NewSpring’s Investment in NuORDER and the transformation of the Wholesale E-commerce Market
June 05, 2019
There’s a new frontier in online retail sales.
Buyers and sellers in the B2B wholesale segment of the retail supply chain no longer are content with the legacy way of doing business. They’ve seen the disruptive power of the “Amazon experience” in the way consumers shop online. It’s created a sea change in their perceptions of what wholesale e-commerce should look like. They’re demanding that the process mirror B2C experiences, including personalization, rich visuals, collaboration, and discovery tools.
Brands and retailers are eager for technologies that facilitate this experience and help them stand out in a hyper-competitive retail environment. NewSpring Capital has prioritized this growing market by funding transformative companies focused on closing the gap between B2C and B2B e-commerce capabilities.
Our latest investment is the very definition of a transformative organization. NuORDER is the platform purpose-built to meet the evolving B2B needs of brands and retailers.
NuORDER Connects Brands and Retailers on a New Level
NewSpring led a $15 million Series D investment in NuORDER to digitally transform the wholesale buying process by providing critical tools to both brands and retailers. NuORDER serves as a central hub where brands can connect to retailers and buyers through branded online catalogs and mobile apps. Brands can now develop custom line sheets and dynamic delivery models while buyers have access to retailer-specific inventory and brand discovery tools. The platform is multi-vertical (allowing a diverse set of clients to leverage its functionality) and offers unique collaboration tools like real-time merchandising functionality. NuORDER is already connecting notable and demanding brands such as Toms, French Connection, Billabong, Moleskin, and Nine West to world-class retailers such as Nordstrom in a unified platform that improves the wholesale experience for sellers, buyers, and end consumers.
Why NuOrder? NewSpring quickly recognized the company’s differentiated solution and unique market perspective. NuOrder’s co-founders, Heath Wells and Olivia Skuza, had relevant experience in this market, identified an acute problem facing its participants, and developed a next-generation solution to solve for it. The Company currently counts more than 600 brands and over 100,000 retailers on the platform and in 2018 alone enabled these clients to transact more than $1 billion of goods.
Our partnership with NuORDER further expands our investments in innovative e-commerce enablement technologies, including SiteSpect (personalization), SparkPost (email communications), Arrive (marketplace for drivers and parking garages) and Vacasa (tech-enabled vacation rental management).
We’re excited to work with Heath, Olivia, and the rest of the stand-out management team at NuORDER, as well as our co-investors including Argentum Group, Upfront Ventures and Greycroft Partners, to disrupt the wholesale buying process and bring the B2B e-commerce market into the digital age.
To view the entire Growth portfolio or to learn more about NewSpring Growth’s investment criteria, please visit the strategy page, here.
