The CEO of Silq says brands have a hard time finding a factory that meets quality and capability requirements while also being transparent in communication because the clothing industry is often called out for not being socially responsible.
The problem is not a lack of technology but a lack of structured data.
The idea for Silq was inspired by the years of observing family members running factories in India. He worked in transportation at both C.H. Robinson and Flexport.
He attributes the inflation we are seeing to the fact that the US spent $500 billion fixing supply chain inefficiencies in the last year. Companies are trying to get supply chain data, but have not been able to.
His company is stepping in with its approach to bring visibility and real-time data from the manufacturing floor to brands. Users can use its technology to source, make and ship apparel, footwear, home goods and accessory brands.
Silq puts its own employees on the ground in facilities to provide updates during the production process that results in improved product quality and accelerated speed-to-market. The production calendar designed by Silq is provided by the company.
We show them what is happening on supply chain floors and give them data from people on site in five countries.
The company brought in $10 million in gross merchandise value from the five countries it operates in, despite being in the early stages of being a public company.
Silq is currently focused on soft goods, but will move into consumer goods in 2022.
By the end of the year, it expects to have a presence in Asia and Latin America, markets it is not currently operating in.
The new Series A funding is led by F-Prime Capital. A group of angel investors and existing investors joined the round. The company has received approximately $18.6 million in funding to date. F-Prime Capital has a seat on the board.
The new funding will be used to expand its footprint of factory partners around the world, grow its team of on-site merchandisers and invest in technology.
Speaking to the current problem in the supply chain, he said he doesn't expect it to be fixed until summer 2024.
We don't have infrastructure to handle throughput so either we build some or it has to decrease. Infrastructure will take half a decade to build and this will have to happen in the next five years. Until then, any efficiency is going to come from solutions like us.
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