Machinery Partners B2B marketplace

A total of $8 million will come from Armory Square Ventures and joined by Pritzker Group, two venture funds with expertise in the industrial technology space, Machinery Partners says. Other investors include RiverPark Ventures and Contour Venture Partners. Pacific Western Bank provided an additional $3 million in venture debt and some money from previous investors such as:

• Euclid Ventures
• One Way Ventures
• Techstars Ventures

Venture debt or venture lending is a type of debt financing provided to venture-backed companies by specialized banks or non-bank lenders to fund working capital or capital expenses, such as purchasing equipment.

“This funding will equip Machinery Partner to further expand across the country and become the go-to destination for heavy equipment manufacturers to sell to construction, agriculture and recycling companies,” the company says of its B2B marketplace.

Machinery Partners, based in Boston, currently does business in 35 states. The B2B marketplace offers procurement, financing, and support for a wide range of industrial equipment and heavy machinery.

In addition to selling in 35 states, it plans to expand operations throughout the country and internationally. In doing so, the company says, it hopes to support local construction and infrastructure development.

“Machinery Partner has brought a new approach to heavy machinery procurement designed to support industrial businesses facing labor shortage and needing more specialized equipment,” says Machinery Partner co-founder and CEO Clement Cazalot. “With this funding, we will continue to expand our offerings for our customers, support new factory partners, and increase availability to disrupt the $580 billion global heavy equipment industry.”

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post A B2B marketplace for heavy machinery unearths new funding appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

The Houston company provides ecommerce platform, fulfillment, marketing, customer service, and analytics software and services. It has received $30 million in funds from Trinity Capital Inc.

Cart.com focuses primarily on middle-market and enterprise companies and says it supports over $8 billion in gross merchandise value. I also says it operates 14 omnichannel facilities nationwide, totaling over 8 million square feet of space.

“We’re excited to add to our portfolio an innovative company that’s proving itself to be an indispensable commerce and logistics partner to a wide range of B2B, B2C and direct-to-consumer merchants,” says Trinity managing director, tech lending Ryan Thompson. “We look forward to playing an important role in supporting Cart.com‘s growth.”

Cart.com investment

In June, Cart.com raised $60 million to bring its valuation to $1.2 billion, the company says. The round included participation from B. Riley Venture Capital, Kingfisher Investment Advisors, Snowflake Ventures, Prosperity7 Ventures, Legacy Knight, and other strategic corporate and financial investors.

The latest investment is part of a larger $100 million debt refinancing that included Trinity and Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank.

“With Trinity’s financing, Cart.com will double down on investments that support the growing demand for innovative logistics and commerce infrastructure solutions that help our customers unlock more efficient growth,” said Cart.com Founder and CEO Omair Tariq.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post Cart.com goes shopping for investor money appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Interplay will use the money raised to invest in 20 more very early stage B2B ecommerce marketplace and platform companies. It will provide with small cash infusions of $1 million to $2 million per start-up, Interplay says. Interplay is a New York-based investment firm.

“The closing of $45 million for our third fund, Interplay Early-Stage Fund III, will focus on B2B marketplaces and vertical software companies,” says CEO Mark Peter Davis.

The latest round of investment in Interplay brings its total funding to more than $140 million. The company did not say its primary funding source.

Thus far, Interplay has made 52 investments in B2B marketplaces. They include LeafLink, a wholesale cannabis platform, and Provi.com, an online marketplace that simplifies the complex process of ordering wholesale alcohol by connecting buyers, distributors, and suppliers among others.

Interplay’s most recent investment is in Roofr.com, which leverages satellite imagery and takes accurate measurements of the roof to generate a tentative estimate, enabling users to get access to the desired roofers with transparent pricing, according to Pitchbook.com.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post An investor firm for early stage B2B marketplaces raises big money appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Bowery Capital is an investment management firm focused on B2B marketplaces and similar categories.

Three key takeaways

1. Why is there a pullback in B2B marketplace investing?

• “The multiple compression in the public B2B marketplace players is causing the risk/reward to be very challenging downstream relative to other venture style business models.”
• “We are entering digital maturity in a lot of industries and there are a fair number of sizable, venture-backed companies.”
• “Competition and not wanting to back a fourth or fifth company in a well-funded space has caused a lot of the slowdown.”

2. Where are investors putting their skin in the game?

• “We still see a lot of activity in the markets that generally have the largest spend and are shifting the fastest to a digital twin.
• “Transportation and logistics, construction, healthcare, and wholesale continue to be verticals that see funding activity.”

3. Which B2B marketplaces are getting funded?

• A look at 13 recent transactions reveals a wide range of investor totals. For example, in February, ShiftMed raised $200 million. ShiftMed is a B2B marketplace for health care systems looking for help such as traveling nurses.
• On the other end of the spectrum, ePallet in August raised $5 million in new cash from Bowery Capital to expand. EPallet is a B2B marketplace that restaurant chains, franchises, and other companies in the hospitality industry use to get manufacturer-direct deals.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post Three things you should know about B2B marketplace investing appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

But marketplaces in the right industries, niches and markets are getting funding from picky investors, according to new data from Bowery Capital. Bowery is an investment management firm focused on B2B marketplaces and similar categories.

B2B marketplace investment deals

A look at 13 recent transactions reveals a wide range of investor totals. For example, in February, ShiftMed raised $200 million led by health care investors, Panoramic Ventures with participation from Blue Heron Capital and Audacious Capital. ShiftMed is a B2B marketplace for health care systems looking for help such as traveling nurses. Funds will be used to expand ShiftMed’s national footprint across all segments of the health care market.

On the other end of the spectrum, ePallet in August raised $5 in new cash from Bowery Capital to expand. EPallet is a B2B marketplace that restaurant chains, franchises, and other companies in the hospitality industry use to get manufacturer-direct deals.

In the middle, B2B marketplace TruckSmarter closed a $25 million funding round led by Thrive Capital with participation from:

• Bain Capital
• FJ Labs
• Founders Fund
• Andreessen Horowitz
• Fin Capital

The funding will help TruckSmarter to continue building on its marketplace platform for owner-operator truckers and freight haulers. To date, TruckSmarter has raised more than $44 million in funding. TruckSmarter offers drivers a free marketplace app that displays loads from hundreds of brokers in need of a freight hauler.

“Since the beginning, we have put the needs of the truck driver first,” says TruckSmarter Daniel CEO Kao. “Not just from a large carrier perspective but through the eyes of the owner-operator — the entrepreneur.”

P‍icky investors

B2B marketplace investors have tightened the reins and narrowed the focus on which marketplaces receive funding, says Bowery Capital.

But the marketplace platforms that are raising money have a common trait: a viable business model with a good financial base and a clear path to market growth.

For example, ePallet says it carries 10,000 products from food and beverage companies such as PepisoCo., General Mills, Conagra and Campbell’s. It carries products from over 800 total brands and more than 400 suppliers.

“EPallet’s marketplace fills a crucial gap in the wholesale supply chain that has historically seen limited investment in transformative technologies,” says Bowery Capital general partner Loren Straub.

In health care, ShiftMed fills what it says is a costly void in the health care industry. ShiftMed offers a nursing jobs app that delivers an on-demand workforce marketplace for credentialed nursing professionals. It matches affordable professionals such as nurses with temporary openings at hospitals, long-term care facilities and at-home health care agencies. To date, ShiftMed says, it has over 350,000 nursing professionals with more than 1,500 enterprise health care organizations for direct access to labor for shift scheduling.

“Health care providers continue to struggle with access to credentialed workers as patient needs and volume continues to rise,” says CEO Todd Walrath. “ShiftMed is positioned to provide health systems with a regulatory-compliant W-2 solution that leverages local and part-time resources.”

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post Diverse B2B marketplace investment deals have one trait in common appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

What is the Ghost B2B marketplace?

Ghost aims to give retailers a new way to liquidate surplus inventory using a marketplace platform. It has raised $30 million in new funding from Cathay Innovation. The marketplace formed about a year ago. It now has raised more than $50 million in total funding, the company says.

The B2B marketplace will use the new funds to hire for several roles in product, engineering and to continue to build out the technology features on Ghost.com. Ghost now has over 1,000 members on its platform, including some of the retailers in categories such as apparel, footwear, beauty and home goods, the company says.

The B2B marketplace intends to find an ecommerce opportunity in surplus inventory, which Ghost says is mostly a paper, email and fax industry.

“Surplus inventory continues to be one of the most significant pain points for retailers and brands who have historically suffered from limited, inefficient and archaic liquidation options,” the company says. “In 2022, over $500 billion of excess inventory was sold at discount retailers, expected to grow to $830 billion by 2030 — while over $163 billion is discarded annually. The problem is becoming more complicated as supply chain issues continue to arise and demand becomes more difficult to predict.”

The B2B marketplace platform has digital tools and features for buyers that include:

• Inventory matching
• Bidding
• Logistics and payments

Ghost B2B marketplace seller tools and features include:

• Digitally matching inventory lists
• Negotiation and bid acceptance
• Next-day payment after shipping
• Shipping support

“We are leveraging data science and technology to solve a problem that has previously been addressed with phone calls and fax machines,” said Josh Kaplan, co-CEO of Ghost.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan.

Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post Ghost raises new money to expand its B2B marketplace appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

And the source of the funding is from one of the investors that over time has become the biggest investor of B2B marketplaces: Bowery Capital.

ePallet secures funding from Bowery Capital

EPallet is a five-year old B2B marketplace based in Los Angeles. It has secured $4 million in new funds from Bowery Capital.

Bowery Capital conducts extensive market research on the B2B marketplace market. It currently has a stake in more than 40 internet, sales-as-a-subscription (SaaS) and B2B marketplace companies.

The money ePallet raised from Bowery will be used for ongoing technology development and user recruitment, says ePallet CEO Joe Gozzi.

“EPallet makes wholesale trade easier,” Gozzi said. “And we are excited to be at the forefront of digital transformation in the wholesale industry. This seed funding will allow us to further enhance our technology and expand our market presence, ultimately benefiting our valued customers.”

EPallet says it carries 10,000 products from food and beverage companies such as PepisoCo., General Mills, Conagra and Campbell’s. It carries products from over 800 total brands and more than 400 suppliers.

“EPallet’s marketplace fills a crucial gap in the wholesale supply chain that has historically seen limited investment in transformative technologies,” says Bowery Capital general partner Loren Straub.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News, published 4x/week. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan.

Follow us on LinkedIn and be the first to know when we publish Digital Commerce 360 B2B News content.

The post A marketplace for food wholesalers scores new funding appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

The post U.S. ecommerce acquisitions and funding in the Top 1000 appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

Overstock’s $21.5 million cash offer has been selected as the lead bidder for Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property, according to court papers filed June 13. That sets the price floor for the bankrupt retailer’s brand.

A bankruptcy judge must approve the bid. It doesn’t include the retailer’s desirable Buy Buy Baby brand or its Harmon unit, court papers show.

Overstock.com is No. 50 in the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Bed Bath & Beyond ranked No. 47 prior to its bankruptcy.

Bed Bath & Beyond brand rights could go to Overstock

The offer puts Overstock, one of the nation’s top Internet retailers, in a favorable position to acquire Bed Bath & Beyond’s intellectual property out of bankruptcy. If Bed Bath & Beyond’s advisers select a competing offer, Overstock receives a break-up fee of up to $430,000 plus expenses.

Final bids for Bed Bath & Beyond’s assets are due June 16. An auction will be held June 21 if rival bids materialize in the next couple days. A New Jersey bankruptcy judge is scheduled to consider approving the sale at a June 27 hearing.

Lawyers representing Bed Bath & Beyond and its unsecured creditors declined to comment. Overstock didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

Bed Bath & Beyond filed bankruptcy in April with plans to liquidate the retail chain listing more than $5.2 billion in total debt as of last year. A company lawyer said at the time Bed Bath & Beyond filed bankruptcy that they were still hopeful the retailer would be able to complete a going concern sale for the business.

The bankruptcy is Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc., 23-10574, US Bankruptcy Court for New Jersey (Newark).

A long time coming

Bed Bath & Beyond never quite caught on to ecommerce, says Rich DePencier, area managing partner and chief marketing officer of Chief Outsiders. Chief Outsiders is a management consulting services company.

The retailer didn’t experience the pandemic-induced burst of ecommerce growth other merchants did. Of the top five merchants in the houseware/home furnishings category, Bed Bath & Beyond was the only retailer to have less than 10% 3-year CAGR, according to Digital Commerce 360 analysis.

Do you rank in our database?

Submit your data with this quick survey and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.

The post Bed Bath & Beyond picks Overstock as lead bidder for brand appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.

The firm is in the early stages of consideration. The IPO’s size has also yet to be determined, according to people familiar with the matter. The business group is in talks with banks that could potentially help prepare for the IPO next year, said one of the people. The person asked not to be named as the matter is private.

The unit, which competes with rivals such as Amazon.com Inc. in markets outside China, is one of six parts that Alibaba is splitting into. Valuations for the international business units vary: Morgan Stanley in March priced “international retail” units including Lazada and Trendyol at roughly $29 billion. Meanwhile, a CICC analyst report from the same month valued the firm’s international division at about $39 billion. In recent quarters, however, growth has been volatile in the face of global recessionary fears.

If it goes ahead, the Alibaba unit would join a number of high-profile Chinese firms including fast-fashion leader Shein seeking to tap American capital even as tensions rise between the world’s two largest economies. A listing in the U.S. could help the business — formally Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, or IDCG — attract global investors wary of putting money directly into China.

Alibaba owns Taobao, No. 1 in the Digital Commerce 360 database of Global Online Marketplaces. The database ranks marketplaces by total value, or gross merchandise value of sales. Alibaba also owns Tmall (No. 2).

Amazon is No. 3 in the Global Online Marketplace Database. It’s also No. 1 in the 2022 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000 database. The Top 1000 ranks North American web merchants by sales.

Shein is No. 36 in the Digital Commerce 360 2022 Asia Database, which ranks Asia-based retailers by their online sales.

Alibaba empire considers IPOs

Alibaba in March unveiled plans to break up its empire into units such as ecommerce, logistics and the cloud, with each business potentially exploring fundraising and an IPO at an appropriate time. The company will consider gradually giving up control of some of the businesses, CEO Daniel Zhang said at the time, but declined to specify a timeline for any Alibaba IPOs.

IDCG includes:

• Southeast Asian online mall Lazada
• AliExpress, popular in Russia, Latin America and parts of Europe
• Trendyol in Turkey
• Daraz in South Asia
• Business-to-business marketplace Alibaba.com

In the final three months of 2022, the combined orders of Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz grew 3% from a year earlier, led by Trendyol. The international unit accounted for roughly $9.5 billion or 7% of Alibaba’s revenue in the last fiscal year and is headed by Jiang Fan, the former president of Alibaba’s domestic online retail businesses Taobao and Tmall.

Other parts of Alibaba’s empire have already begun moving ahead with spinoffs. Cainiao Network Technology Co., the logistics arm of Alibaba, as well as Freshippo, its grocery chain, have started preparations with banks for IPOs in Hong Kong.

Deliberations around an IPO are very preliminary and the situation may change, the people said. IDCG said in response to queries from Bloomberg that currently, there is no IPO plan.

Alibaba has in the past explored splitting off Lazada. The unit, bought in stages from Rocket Internet SE, is considered one of the Chinese firm’s most high-profile international brands. It competes with Amazon and Sea Ltd.’s Shopee in Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

In 2022, Alibaba discussed raising at least $1 billion for Lazada before calling off negotiations with potential investors when talks bogged down over its valuation. It had aimed to secure the funding as a precursor to a spinoff. Alibaba has since mothballed the fundraising and injected additional funds into the company instead.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the ecommerce industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News.

The post Alibaba’s global online commerce arm weighs US IPO appeared first on Digital Commerce 360.