Founder and CEO of GudangAda Stevensang. Image credits: GudangAda

GudangAda, a Jakarta-based marketplace that brings wholesalers together with retail stores and other buyers, announced the closure of a Series B valued at over $ 100 million. The company says the round was oversubscribed, surpassing its original target of $ 75 million. The financing was led by Asia Partners and Falcon Edge, with participation from Sequoia Capital India, Alpha JWC and Wavemaker Partners.

This brings GudangAda’s total raised so far to around $ 135 million. Its last funding was a $ 25.4 million from Series A last year, led by Sequoia Capital India and Alpha JWC.

Founded in January 2019, GudangAda is now used by half a million SMEs and covers 500 cities in Indonesia. Before increasing his Series B, he had already reached $ 6 billion in net market value on $ 35 million in funding. Major manufacturers and distributors of the platform line include food company Sido Muncul, seasoning maker Sasa and UK multinational consumer goods group Reckitt Benckiser.

Founder and CEO Stevensang spent more than 25 years in the rapidly evolving consumer goods and retail industries in Indonesia before launching GudangAda. Over the past 10 years, Stevensang told TechCrunch that logistics costs in Indonesia are among the highest in the world, affecting the entire supply chain, especially SME buyers.

GudangAda helps reduce operational costs by connecting leading manufacturers, distributors and retailers, and handling almost all aspects of B2B purchasing, including deliveries. Its mobile app includes a point of sale system and it can also be used to manage orders, track logistics and make payments.

Stevensang said that GudangAda focuses on several things to make it easier to buy inventory for SMEs. One is to optimize inventory turns to increase working capital for businesses on the platform. The company also provides market research and product data and offers retailers a wide selection of products. Being connected to multiple vendors on the same platform also allows small retail stores that sell a wide selection of items, but do not have the purchase volume to order directly from distributors, purchase inventory at competitive costs.

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To reduce logistics costs, GudangAda is partnering with third-party vehicle and warehouse suppliers to expand coverage throughout Indonesia. For its logistics partners, it provides transportation and warehouse management systems to help them digitize their operations.

Going forward, GudangAda plans to partner with banks that will provide working capital to SMEs, allowing them to apply for loans using their data on the platform.

The funding will be used to expand GudangAda’s product categories, which now include fast moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, packaging, housewares and stationery. He also plans to develop AI-based tools that can provide personalized recommendations to merchant customers. For example, during COVID-19, the platform suggested the amount of disinfectants a store should stock.

In a statement, Falcon Edge co-founder Navroz D. Udwadia said, “GudangAda is definitely the largest SME e-commerce marketplace in Indonesia with best-in-class metrics. Our research and conversations with stakeholders (principals, wholesalers and retailers) have given us confidence in GudangAda’s distinctive return on investment and its added value to the entire ecosystem.

Update: Corrected article to indicate that GudangAda is considering partnering with banks in the future, and is not currently.