Boston, Massachusetts-based predictive analytics and inventory optimization company Celect announced it has raised $15 million in Series C funding led by NGP Capital and existing investor Fung Capital. Previous investors Activant Capital and August Capital joined this round as well. NGP Capital’s Upal Basu and Fung Capital’s Janie Yu is joining Celect’s board of directors in conjunction with this round of funding.
The company’s technology enables retailers and brands to predict future buying patterns and behavior online and in-store. This enables retailers and brands to make more profitable merchandising, allocation, and fulfillment decisions. With this round of funding, Celect is going to fuel its continued expansion and accelerate retail market penetration of the Inventory Optimization Suite. And Celect is expanding its engineering and sales teams and is going to aggressively grow its market share.
“Inventory continues to be both retailers’ largest liability and greatest asset, and in today’s volatile market there is simply no room for guesswork or reliance on backwards looking data,” said Celect CEO John Andrews in a statement. “We are committed to giving retailers and brands the tools they need to make effective inventory-related decisions so they can thrive now and in the years ahead.”
Brands like ALDO Group, Lucky Brand, Neiman Marcus, Polo, and Urban Outfitters utilize Celect to increase their revenue, reduce markdowns, minimize stockouts, and boost in-store conversions. ALDO Group SVP Jennifer Maks said that Celect’s fulfillment optimization initiatives have been proven successful to date.
Basu said Celect’s advanced analytics platform provides retailers with a reliable way to anticipate and generate value from the ever-changing needs of customers. And Yu explained that retailers can compete and thrive by embracing predictive analytics to optimize inventories and modernize supply chains.
