As the first half of 2020 saw the eCommerce & retail landscapes changing profoundly due to the global crisis, Anchanto, a Singapore-based B2B Software-As-A-Service [SaaS] company specialising in eCommerce technology, managed to keep scaling and turned profitable.
Anchanto has received new C-funding as part of its ongoing Series C round, totaling $16.6 million raised till date. Taking part in the C-funding round were Asendia, a joint-venture of the French National Post La Poste and State-run Swiss Post, and MDI Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Indonesian telco firm Telkom Indonesia.
Anchanto will use the funds to strengthen its research & development portfolio to launch two new products, build data platform and expand to three more markets. The company will also invest in hiring skilled talents to enhance and accelerate the launch of its new products into markets – especially with the demand for SaaS solutions on the rise.
Vaibhav Dabhade, CEO and Founder of Anchanto, said
Achieving profitability in these times is an excellent performance; I feel this is a more significant achievement than raising $12 million in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis. We are a capital-efficient company. 100% of our revenue comes from a SaaS subscription with a high gross margin; we do not buy inventory or run services shops or warehouses.
It took strong resilience, deep understanding of product design, engineering, marketing, sales, account management, and solid teamwork across seven countries to reach here.
This round also marks the start of Anchanto’s partnership with Asendia AG, an European cross-border eCommerce shipping and mail services giant, as a new shareholder. Aligned with Anchanto’s unique approach to raise C-funding from its key customers, Asendia is the fourth customer to turn into a shareholder after MDI [Telkom Indonesia], Transcosmos Japan, and Luxasia.
MDI Ventures is a corporate venture capital initiative by Telkom Indonesia – which increased its stake further by adding to their existing investment. Marc Pontet, CEO of Asendia, and Donald Wihardja, CEO of MDI Ventures will be joining Anchanto’s board.
Marc Pontet, CEO of Asendia, said
Asendia intends to continue its journey along the cross-border eCommerce value chain and support the growth of an innovative technology company serving the international growth of global brands. We have high hopes for further co-operation with Anchanto and we expect that we are going to create additional growth and synergies for the company thanks to our logistics and technology capabilities.
Donald Wihardja, CEO of MDI Ventures, said
In the current digitalization era, the necessity of multiple retailers and brands to go Omni Channel path is highly critical, especially with the current pandemic where the shift to online sales is inevitable.
Anchanto’s robust platforms are well position to highly capitalize this “New Normal” to tackle massive problems that are not only faced in Indonesia but also globally. We are also excited to welcome our new partner, Asendia, who will help to bring Anchanto enterprise grade solutions beyond SEA and the world.
As of last year, Anchanto’s platforms have helped streamline the eCommerce operations of more than 12,000 business and sellers consisting of over 300 global enterprises. Anchanto’s customers manage over 67 million+ Stock Keeping Units [SKUs] and 115 million+ listings, and have processed a combined Gross Merchandise Value [GMV] of nearly $2.71 billion via their platforms. Sellers process over 4 million orders per week on Anchanto’s systems, averaging at 1.6 order processed every second.