Simplifying the development and manufacturing process of branded apparel, Silq has raised $17.6 million in Series A Funding, co-led by F-Prime Capital and Flexport Ventures. Eight Roads Ventures India along with existing investors Surface Ventures, Forum Ventures and other angels also participated in the round. As part of the round, Ben Gorman of F-Prime Capital joins the board. The funding will be used to expand Silq’s global footprint of factory partners, grow its team of trained experts, including on-site merchandisers and quality inspectors across Asia and strengthen Silq’s technology platform, equipping brands with crucial production data and updates.
"Our mission is to build an information highway that makes transactions efficient, fast and reliable for all stakeholders in the supply chain,” said Ram Radhakrishnan, CEO of Silq. “At Silq, we are solving the hardest supply chain problem of them all, providing real-time visibility from the factory floor by leveraging people and technology. We augment the capabilities of Silq experts with an intuitive mobile application that enables them to share updates with brands with poise and precision.”
Silq’s purpose-built platform provides apparel, footwear, home goods and accessory brands with transparency into real-time production progress. With zero implementation required, Silq has digitized the manufacturing supply chain, improving product quality and accelerating speed-to-market. Silq customers experience a carefully choreographed production calendar, designed and maintained by Silq ensuring quality, compliance and on-time performance.
“Over the past 24 months, apparel brands new and old have faced unprecedented challenges in delayed timelines and cost uncertainty. Consumers have felt the pain of supply chain delays as items from their favorite brands are either taking longer than expected to arrive or are simply out of stock,” said Ben Gorman, Principal at F-Prime Capital. “More up-to-date data feeds, improved quality control, and higher levels of collaboration are needed to meet rapidly shifting consumer demand. Silq’s unique combination of a powerful software platform and on-the-ground expertise positions them to succeed in adding efficiency and transparency to the manufacturing process and the effusive praise from their customers showcases the value they bring every step along the way.”
Silq’s on-site merchandisers and quality inspectors are carefully vetted, trained and certified. They work as an extension of a brand’s product development and production team, making scheduled visits to the factory to track production milestones, perform inspections and communicate updates via Silq’s proprietary technology platform. Brands use this data to improve forecasting and planning, guaranteeing landed cost by enabling them to book freight up to 30 days in advance.
“We invested in Silq because we serve many of the world’s great brands and have seen firsthand the herculean effort that goes into making and delivering world class products. Silq is a single partner for brands to execute everything that comes after designing a great product and we’re proud to partner with them,” said Ben Braverman, Chief Customer Officer of Flexport.
As globalization accelerates from both the short and long term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Silq is uniquely positioned to help transform the global supply-chain through innovation, making production faster, more reliable and cost efficient for brands.
About Silq:
Silq is on a mission to bring radical visibility and real-time data from the factory floor to brands around the world. We power sourcing, manufacturing and shipping for apparel, footwear, home goods and accessory brands. Our on-site experts provide real-time updates into the production process directly from the factory floor. Paired with Silq’s proprietary technology platform, brands are able to accelerate speed-to-market and improve product quality. Our customers include direct-to-consumer (DTC) and wholesale fashion and apparel brands such as Barry’s, Mightly, Mizzen+Main and Lambert in addition to design and production houses such as Pinpoint Merchandising and Stars Design Group. For more information, visit www.onesilq.com.
