Amazon's former retail boss Dave Clark is founding a new supply chain startup

Dave Clark, AmazonThe former CEO of Global Consumer, who briefly ran logistics company Flexport, is returning to the startup world.

Clark on Tuesday launched a new company called Auger that aims to help companies and governments unify the mix of “Franken software” used to monitor their supply chains on a single platform.

“At Flexport I saw all these companies in the middle, like Nikes or Lululemons, and I was amazed at how difficult it is and how often they still use Excel, Smartsheet, Tableau or something like that “Putting all this different data together in a way that they can make a difference,” Clark said in an interview. “A shockingly large portion of the supply chain still runs on Excel.”

Clark's third act follows a brief but turbulent stay at Flexport. Last September, Clark unexpectedly resigned as CEO of Flexport, allowing the return of founder Ryan Petersen. Petersen repeatedly claimed that Clark spent too much and hired too much during his time at the trucking startup. But documents seen by CNBC and sources close to Clark showed that Petersen and members of Flexport's board helped implement decisions that Flexport considered unwise. Since then, Petersen has taken steps to turn around the business by restructuring its leadership, implementing layoffs and subleasing excess warehouse space.

Before joining Flexport, Clark gained fame as the architect of Amazon's vast logistics network during his 23 years at Amazon. He joined Amazon's operations department in 1999 and quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the company's key executives. In 2020, Amazon hired Clark to lead its core retail business after longtime CEO Jeff Wilke left the company. Clark left Amazon in 2022 and joined Flexport.

Clark came to Flexport to bring what he had built at Amazon to “small businesses and other companies around the world.” He left the startup feeling there was a gap in the supply chain tools market and began developing the idea behind Auger. The name is intended to express the drilling tool's ability to break through things and delve deep.

“I have spent the last year taking a step back and thinking about how best to address this issue,” Clark said. “What do I want to do next?” Do I still want to try to address this issue? Do I want to do something else? And I kept coming back to the fact that this shouldn’t be a problem for companies with the technology that exists in the world.”

He said a typical company might have “eight to 10 to 12 to 20” systems for procurement, forecasting and enterprise resource planning. The systems can be clunky and are rarely integrated. He wanted to build a platform that would allow companies to manage their supply chain with the same level of simplicity and intuitiveness as the consumer applications they use every day.

Clark, who moved to Texas with his family before leaving Amazon, has returned to his former employer's Seattle backyard to work on the new company, which will be based in Bellevue, Washington. He hopes to tap into the region's wealth of tech talent.

Last year, Amazon launched its own supply chain management platform that can handle the transportation of company goods from the manufacturer to the customer's doorstep. However, the service is aimed at companies that sell on the Amazon marketplace and use its logistics and fulfillment network.

Auger's launch comes as the volume of venture deals has steadily declined in recent years, apart from investments in artificial intelligence companies. According to an Aug. 29 report from PitchBook, the value of U.S. venture capital exits is expected to reach $98 billion this year, down 86% from 2021, while venture capital-backed IPOs are expected to reach their lowest level since 2016.

VC activity in the supply chain tech industry has improved recently, although it is well below 2021 and 2022 levels. According to Pitchbook, global investments in this area reached $2.4 billion, marking the third consecutive quarter of growth.

Auger has raised $100 million from venture firm Oak HC/FT. Clark said he expects to increase headcount to about 20 people soon and aims to bring a “V1” product to market within nine months.

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