industry talent taking it seriously and new businesses like Flexport Capital freight financing and its cargo insurance
offered in partnership with Marsh, the company might not be a startup for long
It looks like a hot candidate for a coming season of IPOs
