Global logistics tech business sees record-breaking year
Logistics provider, fulfilmentcrowd, which works with TV personality Bear Grylls’ ecommerce shop, is forecasting revenues of £12m this financial year, driven by the explosion of online retail over the past 12 months.
This represents a 58% rise on the £7.6m achieved in 2019 – marking the best year to date for the Chorley-based business.
It is also in talks to extend its existing international operations to the Middle East and Australasia.
Founded in 1984, fulfilmentcrowd provides tailored order fulfilment services and technology to more than 400 UK and international online retailers.
With 102 staff across 11 UK and global centres, including the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the US, the firm manages more than 120,000 sq ft of warehouse space, processing more than 50,000 items per week.
Over the past 12 months the firm has opened three new sites in Marton Fold, UK, Bocholt, Germany and Sandston, Virginia, USA, strengthening its international network and increasing its worldwide delivery capabilities.
This includes the launch of a chilled logistics centre in Marton Fold, making cold chain fulfilment a viable and cost-effective option for UK-based ecommerce start-ups and SMEs in the food, drink, health and beauty sectors – all industries where the shelf life and quality of perishable products is greatly enhanced when stored in a temperature-controlled environment.
The firm’s operations are underpinned by the latest technology, with fulfilmentcrowd investing £1.5m a year into the research and development of its proprietary cloud-based software platform.
Powered by artificial intelligence, the platform provides clients with instant marketplace integration, automated order processing and live order tracking.
Over the next 12 months fulfilmentcrowd plans to expand its international network further by breaking into new ecommerce territories, with sites in the Middle East and Australasia already in negotiation.
Due to the impact of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the subsequent restrictions on certain goods being exported from the UK into the EU, the organisation also expects a sharp increase in the number of new and existing UK-based clients outsourcing storage and fulfilment via its European centres in Germany and the Netherlands.
Vanessa Ashworth, chief marketing officer at fulfilmentcrowd, said: “We have seen extraordinary levels of demand for our solution over the last 12 months, as businesses look to adapt their core models towards eCommerce offerings. Our technology platform has been crucial in enabling us to satisfy this demand, with continual investment made in research and development to ensure we provide the highest level of fulfilment to our customers.
“As businesses continue to digitise operations, we expect this growth to accelerate over the coming months, especially with our growing international network of warehouses and the launch of specialist services like chilled fulfilment.”
The business has also demonstrated its commitment to sustainability. In 2019, it launched the ‘Lorax Project’, a multi-faceted initiative to become the UK’s first fully sustainable fulfilment provider by 2022.
It offers clients environmentally-responsible shipping, biodegradable packaging and a zero-waste policy, saving 12 tonnes of plastic waste per year and 176 tonnes in CO2 emissions.
