ShipBob scores $40 million in funding round

The e-commerce fulfillment and technology provider also opened its largest fulfillment center in Chicago.    Chicago-based e-commerce fulfillment and technology provider ShipBob announced Thursday it has secured $40 million in a Series C funding round.
   The funding round was led by Menlo Ventures, with additional participation from existing investors Bain Capital Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners, Hyde Park Angels and Y Combinator.
   ShipBob said the funding will enhance its capabilities to bring same-day shipping to more customers, fuel growth and expand its software platform.
   “This investment from Menlo Ventures will be used to scale up operations around all fulfillment centers, along with new hires needed to provide additional engineering, client success, sales and marketing support,” ShipBob co-founder and CEO Dhruv Saxena said. “We are committed to providing e-commerce businesses the ability to build a direct relationship with their customers by selling on the channels they want and not having to worry about fulfillment.”
   Founded in 2014, ShipBob had garnered $4 million in a Series A funding round in June 2016, led by Hyde Park Venture Partners. The tech company secured its Series B funding round in June 2017, led by Bain Capital Ventures.
   Since the Series B funding round, ShipBob has grown its headcount from 60 employees to more than 400 employees today, “with no sign of slowing down,” the company said.
   ShipBob also announced Thursday the opening of a 105,000-square-foot fulfillment center in Chicago that is six times larger than the current Chicago location and more than two times larger than any other fulfillment center in the ShipBob network. “When our lease expired at our old location, we seized the opportunity to increase our footprint in the Chicago area to support the scale and growth we are seeing in the marketplace,” Saxena said.
   In addition to Chicago, ShipBob currently has fulfillment centers in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco.