Shared Logistics Firm Saltbox Gets $35M From a Series B Round

Saltbox, which focuses on shared logistics facilities and capabilities for smaller e-commerce companies, announced that it had raised $35 million from Series B fundraising. The new round brings total funding to $56 million after closing its Series A of $10.6 million in March 2021.

Cox Enterprises and Pendulum led the round. Other investors included Playground Global, XYZ Capital, Fundrise, Kapor Capital, Wilshire Lane Capital, Colliers, Lincoln Property Company, Flexport, and Overline. The funds will go to ongoing development of the company’s technology platform.

According to the company’s press release and website, they offer flex workspaces with “logistically-enabled infrastructure,” fulfillment services through a hub, and combination workspace and fulfillment centers. “Warehouse suites” offer 70 to 10,000 square foot spaces within a warehouse with month-to-month contracts and temperature-controlled space for products,

Startups and small companies often find logistics to be a challenging part of their operations. Undertaking the necessary work either means hiring additional staff and even facilities like warehouse space before there’s sufficient volume to justify the cost, or having employees do double duty to get shipments out and receiving incoming ones.

Many companies use big retailers like Amazon or Walmart that offer inventory storage, order packing and shipment, returns, and incoming shipments. But the big firms charge significantly for the services and a given small business will be one of many thousands of clients.

“In 2022, Saltbox more than doubled its growth, expanding its flexible warehouse network to ten locations, including new co-warehousing locations in Alexandria, Virginia; Duarte, California; Carrollton, Texas; Arden Hills, Minnesota; and a second location in Atlanta’s Upper Westside neighborhood to support its flagship facility,” the release claimed. “The company also opened its first-ever fulfillment hub in Dublin, Ohio – a strategic location in the Columbus, Ohio market that allows members to reach 67% of the total U.S. population via 2-day shipping.”

The company also claims to have 500 business members across ten co-warehousing locations, with more than 70% of them being ecommerce companies that sell physical goods directly to consumers. “These SMBs span numerous industries including fashion and apparel, health and beauty, home goods, resale, and tech in the hardware and services sectors,” the company says. “Half of Saltbox member businesses are led by women or people of color.”