When we talk about e-commerce logistics, we think of industries controlled by established players like Amazon, FedEx, and the national postal system. decided to challenge incumbents with a new model of last-mile delivery using an Uber-like network.
During the pandemic, company UniUni has managed to grow its business into the largest last-mile delivery provider for fast-fashion juggernaut Shein in North America. Its rapid growth has caught the attention of investors, and today UniUni announced the closing of its first tranche of Series B funding, CAD $20 million ($15 million).
UniUni plans to raise three more tranches in a Series B round by the end of 2023, the company’s founder and CEO Peter Lu told TechCrunch in an interview. Lu declined to disclose the target amount for the entire round, but said it would be a “significant” amount. The founder is tight-lipped about the company’s valuation, but he says the goal is to reach $1 billion unicorn status by 2025.
UniUni’s early momentum was the result of luck and grit. As COVID-19 hit and hundreds of millions of people stayed at home, e-commerce sales surged and strained delivery networks around the world. At the time, UniUni was the underdog in the competitive restaurant delivery race. A logistics company that ships e-commerce products from China to Canada encountered one of his contract vehicles in Vancouver and asked if he wanted to help unload some parcels in the neighborhood. UniUni said yes, and over time, the one-off project evolved into a long-term partnership.
From there, UniUni stumbled upon a new way to enhance last-mile delivery. Traditionally, online retailers have relied on courier services and postal networks to transport goods from warehouses to customers’ doorsteps. The problem with this model, Lu argues, is that neither system was designed for the speed and volume of e-commerce. Consumers have to wait two weeks or pay a hefty fee for expedited delivery.
UniUni offers what it claims to be a faster and cheaper last-mile solution through its gig drivers (“crowdsourced drivers,” as Lu puts it). When UniUni’s first client approached from the streets of Vancouver, UniUni already had an existing network of contract drivers, so it didn’t take long to realize the model was a sustainable unit with his economics. It didn’t take. Not surprisingly, the startup pivoted from meal delivery to e-commerce purchases.
Lu, who studied computer science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and immigrated to Canada 20 years ago, said: “We thought there was still an opportunity in this area.”
Image credit: uni uni
Today, UniUni boasts more than 6,000 drivers across Canada and hundreds of drivers in the recently launched US. By 2023, he has an ambitious goal of exceeding 200,000 packages per day and generating $100 million in revenue. By the end of this year, the company aims to be profitable in Canada.
The founders are confident in their predictions because they believe UniUni has distinct advantages. For one, the use of flexible workers rather than full-time staff significantly reduces labor costs. Compared to traditional courier services, startups have a much denser network of delivery facilities, which helps reduce delivery times. And because UniUni is platform agnostic, it can group orders from different clients (Amazon, Shein, up-and-coming app Temu, etc.) to schedule the most efficient delivery routes and drivers.
According to Lu, this setup allows UniUni to deliver as fast as DHL, but at less than half the price. The company helped cut Shein’s delivery time from 10-14 days to just 4-5 days, the founders claim.
Finally, a network of startups in China is essential for early development. In the era of e-commerce, Chinese-made goods are becoming increasingly popular thanks to the rise of Chinese e-commerce sites serving overseas users and the streamlined cross-border logistics networks built by Chinese companies over the past decade. , continues to fill Western homes. UniUni works closely with some of the largest cross-border logistics solution providers such as Yanwen Express and Zongteng Group, both of which have secured his C$10 million ($7 million) Series A funding round for the startup. I participated.
In Series B, UniUni focused on finding financial investors rather than strategic investors. The lineup includes GrubMarket investors Celtic House Venture Partners, BRV Aster, Freshwave Capital, Hat Trick Ventures and Vision Plus Capital. Proceeds from this new round will be used for expansion into major US cities including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas and Miami.The company has his team of 250 employees, 12 of whom are in the United States.
One has to wonder how UniUni keeps costs so low in a state like California, where gig worker rights are a constant subject of legislative debate. Lu stressed that the company is fully compliant with the regulations in the regions where it operates, admitting that the company’s costs would actually increase if drivers were to achieve full employment status. However, we are less concerned about potential regulatory implications.
“We know exactly how many parcels we deliver to each city,” he says. “The question is when will we break even? Three months ago, maybe. Now it will only take four months.”
This article was updated on March 6, 2023 with revised funding and valuation figures.
