Please welcome MyCarrier, the platform streamlining logistics for SMBs ideal for transportation carriers.
Meet MyCarrier, the latest addition to Lerer Hippeau’s portfolio.
HQ: Scottsdale Arizona
Founders: Michael Bookout, Chris Scheid
The problem: Hundreds of thousands of SMBs in the U.S. ship freight by semi-truck, but many don’t have enough volume to fill an entire load for a carrier. These shipping orders are known as less-than-truckload, or LTL, and are aggregated together in order to fill a single trailer. Using a manual patchwork of emails, spreadsheets, phone calls, and third party brokers, shippers are forced to navigate a complex and opaque network to get their freight delivered. These orders might seem small, but in aggregate they are approaching $50B a year and form a complex freight marketplace that has been largely resistant to technology.
The solution: MyCarrier is streamlining LTL logistics for both SMBs and carriers through its digital, API-based solution. The company provides a lightweight platform that enables shippers and carriers to directly connect, bringing the entire rate shopping and booking experience online. By digitizing the transaction, MyCarrier aggregates actionable data and improves efficiency for both the shipper and carrier. The resulting network improves both speed and profitability for all parties.
Origin story: Michael Bookout and Chris Scheid met as executives at GlobalTranz and are both true freight industry experts. For years they saw the challenges LTL shippers and carriers faced manually navigating a largely offline industry, and they used their core insights and industry connections to launch MyCarrier. They saw an opportunity for cloud-based software to play a key role in more efficiently matching supply with demand and automating an unnecessarily complex process.
Why we’re betting on it: There are hundreds of thousands of small- and mid-sized shippers around the U.S. that have been largely overlooked by modern technology, in part due to the challenges of selling software at scale into such a fragmented market. Michael and Chris built an innovative product and distribution model that leverages the carrier channel to efficiently reach these shippers, creating a really compelling two-sided marketplace. Ultimately, we believe LTL is just the start and that MyCarrier has the potential to be the platform SMBs use to manage all their logistics needs.
Our take: The digitization of supply chain and logistics has been pulled forward significantly over the past year. We’ve seen e-commerce adoption accelerate across industries throughout 2020, and the need for better supply chain efficiency and transparency has never been greater. Commerce platforms like Shopify have made it easier than ever to start selling physical products, and we believe businesses like MyCarrier, Transfix and Plus One Robotics will become the back-bone for automating the processes and touch points that help move these products around the world.
Further reading: “LTL platform MyCarrier raises $8M Series A” via FreightWaves.
Learn about careers at MyCarrier.
