LatamList – Tül, a Colombian logtech startup, raised a $4M Seed round led by Vine Capital Management.
Tül is a supply-chain logistics developer that is working to optimize the material supply chain in the construction industry. The Tül platform connects construction manufacturers to SMEs working in construction across Latin America, delivering resources directly to the jobsite.
Enrique Villamarin Lafaurie, co-founder of Tül previously spent 10 years working in the construction industry in Colombia, where he witnessed the difficulties of the analog supply chain system.
“We’re connecting big construction companies in the back to hardware companies at the front end. It’s a way where producers can connect and talk to those stores and do promotions straight to those stores,” said Lafaurie.
By digitizing the supply chain, Tül provides companies with a wider range of regional and local suppliers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital platform was instrumental in keeping the construction industry – which was deemed essential work – functioning. The startup also played a key role in delivering sanitation supplies in Colombia.
“Tül allows hardware stores to ship products directly to the construction workers. […] The whole industry just shut down and we managed to keep those businesses open by not only helping them deliver straight to the job site but by becoming the sanitation stations in the neighborhood,” continued Lafaurie.
Tül has now reached a revenue of $10M, with 3,000 stores currently using the platform. The startup will soon launch operations in Ecuador, which is the second-largest hardware market per capita in Latin America.
Read more in TechCrunch.