Ottawa-based startup GoFor Industries, which provides logistics solutions and delivery services for the home improvement and construction industries, has raised a $9.8 million CAD seed round. This brings the company’s total funding to date to about $9.9 million.
“We have been focused on the full spectrum of efficient delivery systems and are grateful to help customers meet consumer demand during this global pandemic.”
The round was led by San Francisco-based Builders VC and received additional participation from CEMEX Ventures, Mucker Capital, Plug and Play Ventures, Panache Ventures, I2BF Global Ventures, and the Capital Angel Network. The funding will be used to meet what the company called increased demand for GoFor’s service. The capital will also help launch GoFor Dispatch, the company’s new offering aimed at helping retailers or fleet operators scale, operate, and automate their fleet capability.
“We have been focused on the full spectrum of efficient delivery systems and are grateful to help customers meet consumer demand during this global pandemic. This modernization will ultimately help retailers move their business into the digital world to survive,” said Brad Rollo, CEO of GoFor. “Delivery was typically handled by expensive and inefficient fixed asset fleets, limiting their ability to scale to meet demand and service levels.”
The funds will also allow GoFor to ramp up expansion across North America. GoFor’s partner network includes North American brands working in verticals like home improvement, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, lumber, and paint to industrial supplies.
Founded in 2016, GoFor Industries calls itself a “last-mile” logistics solutions provider. Last-mile is a term used in supply chain management to describe the movement of goods from a transportation hub to a final destination.
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GoFor’s software platform is intended to assist with e-commerce integration, dispatching, and reporting in the supply chain process. Customers can enter pickup and drop-off locations as well as the desired delivery vehicle into GoFor’s software, and GoFor’s professional drivers will pick up the customer’s materials and deliver your order to the job site.
GoFor secured a $750,000 investment last year when it won AccelerateOTT Pitchfest, and raised an early angel investment of approximately $110,000 in 2018. The company said this investment comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has forced retailers to rethink how they deliver goods to customers. GoFor claimed the pandemic has caused demand for its platform to increase.
“Last-mile delivery has become table-stakes in the hyper-competitive construction materials market,” said Mark Blackwell, partner at Builders VC. “GoFor has capitalized on this and witnessed tremendous growth in scaling its B2B and B2C merchants through the GoFor Marketplace with an opportunity to transform the last-mile in construction and home renovations.”
Image courtesy GoFor.