Next-day e-commerce delivery Simplex expands its reach

Raises first round of venture funding from BOV Capital

Simplex Delivery, the local pioneer in next-day, to-your-doorstep e-commerce deliveries, has expanded its network to cover the whole of Sri Lanka from 25 January 2017. 

A “last mile” delivery service for e-commerce companies, Simplex Delivery’s competitive edge is undoubtedly its ability to get its customers’ products to the most remote locations in Sri Lanka within the shortest possible timeframe.

Importantly, Simplex Delivery was aided in its expansion plans by a significant investment by BOV Capital, a Sri Lanka and Singapore-based venture capital firm that invests in local technology-oriented ventures. The company also benefitted from the direction of its Co-Founders Inas Jenabdeen and Thilina Fonseka, as well as advice and expertise from BOV Capital’s Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Eric Wikramanayake and Rajan Anandan.

Since its inception in June 2015, Simplex Delivery has grown from strength to strength, having begun its operation by delivering for the likes of Daraz Sri Lanka (formerly Kaymu) in Trincomalee.

Simplex Delivery Co-Founders Thilina Fonseka and Inas Jenabdeen

Elaborating further, Daraz Sri Lanka’s Head of Logistics Darshika Attanayake said, “Simplex Delivery has been a valued delivery partner to Daraz for the past two years, providing excellent service and support. Since inception, Simplex Delivery has grown tremendously and successfully provides next-day delivery with online tracking services across the areas serviced. The company continuously strives for process improvements and maintaining effective control in a complex cash-on-delivery service environment - thus enabling Daraz to maintain its high customer experience standards.”

Over the months following its pioneering partnership with Daraz Sri Lanka, Simplex Delivery has grown to become an 80-person operation, which allows it to serve more than 40 small, medium and large e-commerce businesses. Simplex Delivery has today already exceeded the 500 deliveries per day milestone. 

Additionally, Simplex Delivery stands by its “Simple. Express” guarantee, wherein any small, medium and large-scale online business can easily register with its service, quickly integrating with its simple-to-use and easily-customisable plug-and-play platform, which greatly improves the speed of the end-consumers’ to-your-doorstep delivery. Further, the company also offers a provision for cash on delivery (COD), at no additional charge, while also settling cash on a fortnightly basis, which is a fast rotation when compared to other delivery and courier companies.

Simplex Delivery’s services are also bundled with cutting edge technology that allows full transparency to e-commerce firms and their customers to track orders at every stage. Via its next generation ‘Simplex Connect’ platform, the company provides a number of Sri Lanka-first benefits including COD handling and returns management, both with no additional charge, as well as to-your-doorstep customer care and web-based order tracking for the online shoppers, and even automated COD reconciliation for the online stores, to easily manage payments.

Commenting, Simplex Delivery Co-Founder Inas Jenabdeen said, “Following our pioneering initiative in 2015, when we were the first and only company to focus on ‘last mile’ delivering for Sri Lanka’s burgeoning e-commerce sector, we are pleased to note that we have grown rapidly in terms of volume, revenue, partnerships and coverage, now offering our service island-wide. I would like to thank Prajeeth, Eric and Rajan for their overwhelming support and advice, which has empowered us in seizing many opportunities while also surmounting many hurdles.” 

Adding to this, Simplex Delivery Co-Founder Thilina Fonseka reiterated, “On 25 January 2017, we covered the whole of Sri Lanka through our ‘last mile’ delivery service, customized for e-commerce businesses. This coupled with our unique technology, built in-house by our highly talented tech department, has positively enabled the e-commerce businesses of our valued customers, giving them an impressive advantage in a highly competitive market.”

Meanwhile, BOV Capital’s support of Simplex Delivery fullfilled the fund’s aim to facilitate Sri Lanka’s technology eco-system. Signalled BOV Capital General Partner Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, “At the time Simplex Delivery entered the local market, there was no single company specializing in ‘last mile’ deliveries for e-commerce providers in Sri Lanka, which often requires a customised service created specifically for online shopping stores. Really, before Simplex Delivery, the delivery requirements for online stores were met mostly by traditional courier companies, who were inadequately prepared to service the special needs of online shoppers.”

Investing in Simplex Deliver also fell in line with BOV Capital’s overarching idea of continually focusing on inspiring trailblazers, with the fund empowering them to grow and take advantage of opportunities. “We at BOV Capital were really impressed by the abilities shown by Inas and Thilina to tap and retain this unique customer segment, while also effectively servicing the many and varied tasks and demands inherent in this highly specialized segment. As such, we see great potential for the company, and will do everything we can to help it grow to even greater heights in the very near future,” added Balasubramaniam.