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Over 100 Amazon delivery companies have banded together to form a new kind of logistics challenger — and they just raised $7.5M to do it

A Front Door Collective electric delivery van is parked in a warehouse.
The Front Door Collective has a deal with the electric-van startup Canoo to purchase 10,000 vans by 2024, with the rollout starting in the second half of 2023. Front Door Collective

  • Frontdoor Collective is made up of small delivery outfits working for Amazon, FedEx, and more.
  • The company came out of stealth last month with over 100 delivery partners signed on.
  • The collective now has $7.5 million to build out its tech.
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The Frontdoor Collective, a delivery company made up of more than 100 Amazon delivery service partners, has raised $7.5 million to fuel its mission to become a national alternative to FedEx and UPS, only faster. 

The Collective emerged from stealth last month. Its first funding round came entirely from GLP Capital Partners, the startup told Insider. The California-based investor focuses on supply chain assets — particularly real estate. 

"Last-mile delivery is one of the most critical elements necessary for success in today's rapidly evolving e-commerce and retail environment, yet the existing solutions cannot meet the demand and do not deliver reliable results," said Alan Yang, CEO of GCP, in a statement. 

The Collective, which focuses on same-day and next-day delivery by knitting together small delivery businesses with a franchise model, will use the funds to build out its tech stack, including tracking, routing, and communications tools. 

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Cofounder and chief development officer Kelly Pickering told Insider the company chose GLP Capital Partners over other investors because the firm could serve as strategic advisors. 

"We could tell they understood who we are," Pickering said. "They understood the importance of our driver-centric culture." 

The Collective's mission is to offer its franchisees more say in the running of the business than players like Amazon and FedEx, which employ thousands of small delivery firms across the US. Franchisees will also have the opportunity to earn equity in the company. 

"Flooded with candidates"

When the Collective came out of stealth mode in August, it soon faced what Pickering called "overwhelming" interest from retailers, investors, and delivery companies looking to join in. 

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Continuous interest from "several hundred" small delivery outfits in multiple countries has driven the Collective to create an "ambassador" program, deputizing capable partners in each region where the Collective is looking to grow to help evaluate potential new partners and communicate with existing ones. 

So far, there are ambassadors for the East and West Coasts of the US, along with Canada, the UK, and the EU. 

Each partner is evaluated carefully to make sure it can execute at a 99% on-time delivery rate. 

"We are not looking to overgrow the amount of partners that we bring on, thus limiting them," Pickering said. "We want to reward the best of the best." 

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No risk, no reward

The Collective will soon make deliveries for its first customers, and the stakes are high. Pressure on delivery companies is at its highest point in the fourth quarter, which is crucial for retail businesses. 

Though the Collective's franchisees have extensive experience delivering through peak shopping season for other giants of e-commerce, this will be the test for its technology and organization. 

Pickering said that it's an excellent time to launch with delivery capacity tight already — even without holiday shopping volumes.  

"A lot of delivery partners are already capped out. And that volume needs to go somewhere," she said. 

Logistics eCommerce Delivery
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