Auctane adds Spanish parcel tech startup Packlink to its shipping stable

Shipping and fulfillment software vendor Auctane has rolled up another acquisition in the e-commerce parcel technology space, announcing it had bought the Spanish shipping platform startup Packlink in a move to expand its suite of solutions to offer products to enterprises of every size.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but private equity-backed Auctane said the move will let it further serve the needs of European businesses and of enterprises of all scales.

Austin, Texas-based Auctane is the name of the company formerly known as Stamps.com, and was originally a smaller startup acquired by that parent company. Since the group’s owner, the investment firm Thoma Bravo LLC, bought those companies for $6.6 billion in July, Auctane now lists the brands in its stable as including ShipStation, Stamps.com, ShipEngine, MetaPack, and Endicia.

According to Auctane, adding Madrid, Spain-based Packlink to that collection adds one more “merchant solution” to its portfolio at a time when online retailers are struggling to keep up with rapid changes in the marketplace. “The accelerated growth of e-commerce over the last two years has created the need for online sellers to rapidly scale and optimize their delivery processes,” Auctane said in a release. “Collectively, Auctane and Packlink’s web based shipping solutions are uniquely positioned to help businesses streamline their fulfillment operations, save money on shipping, and delight customers with fast and predictable delivery experiences.”

The deal was announced the same day that New York-based parcel tech provider Veho said it had landed a $125 million “series A” venture capital round that values the startup at $1 billion. That move establishes Veho as the latest logistics “unicorn” with financial valuation of at least $1 billion.

Veho defines itself as a technology company that enables personalized next-day package delivery, and said it will use the funding to expand its operating territory from 14 to 50 U.S. markets by the end of 2022. According to Veho, its approach gives e-commerce brands and their customers an alternative to large-scale shipping companies, providing a highly personalized delivery experience that increases overall satisfaction of package recipients.

“We’re providing e-commerce brands a fast, tech-forward and customer-centric delivery option that ensures brand perception makes it past the purchase, all the way through to the customer door,” Veho CEO and co-founder Itamar Zur said in a release. “We avoid many of the traditional pitfalls of logistics and shipping through advanced proprietary technology, a culture that places the customer experience at the center of everything we do and our partnership with professional and qualified crowdsourced drivers.”

Another exciting Veho milestone! @TechCrunch just announced we raised $125M at a $1B valuation to continue our relentless focus on operational excellence and delivering world class experiences to brands, customers, drivers, and our team! https://t.co/xABbYZp3We

— Veho (@shipveho) December 21, 2021