LONDON, January 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
Wincanton - the largest British 3PL - and L Marks (an applied corporate innovation specialist and early stage investor) have invested in start-up Storekat, following the success of their 2017-18 W2 Labs programme.
The Australian start-up was successfully chosen following a competitive pitch process and a subsequent immersive ten-week programme, where they worked with senior sponsors from Wincanton to develop their proposition.
W2 Labs - Wincanton's start-up accelerator now in its second year of operation and supported by L Marks - was a key driver in helping the online commercial storage platform create the partnership with Wincanton securing them investment.
Daniel Saunders, Chief Executive of L Marks, said, "We are very happy to have played a part in helping Storekat secure investment from Wincanton, as well as ourselves. It's thoroughly deserved after they went through a tough pitching process and intense ten-week programme, which has seen their efforts rewarded with funding and a global partnership."
Kevin Forcier, Founder of Storekat, said: "The W2 Labs programme provided the opportunity for the Storekat Team to discover insights on the operations of a truly global organisation operating at scale. This investment is a fantastic endorsement of Storekat's technological solutions combined with the Storekat team's ability to execute transformation at high velocity. Our ongoing collaboration with Wincanton will continue to deliver great results and we look forward to our shared success."
Marcos Hart, Group Transformation and Risk Director, Wincanton, said, "Few companies can build everything they and their customers need in-house. Collaboration is the best answer. It is only by innovating and by partnering that we get the speed-to-market the digital era demands. We are already working closely with Storekat to test how their model, combined with our own expertise, can transform how retail and manufacturing businesses secure warehouse space."
About Storekat
Storekat is data driven software to support B2B marketplace and optimize underutilised capacity in warehousing networks.
About Wincanton plc
Wincanton is the largest British logistics firm, providing supply chain solutions to some of the world's most admired brands across a wide range of industries including retail, construction, defence and energy.
As a trusted and respected business partner, we design and implement services and solutions that range from setting up and operating distribution networks through to bonded warehouses, technology hosting, container transport and storage. We strive for operational excellence in everything we do.
We work hard to understand and respond to our customers' needs, build long term relationships and use our skills and expertise to deliver a smarter, added value service, every day. Our customers rely on us to make their businesses operate more efficiently and to gain a competitive advantage in their sector.
Improved stock visibility and availability, reduction of lead times, collaborative warehousing and transport models, and an absolute commitment to continuous improvement, are just some of the reasons why many of our customer relationships extend to more than 20 years.
Key facts:
- Annual revenue in the UK & Ireland exceeds £1.1 billion
- Over 18,000 colleagues including 4,000+ drivers
- Operates from 200+ locations with 6.6 million square feet of warehousing across the UK and Ireland
- Operating responsibility for around 3,400 vehicles
About L Marks
L Marks is a corporate innovation specialist and early- stage investor. They build bridges between large corporates seeking to innovate more quickly with young companies with disruptive technologies, products and services. Founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur Stuart Marks, they run bespoke start-up partnership programmes across industry sectors, supporting rapid innovation and connecting them with the best start-ups.
They work with clients such as Arsenal FC, BMW and International Airlines Group (IAG) to identify where they believe the challenges are in their businesses and then turn these into opportunities for improvement and innovation. Each programme is tailored to deliver real solutions to the corporate partners and create real opportunities for start-ups to test and grow their product with a major partner.
SOURCE L Marks
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