Bangalore-based NextSCM Solutions Pvt Ltd, which offers end-to-end supply chain technology solutions to fashion brands and retailers, has raised Rs 13 crore ($2 million) in a seed round of funding led by Sequoia Capital, a top company executive told VCCircle.
The funding round also saw participation from industrial robotics company Grey Orange and a clutch of angels that include Rajesh Ramaiah, director and chief financial officer of PremjiInvest, Anshuman Das and Rishi Das, founders of recruitment firm CareerNet, and Jasbir Juneja, director at research firm Redseer Consulting.
In an e-mailed response, Nirmal Jain, co-founder at Increff said that the company will use the funds primarily for building technology and ramping up its technology team.
“We are fundamentally solving the problem of ‘low EBIT margin and inventory-led high working capital model’ for the fashion and lifestyle industry. We have taken a vertical focus in our approach and intend to remain focused on these verticals while taking an end-to-end view of the problem,” Jain stated.
Increff was founded in August 2016 by former Myntra executives Rajul Jain (senior vice president of supply chain), Nirmal Jain (vice president of category operations and new businesses), Anshuman Agarwal (assistant vice president of project management), and former NgPay executive Romil Jain.
The startup offers a supply chain management platform that broadly includes verticals like tech-led merchandising and pricing, design intelligence, fulfillment technology and services. Besides, it helps in mobilising working capital for inventory financing to its customers and also provides centralised cataloguing and listing services.
Over the next six months, the company plans to strengthen its product suite by beefing up features of its platform such as transaction technology (that will allow inventory to be exposed across channels and customer touch-points, enabling significant improvement in inventory efficiency), merchandising solutions (that will allow smart buying, distribution, and promotion/markdown management), and visual intelligence (to allow brands access to visual intelligence on latest trends, best-sellers, etc.).
The startup, whose potential clientele includes fashion and lifestyle brands, e-commerce retailers and warehouse operators, leverages big data to optimise sales and inventory efficiency.
The company counts companies like warehousing automation venture Grey Orange, lingerie e-tailer Zivame, Aditya Birla Group-owned fashion etailer Abof, Brand Studio Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, and Campus Sutra among its customers.
