Highlights:

  • The startup is creating a network of third-party logistics fulfillment centers driven by robotics to serve e-commerce enterprises and other businesses across the U.S.
  • According to Nimble, these automated warehouses have already been established, with facilities spread out geographically around the United States.

Nimble Robots Inc., an independent logistics firm that intends to rebuild the fulfillment center for small and medium-sized enterprises, recently announced that it has closed on a USD 65 million round of funding.

With the recent Series B round, which was headed by Cedar Pine and included current investors DNS Capital, GSR Ventures, Breyer Capital, and others, the company has received a total of USD 115 million.

The startup is creating an automated third-party logistics fulfillment network to help e-commerce enterprises and other businesses in the U.S. that cannot develop their own autonomous warehouses. Given the necessary expenditure, most companies need the means to automate their warehouse operations fully.

Companies may efficiently outsource their warehousing requirements to Nimble’s fully automated 3PL facilities rather than developing their own. According to the company’s presentation, its intelligent robotic fulfillment systems can automatically pick, pack, and dispatch e-commerce orders while cutting the size of the warehouse by up to 75%.

In an interview with the leading media house, Simon Kalouche, the founder and CEO of Nimble, claimed that his business had mastered the “hardest part” of warehouse automation: choosing products. He said, “Until you automate picking, you need people in the warehouse. You need to make warehouses ergonomic, safe, and OSHA-compliant for people. When you automate the picking step, you remove all those constraints.”

According to Nimble, these automated warehouses have already been established, with facilities spread out geographically around the United States. It asserts it can give brands 96% coverage of the U.S. population within 1-2 days and 40% savings on click-to-collect compared to established 3PL businesses.

Even if it can’t yet compete with same-day shipping offered by Amazon.com Inc., it does allow online shops to move one step closer. Also, automation helps warehouse managers overcome the problem of a labor shortage. According to an internal memo leaked last year, Amazon has significant concerns about running out of workers to operate its warehouses.

Kalouche said, “Finding and retaining warehouse labor while meeting a two-day delivery standard is our customer’s No. 1 operational problem. Brands want to leverage robotics and automation solutions to address this issue but are often challenged by economics. Our autonomous fulfillment centers and 3PL service will give brands access to state-of-the-art robotic fulfillment systems in a cost-effective way without large upfront investment.”