UK digital freight forwarder Beacon continues rapid expansion with Hong Kong office opening

Commenting on Beacon's expansion into Asia, Beacon co-founder and CEO Fraser Robinson said: "It has been an extremely busy year for Beacon; we have more than doubled the size of our team and our customer numbers have also grown significantly. As the world's leading manufacturing hub, Asia is central to our expansion strategy and we are pleased to have opened an office here and made our first hire. A large proportion of our cargo volumes originate in Asia and it is important to us that we have a local presence to provide better service to our customers and their partners in China and the surrounding areas. Proximity to both importer and exporter means better communication, a more real-time customer experience, as well as deeper insights that enhance our platform. The COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the need for more sophisticated technology solutions in order to establish more transparent and resilient global supply chains. The opportunity is clear and we will continue to…

Commenting on Beacon's expansion into Asia, Beacon co-founder and CEO Fraser Robinson said: "It has been an extremely busy year for Beacon; we have more than doubled the size of our team and our customer numbers have also grown significantly. As the world's leading manufacturing hub, Asia is central to our expansion strategy and we are pleased to have opened an office here and made our first hire. A large proportion of our cargo volumes originate in Asia and it is important to us that we have a local presence to provide better service to our customers and their partners in China and the surrounding areas. Proximity to both importer and exporter means better communication, a more real-time customer experience, as well as deeper insights that enhance our platform. The COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the need for more sophisticated technology solutions in order to establish more transparent and resilient global supply chains. The opportunity is clear and we will continue to invest in growing our team's global footprint. Diverse teams make better strategic decisions and it is important to us that our team represents the global and diverse nature of the customers we serve. We are proud that 40% of our team identify as women and we will continue to prioritise diversity and inclusion in all forms as we scale."

Beacon has a mission to become a global leader in logistics and supply chain finance by making trade simpler, more transparent and more reliable for businesses. It offers a full range of services, including global ocean, air and truck freight, together with supply chain finance, all of which can be accessed and managed on a single platform. The company uses best-in-class AI, search, optimisation, data science, cloud and automation technologies to unlock significant operational efficiencies. The platform combines a real-time view of the global delivery of cargo and a marketplace view of global shipping costs and prices, all powered by machine learning that optimises shipping routes and processes for improved cost, speed and predictability.

In June, Beacon announced that it had raised over $15 million in its Series A fundraising round, with investors including Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, and leading US venture capital firm 8VC.

About Beacon:
Beacon is a technology-driven freight forwarder applying technology to create a simpler, more efficient shipping experience for its customers. Its mission is to become a global leader in logistics and supply chain finance by making trade simpler, more transparent and more reliable for businesses. The company offers a full range of services, including global ocean, air and truck freight, warehousing, customs, insurance and supply chain finance, all of which can be accessed and managed on a single platform. Beacon is passionate about customer experience and dedicated to drastically simplifying how companies import and export goods globally, using best-in-class technology to drive disruption and efficiency in the $1 trillion freight forwarding industry. The company was founded in 2018 by CEO Fraser Robinson and COO Dmitri Izmailov, former Uber executives. They are joined by CTO Pierre Martin, previously of Amazon and Microsoft, creating a management team with deep expertise in logistics, technology, finance and hyper-growth. Beacon is headquartered in London.

https://www.beacon.com/