Our Investment in Parade: Unlocking Efficiency in Freight Brokerage

Below the surface of the freight industry lies a fragmented relationship between shippers, brokers, and carriers that makes the very movement of goods throughout the United States incredibly complex. Six months ago, we called out the need for “Amazon-like efficiency and clarity” within the supply chain. Little has changed as COVID-19 continues to cause disruptions, shortages, and changes in demand, particularly within brokerage. The space remains an incredibly captivating area of venture investing as brokerages embrace technology to keep pace. 

Within the industry, freight brokerages play a critical and under-appreciated role in matching shippers to carriers and managing the numerous logistics that accompany a shipment. These 17,000 brokerages coordinate about 20% of the $800 billion in freight moved today and handle highly specialized, regional, and complex value chains.

Digital brokerages like Convoy and Uber Freight have made headway in automating workflows and accelerated the adoption of digital bookings by carriers, however, more than 95% of brokered freight is still moved through traditional brokerages. These firms stand to benefit the most from digitization and efficiency or risk becoming obsolete. Enter Parade, the leading capacity management solution for brokerages that provides this game-changing efficiency. Parade enables brokers to manage carrier relationships, price more intelligently, automate communication workflows, and execute fully digital bookings. We are thrilled to announce our $12.7 million Series A investment in Parade at a time when supply chain digitization is at its tipping point.

Parade’s promise is simple: to provide tools for freight brokerages to automate key job processes and hone in on value-added services. Parade’s AI-powered CRM platform empowers brokers to track carrier relationships, aggregate load boards, and help match the best loads to demand. The company’s industry-leading capability integrates into existing TMS solutions and enables users to book and transact loads digitally. Parade customers are automating upward of 30% of their bookings, which is transformative for brokerages running at modest margins.

We share Parade CEO Anthony Sutardja’s vision for the future of trucking and are proud to back a team with deep technical chops. Anthony thoroughly understands the needs of brokers and has leveraged his expertise alongside co-founder and CTO Tony Wu and an impressive group of senior executives to deliver a standout product. Parade’s all-star team of executives come from industry leading companies like Convoy, P44, and Trucker Tools.

Parade supplements our supply chain and logistics software investment focus that includes companies like ShipBob, Fox Robotics, Alloy, Enable, Scout RFP, 6 River Systems, CloudTrucks, and more, and exemplifies our focus on funding products that deliver resiliency and efficiency throughout the supply chain. We look forward to working with Anthony and the team, and if you’re a founder of a supply chain tech company, we’d love to hear from you.