Beacon, a digital freight forwarding and supply chain finance company, is expanding its presence in Asia with a new office in Hong Kong.
With Asia-Europe as its biggest trade lane, the London-based firm said establishing an office in Hong Kong will be an important strategic development for the company.
Set up in 2018, Beacon is disrupting traditional freight forwarders and the logistics and supply chain with its digital platform which combines real-time tracking of cargo, a marketplace for shipping costs and prices, and as well as supply chain financing.
In June, Beacon bagged over $15 million in series A funding from investors including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and leading US venture capital firm 8VC.
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It offers a full range of services, including ocean, air and truck freight which can be accessed and managed on a single platform. But the more interesting service is its supply chain financing which can solve cash flow issues commonly faced by importers today.
Beacon estimates supply chain finance to be worth around $12 trillion a year.
After growing its business by 300 percent in the previous quarter, the opening of a new office in Asia will allow Beacon to offer “superior” customer service and better connectivity between importers and exporters in Hong Kong and China.
“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,” Beacon co-founder and CEO Fraser Robinson said in a statement.
First to be hired in the new Hong Kong office is James Yu who will be ocean procurement lead for Beacon’s Asian operations. He was previously logistics program manager at Uber in Hong Kong.
