Top Delivery, a provider of e-commerce shipment services on the domestic market, has raised an undisclosed amount from Impulse VC. The young company will use the funds to develop further its logistics, customer service and IT systems. It also plans to expand its geographic coverage – which now covers 2,700 locations in 44 Russian regions.
“This is our first venture funding, putting aside an initial small angel investment,” Top Delivery co-founder Gleb Nikulin told East-West Digital News. “This funding will provide us a sufficient level of capital to remain stable even in case of recession.”
“This round of investment shows that the trend that was in the market three years ago, when investors mainly funded projects in the e-commerce sector, is changing, and the interest to infrastructure projects with automation software for retailers is increasing,” Nikulin added.
Launched in early 2011 as a startup – incubated at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics – Top Delivery has already developed a nationwide network on its own or in partnership with third-party providers.
A few years ago, while the Russian Post’s service was slow and unreliable, no e-commerce delivery company operating nationwide could provide quality delivery service across the country’s regions at moderate rates. Not only were existing providers expensive, but their service was not always reliable and, in most cases, their offer was too expensive and not flexible enough to meet the diversity of needs of e-commerce companies. IT integration with merchants’ CRM and inventory systems was impossible or difficult.
Top Delivery is one of the players that have completely changed the e-commerce shipment landscape over the past few years. Now a number of service providers offer a wide coverage at accessible prices, proposing a real alternative to the Russian Post in most cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants. These new market conditions have accelerated e-commerce growth throughout the country, as analysed in East-West Digital News research study on Russian e-commerce.
Among the main players on this market are B2C-PL, Boxberry, CDEK DPD, IML and SPSR – not to mention the in-house delivery services of such major e-commerce companies as KupiVIP, OZON, the Otto Group and Sotmarket.
Impulse VC was launched in October 2013 with the stated goal of investing $65 million in diversified Internet markets. The entity includes a venture fund and an incubator.
- Detailed analysis on the Russian e-commerce delivery market with practical recommendations to online retailers are contained in the latest edition of East-West Digital News study on Russian e-commerce. To receive an executive summary at no charge, please contact us at [email protected].
