Explorate
Brisbane, AU · Founded 2017 · 44 employees on LinkedIn · 4 known investors
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Explorate is an Australian supply chain company that combines logistics software with in-house freight forwarding (sea, air, road, and rail) and customs clearance, supported by a global partner network across more than 120 countries. It serves businesses managing international trade lanes, offering real-time shipment tracking, analytics, and dedicated local account management.
Also known as Explorate Pty Ltd
Founders & leadership
Explorate was founded in 2017 by Conor Hagan and Alex Ewart.
Investors · 4
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Explorate is an Australian supply chain company that combines a software platform with in-house freight forwarding services and a global partner network. The platform gives shippers a single place to track air and sea shipments, manage purchase orders, obtain instant quotes and bookings, organise documents, assign tasks, plan deliveries and generate dashboards and reports. It consolidates data from multiple sources, including forwarders, carriers and customer systems such as SAP, Dynamics 365 and CargoWise, so that customers can retain their existing forwarders and processes while gaining carrier-agnostic visibility using a container or master bill of lading number.
Alongside the platform, Explorate operates as a freight forwarder across ocean (FCL and LCL), air, rail and road, with licensed in-house customs brokerage, wharf cartage, local transport and warehouse coordination. Additional services include consolidation management, supply chain optimisation, regulation and risk planning, and ESG and Scope 3 decarbonisation strategy, along with carbon tracking and offsetting in the platform. Customers are assigned dedicated freight experts operating as a control tower, with communication by in-app chat, email or phone.
The company serves sectors including retail and FMCG, manufacturing, energy and mining (including project cargo), automotive and mobility, and infrastructure and construction. Named customers and references include Nick Scali, The Sussan Group (Sussan, Sportsgirl, Suzanne Grae), Merry People, Beam Mobility, Energy Storage Industries Asia Pacific and ortc Clothing Co., as well as earlier partners Brosa, Tommy Swiss, the Port of Melbourne and the Port of Brisbane.
Founding story
Alex Ewart and Conor Hagan met in 2014 while working together in a freight forwarding warehouse in Brisbane, where they observed that global trade operations still relied on manual processes and fax-based communication. After about four years as colleagues they became co-founders, establishing Explorate in Brisbane in 2016 and building early versions of software to digitise supply chain operations. They initially funded the business with friends-and-family money and their own capital.
Business model
Explorate operates a hybrid model: a SaaS supply chain visibility and order management platform (with a free sign-up tier and published platform pricing) alongside in-house freight forwarding and customs brokerage services, supported by a global carrier and partner network and consulting-style supply chain advisory.
Revenue comes from freight forwarding and customs services booked through the company plus platform subscriptions. The original model charged a flat fee of $69 per month for unlimited bookings; after working with Skalata Ventures the company changed its pricing to reflect booking volume and value delivered, increasing revenue from existing customers.
Traction
The company reports more than 1,800 customers worldwide and coverage of over 120 countries, more than 1,900 global shipping routes booked in 2025, over 200 carrier and logistics partners, and a new shipment booked every 90 minutes. Earlier milestones include 1,500-plus clients, a 70-person team and over $200 million in goods managed by 2023, and 21x monthly recurring revenue growth between May 2019 and January 2020.
Latest developments
In 2025 Explorate partnered with Nick Scali on supply chain visibility and won the Supply Chain Management Award at the 63rd Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Awards, its second consecutive ASCLA recognition. The company reports 1,900-plus global shipping routes booked in 2025 and continues to publish bi-weekly freight market updates, with the most recent noting freight rate hikes, container equipment shortages at Chinese load gates and berth bottlenecks at the Port of Singapore.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Explorate positions itself between pure visibility software vendors and traditional freight forwarders, offering both a platform and in-house forwarding execution. It is part of the FreightTech segment; Skalata noted global VC investment in FreightTech rose from USD 1.3 billion to USD 2.9 billion in 2018 with the wider industry potentially worth $20 billion by 2025. The company describes itself as backed by strategic APAC investors and has received Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Awards recognition in consecutive years.
The company emphasises carrier- and forwarder-agnostic tracking that works alongside customers' existing forwarders, partners and ERP systems rather than replacing them, combined with dedicated human freight experts and in-house customs brokerage. Transparent all-in quoting without hidden fees, consolidated data from multiple providers, and detention/risk alerting are presented as key distinctions from both software-only platforms and execution-only forwarders.
Technology
The product is a cloud platform acting as a connected control tower: live air and sea shipment tracking on a single map with shareable live links, purchase order management linking POs to shipments, containers and deliveries, landed-cost calculation, document storage, task management, delivery planning, customisable dashboards and automated reporting, rate and transit trend data with APAC market intelligence, and early alerts for detention countdowns, holds and delays. It ingests data from more than six data providers and is integrated with carriers and customer ERP systems including SAP, Dynamics 365 and CargoWise, with published integrations and a developer API. Carbon emissions tracking and offsetting are also supported.
Go-to-market
Explorate sells directly through free platform sign-up and quote requests on its website, supported by dedicated account managers and freight experts, industry awards and case studies with named customers, and partner introductions (Skalata connections brought clients including Brosa, Tommy Swiss, the Port of Melbourne and the Port of Brisbane). Content marketing includes blog posts, freight market updates and a knowledge base.
Shippers, importers and exporters of all sizes, from individuals running shipping alone and small supply chain teams to global enterprise networks moving hundreds to thousands of shipments per year, across retail and FMCG, manufacturing, energy and mining, automotive and mobility, and infrastructure and construction.
Geography
Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, with offices added in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide following its Series A, regional hubs across APAC, Europe and the Americas, and coverage of more than 120 countries through its partner network. It has stated plans for expansion into South East Asia.
History
Explorate was founded in Brisbane in 2016 and officially launched its digital platform in 2018. The first product was described as an "Expedia for freight" self-service booking tool on a flat monthly subscription; facing weak adoption, the company pivoted to operate as a digital freight forwarder with a booking process closer to traditional workflows but with options sorted by price and sailing dates. In 2019 it took strategic investment from Skalata Ventures and Paul Little, former CEO of Toll Group, after which monthly recurring revenue grew 21x between May 2019 and January 2020, and it raised a further AUD 1 million in 2020. A $7.5 million Series A led by EVP closed in January 2022, funding national expansion with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide and headcount growth past 60. By 2023 the company reported more than 1,500 clients, a team of 70-plus and over $200 million in goods managed, and formalised its C-suite. In 2024 it made the Explorate App its core commercial product and won an ASCLA Award with The Sussan Group; in 2025 it partnered with Nick Scali and won a second consecutive ASCLA award.
Risks & controversies
Early growth was constrained by customer resistance to self-service booking and by a flat-fee pricing model that did not capture value from high-volume bookings, prompting a pivot in business and pricing model. The business is exposed to freight market disruption, including container equipment shortages, Red Sea diversions and port congestion.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 11
launches, deals, and filingsNick Scali and Explorate won the Supply Chain Management Award at the 63rd annual Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Awards, Explorate's second consecutive ASCLA recognition.
Explorate partnered with furniture retailer Nick Scali to address supply chain disruption through enhanced visibility and data-driven insights.
Explorate was awarded the Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Award for Big Data, IT & Business Intelligence alongside The Sussan Group (Sussan, Sportsgirl, Suzanne Grae).
The company transitioned the Explorate App to its core commercial product, securing major brands and receiving coverage in TechCrunch and The Courier Mail.
Following the Series A, Explorate expanded nationally with new offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide as the team grew past 60.
Explorate secured $7.5 million in Series A funding led by early-stage venture firm EVP, funding four additional Australian offices and headcount growth to 70.
$7.5M source ↗
Explorate raised an additional AUD 1 million in 2020 to fund growth.
Explorate partnered with Skalata Ventures and Paul Little, former CEO of Toll Group; within eight months monthly recurring revenue increased 21x and clients including Brosa, Tommy Swiss, the Port of Melbourne and the Port of Brisbane were added.
The company launched its digital-first platform, replacing manual spreadsheets and legacy workflows with an integrated digital solution for global trade.
Alex Ewart and Conor Hagan met in 2014 while working in a Brisbane freight forwarding warehouse and identified the reliance on manual and fax-based processes in global trade.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Explorateexplorate.co · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Explorate do?
- Australian digital freight forwarder and supply chain visibility platform for shippers, headquartered in Brisbane.
- Who founded Explorate?
- Explorate was founded by Conor Hagan, Alex Ewart in 2017.
- Who are Explorate's investors?
- Explorate's investors include Cardinia Ventures, Skalata.
- Where is Explorate headquartered?
- Explorate is headquartered in Brisbane, AU.