Iron Sheepdog – a trucking technology solution for brokers and contractors – announced it had raised a $10 million Series B funding round led by SJF Ventures with participation from Grand Ventures, Supply Chain Ventures, and other strategic partners.
The company was designed to help short-haul trucking brokers manage businesses with tools that dispatch fleets of owned and independent haulers for construction, material, and road-building projects of any size. Iron Sheepdog offers transparency and reliability through GPS tracking, real-time analytics tools, digital ticketing, automated invoicing, and advanced reporting. It also helps create efficiency in dump truck hauling to maximize truck utilization across projects and regions.
The funding will accelerate growth in new markets and utilize tools like AI to develop innovations designed to make the short-haul industry safer and more efficient.
Mike Van Sickel (CEO), along with co-founders Jake Liebler and Will Lawrence, who serve as Iron Sheepdog’s President and CTO, respectively, have recognized the current material supply chain is challenged by many market forces, including labor shortages, rising material costs, and safety concerns. And Iron Sheepdog eases the strains with early pay options for haulers and streamlined communication tools that help promote safe practices. The company aims to address these issues further with new product development.
Last year’s launch of Dirt Hound (a virtual material exchange) created an online marketplace for material movement. And Dirt Hound enables contractors the ability to acquire and/or unload material. It also allows brokers to maximize a truck’s efficiency with backhauls and fewer deadhead miles.
The impact of these supply chain improvements leads to better cost control, positive environmental impacts, and better operations.
KEY QUOTES:
“At its core, Iron Sheepdog is a tool that helps the broker as a small business owner. By giving brokers a technology platform that incentivizes haulers, helps reduce administrative burden and alleviates cash flow challenges, we’ve enabled them to provide better service to contractors and grow their business. Iron Sheepdog brokers, many of whom are also minority business owners, are able to provide a premier service and dramatically increase their growth potential.”
“The Iron Sheepdog broker network and our product offerings promote a more streamlined approach for contractors and brokers from the bid phase through project completion. Our brokers have expanded access to resources and a greater ability to flex with the demands of a project, while contractors benefit from transparency and dependability.”
- Mike Van Sickel, CEO of Iron Sheepdog
“We were immediately impressed by Iron Sheepdog’s unique approach and solution. They go beyond providing technology for brokers. They have created a broker network that enriches the industry through innovations — many of which are ideas that come directly from the diverse small business owners they serve — and leverages technology to improve trucking operations.”
- Jackie Lipkin, principal at SJF Ventures
