Lancashire business which supports online retailers posts £13m turnover despite UK supply chain disruption

International fulfilment services provider fulfilmentcrowd has reported 71 per cent growth in revenues, with turnover reaching £13m for year-ending March 31, despite global supply chain disruption.

During the same period, the Matrix Park, Chorley-headquartered company grew its customer base from 300 to 500 SME eCommerce retail businesses and expanded its operations in the EU and US.

The company said its US-based distribution centres in Los Angeles and Virginia are now processing 1,200 orders every week for a fast-growing base of British exporters.

The company also strengthened its presence in the EU, opening its third centre in Europe, which supported 264 per cent growth in revenues generated by exports to the continent.

Growth has also seen the company add to its leadership team during the past financial year, with senior team hires including Paul Taylor, as chief operations officer, Peter Hosker, chief financial officer and Scott Warrington joining as chief revenue officer.

In March 2021, fulfilmentcrowd closed its financial year with a £7.5m investment from growth capital investor BGF. This is supporting its international expansion and continued investment in its cloud-based customer platform.

Over the next 12 months, the business said it will also create 12 new highly-skilled technical and customer service roles to support its customer platform.

Lee Thompson, managing director at fulfilmentcrowd, said: “Growth is being driven by our unique ability to meet the demands of the fast-growing number of SME eCommerce retailers. Online shopping is growing at a phenomenal pace and smaller retail businesses want to increasingly focus energy on selling products, rather than spending time packing and sending them to customers.

“SME retailers are keen to outsource this part of their business but often find it cost-prohibitive and complex. They are also sometimes cautious they might end-up with a one-size-fits-all fulfilment solution, which doesn’t necessarily suit their size of operation.

“Our straightforward customer-focused offer of no minimum volumes and no lengthy agreements, backed-up by ‘plug and play’ tech, is really resonating with small and medium-sized eCommerce retailers.”

Fulfilmentcrowd is now finalising the development of its second-generation customer app, which supports retailers in improving stock management amidst global supply chain disruption.

Lee Thompson added: “The sector is undoubtedly facing a number of challenges, ranging from record shipping prices to driver shortages. Investing in tech and software is a key part of the solution for addressing these difficulties, as it can provide streams of data that help improve stock inventory forecasting and generate efficiencies.

"This will help protect the success of our customers during times of uncertainty and, in turn, help support our continued growth.”