Omnipack secures 2,5M EUR, bringing its total funding to 5M EUR and paving the way to further expansion in Europe

In November 2020, Omnipack, a Polish startup  managing the eCommerce sector's logistics operations, gained another 2,5M EUR in funding. These funds will be utilised in cross-border expansion and technology improvement. The total investment has already reached 5M EUR. Among the private investors, there were many business angels who had previously invested in the company. However, there were also new investors including Dr. Florian Drabeck, former Global Chief Financial Officer of the Westwing AG company, and the Nunatak Capital fund. 

Omnipack was founded as a startup by three experienced Polish managers who have been involved in building logistics and eCommerce businesses for many years now. They used their knowledge in the technology, operations and effective customer acquisition fields to create an international company that provides full-stack fulfilment services, i.e., providing logistics operations for eCommerce with proprietary technology.

Omnipack has been on the market for over three years now. Today, it has two modern warehouses located in strategic locations in Poland that enable clients to trade online, and offer same-day delivery, across Europe. 

In recent months, a new warehouse system has been implemented to manage logistics operations at the highest level. In addition, the original order management system is being constantly developed. A team of over a dozen developers is working on this project. Thanks to the new system, all Omnipack clients have access to a self-service panel (Merchant Portal), where they can manage their operations and have an overview of current stock levels.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on eCommerce development, fuelling dramatic growth for logistics operators providing services to online stores. However, the context was difficult for Omnipack during the lockdown, as the company was preparing to:

• Enter the DACH market (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland)
• Open two new warehouses in Nadarzyn (additional 6,500m²) and Gorzów Wielkopolski (6,500m²)
• Build a new website available in three languages
• Implement a new warehouse management system
• Raise capital for further investments
   

"Despite the pandemic, we managed to implement our expansion and financing plans. We closed the next financing round, which allowed us to raise 2,5M EUR. This capital will give us the fuel to continue growing and achieve profitability next year. It will finance, among other things, further progress on our journey in the DACH market, our own technology, and the expansion of our warehouses. This financing round is a strong signal of confidence in the business we run – both from existing and new investors. The interest has exceeded our expectations, giving us the luxury to choose our investors", said Tomek Kasperski, CEO of Omnipack. 

Almost half of Omnipack’s revenue comes from foreign clients. The company quickly attracted entrepreneurs from across Europe, especially from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Currently, Omnipack serves over 100 clients from several countries. The founders have planned their operations globally from the very beginning, knowing that the domestic market is not large enough to achieve an attractive scale.

"We recognise that fulfilment is becoming more and more valuable year on year. In the coming years, it may even dominate the logistics industry altogether. We predict that the percentage of Polish companies outsourcing order fulfilment and warehousing to a specialist partner will double in three years. Entrepreneurs are becoming increasingly aware of customer needs and market standards. They are continually looking for ways to improve the quality of operations, free themselves from staff churn, and optimise working time and costs. A specialised logistics operator removes the burden of an e-store's operational activities, and protects against risks associated with sales peaks, such as during Black Friday", explains Karol Milewski, CRO of Omnipack. 

One of the investors is Dr. Florian Drabeck, former CFO of Westwing Group AG, who conducted Westwing's public offering to Prime Standard on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2018, obtaining capital of 122 million EUR.

“I believe in Omnipack, its knowledgeable team and its platform. I have worked with its founder and CEO Tomek Kasperski for six years. As Co-CEO of Westwing Home & Living CEE, he built one of the largest eCommerce platforms in Poland. After successfully opening and expanding a warehouse providing services for the Central and Eastern Europe region, he supported the relocation of our European logistics centre to Poland, covering DACH and other European markets. As a result, the company recorded a significant improvement in economic indicators. Poland is an excellent country for creating profitable and high-quality logistics for enterprises that want to fulfil orders from customers from all over Europe. Omnipack has confirmed its strong capabilities and international scope by serving partners from outside Poland, who today account for almost half of the company's revenue”, said Drabeck.

Omnipack also emphasises that the use of data science tools to improve the efficiency and quality of client service is an important element from the fulfilment development point of view. 

Thanks to advanced data science solutions, it is possible, for example, to control the compliance of packaging methods with customer requirements on an ongoing basis (thanks to machine vision tools) or automatic adjustment of the size and type of packaging to a given product. 

“Nunatak Capital, acting as an operational VC fund, not only invests in startups that use data science to build value, but also supports them in the development of these tools. The investment and long-term support of Omnipack fits perfectly into our operating model”, commented Piotr Ciżkowicz, Managing Partner of the Nunatak Capital fund and professor at the Warsaw School of Economics.