71lbs
71lbs is a US-based shipping cost optimization platform serving 5,000+ businesses. It recovers late delivery refunds, negotiates FedEx and UPS contracts, and provides SMB group purchasing on a contingency-based pricing model with no upfront fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersSunrise, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What 71lbs does
71lbs is a US-based shipping cost optimization platform that helps businesses recover overcharges and reduce FedEx and UPS shipping expenses. Founded in 2012 by Jose Li, a former leader of FedEx's Retail & eCommerce practice, the company serves more than 5,000 customers ranging from small Shopify merchants to enterprise shippers and operates from Sunrise/Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as a privately held Delaware corporation. Its core addressable problem is the $2 billion in unclaimed FedEx and UPS late delivery refunds left on the table each year, supplemented by SMBs' lack of access to enterprise-tier carrier pricing and shippers' inability to track and file claims within the carriers' strict 15-day windows.
The platform centers on AI and machine learning automation for shipment monitoring, claims processing, and shipping data analytics, backed by a proprietary dataset analyzing over $1 billion in annual shipping volume. Core products include automated late delivery refund recovery (filing claims when carriers miss guarantees, even by 60 seconds), data-driven contract negotiations benchmarking rates against the proprietary dataset, a third-party shipping insurance offering priced 20-40% below carrier declared value options, a lost and damaged claims service achieving 70%+ approval rates, an SMB savings program pooling smaller shippers into enterprise-tier pricing, and a shipping analytics dashboard. Native integrations with FedEx and UPS allow customers to connect their carrier accounts in approximately two minutes without downloads or IT involvement.
The business operates on a contingency-based revenue model. In the SMB tier (under $300K annual shipping spend), 71lbs retains 40% of recovered savings and the customer keeps 60%, with no upfront costs, monthly fees, or long-term contracts. Enterprise customers above $300K in annual spend receive custom outcome-based pricing that includes dedicated account management and contract negotiation services. Distribution combines a self-serve portal (portal.71lbs.com) and PLG onboarding for SMBs with direct enterprise sales and inside sales support for larger accounts, supported by content marketing, social media, and a recently deployed third-party AI assistant for customer engagement.
71lbs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- 71lbs
- Legal name
- 71 Pounds, Inc.
- Website
- https://71lbs.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- 71lbs is a US-based shipping cost optimization platform serving 5,000+ businesses. It recovers late delivery refunds, negotiates FedEx and UPS contracts, and provides SMB group purchasing on a contingency-based pricing model with no upfront fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where 71lbs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sunrise
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
71lbs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Contingency-based Late Delivery Refund Recovery: The company charges a percentage of savings recovered from late delivery refunds. For SMB tier (up to $300K annual spend), they retain 40% while the customer keeps 60% of recovered refunds. No upfront costs or monthly fees - they only invoice after finding and securing refunds.
- Contract Negotiation Services: Included in Enterprise tier pricing for companies with over $300K annual shipping spend. Custom pricing based on spend volume and mix. Provides data-driven negotiation support to help companies secure better FedEx and UPS rates.
- Shipping Insurance: Third-party shipping insurance at 20-40% lower rates than carrier declared value options. Customers choose which shipments to protect based on their own risk assessment needs.
- Lost & Damaged Claims Recovery: Only charges a percentage when claims are approved and paid. Automatic $100 coverage included; additional coverage available for items over $100 through carrier declared value.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | SMB Tier - Up to $300K annual spend with automated refund recovery |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Enterprise Tier - Over $300K annual spend with dedicated support |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
71lbs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
71lbs is a shipping cost management platform that helps businesses reduce FedEx and UPS shipping costs. The platform connects directly to carrier accounts to automatically monitor shipments, file late delivery refund claims, negotiate carrier contracts, pool SMB shipping volume for enterprise pricing, and recover lost or damaged shipment claims. Services are delivered through a self-serve SaaS portal combined with dedicated specialist support, all priced on a contingency basis where 71lbs only gets paid when customers save money.
Product overview
71lbs is a shipping cost management platform that helps companies save money on FedEx and UPS shipping through a suite of integrated services. The core platform centers on an analytics dashboard that connects directly to carrier accounts, with four main service modules: Late Delivery Refunds (automated refund recovery), Contract Negotiations (data-driven rate optimization), Shipping Insurance (third-party coverage), and Lost & Damaged Claims (claims recovery). A separate SMB Savings Program provides pooled enterprise-level pricing for small businesses. All services operate on a contingency pricing model where 71lbs only charges when savings are achieved.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Late Delivery Refunds Automated late delivery refund recovery service that monitors every FedEx and UPS shipment, files claims when carriers miss guaranteed delivery windows, and recovers 100% of the shipping cost when late by even 60 seconds. Designed for businesses of all sizes shipping via FedEx and UPS.
- Contract Negotiations Data-driven carrier contract negotiation service that benchmarks a company's discount percentages against $1B+ in shipping data and provides expert negotiation support for FedEx and UPS rate agreements. Targeted at companies with over $300K annual shipping spend.
- Shipping Insurance Third-party shipping insurance product offering coverage at 20–40% lower rates than FedEx and UPS declared value options, with an independent claims process and customer-selected shipment protection.
- Lost & Damaged Claims Software-and-specialist driven lost and damaged shipment claims recovery service that proactively works every claim, achieving 70%+ approval rates. Automatic $100 coverage is included, with additional coverage available through carrier declared value for higher-value items.
- SMB Savings Program Group purchasing program that pools small business shipping volume to unlock enterprise-level FedEx and UPS pricing, delivering 14–21% savings with zero volume minimums and no long-term contract commitments. Targeted at SMB shippers.
- Shipping Analytics Dashboard Cloud-based analytics platform accessed at portal.71lbs.com that provides visibility into shipping patterns, carrier performance, refund opportunities, and spending analysis, with weekly refund reports and benchmarking against $1B+ in shipping data. Includes a shipping data API.
Quantifiable outcome
- Companies have recovered over $80 million in total savings through 71lbs services
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use 71lbs
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
71lbs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
71lbs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
71lbs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Shippo: Multi-carrier shipping API and dashboard that lets SMBs compare rates, print labels, and track shipments across USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL. Competes for the same SMB shipping-cost-conscious customer base and adjacent to 71lbs on shipping analytics and rate benchmarking.
- Refund Retriever: Direct head-to-head competitor offering automated late delivery refund recovery for FedEx, UPS, and other parcel carriers on a contingency basis. Operates the same business model as 71lbs's core late-delivery refunds product and serves the same SMB and mid-market shipper segments.
- Shipware: Parcel and freight audit and contract negotiation firm that helps shippers recover refunds, validate invoices, and negotiate FedEx/UPS agreements. Closely matches 71lbs's contract negotiation and audit offerings, competing for the same enterprise and mid-market customers.
Broad incumbents
- ShipBob: Tech-enabled fulfillment and shipping platform for e-commerce brands, bundling warehousing, pick-and-pack, and discounted carrier rates. Competes with 71lbs's SMB savings program by offering directly negotiated FedEx/UPS rates as part of a broader fulfillment service.
- Stamps.com (Auctane): Long-established USPS, UPS, and FedEx postage and shipping management platform now part of Auctane. Overlaps with 71lbs on rate visibility and SMB shipping savings, but is primarily a postage/label product rather than a refund-recovery and contract-negotiation specialist.
- Flexport: Digital freight forwarder offering ocean, air, trucking, and warehousing services with built-in shipment tracking and cost management software. Shares the data-driven logistics cost optimization thesis with 71lbs but operates at much larger freight scale and end-to-end forwarding rather than parcel refund recovery.
- ShipStation: Established multi-carrier shipping software owned by Auctane, used by hundreds of thousands of e-commerce SMBs for label printing, rate shopping, and order fulfillment. Overlaps with 71lbs on shipping rate visibility and SMB cost optimization, but ships as a broader label/fulfillment workflow rather than a refund/recovery specialist.
Emerging players
- ParcelPerform: AI-powered parcel tracking and delivery performance analytics platform for enterprise shippers and carriers. Adjacent to 71lbs on shipment monitoring and benchmarking, but monetized as a SaaS analytics subscription rather than contingency-based refund recovery.
- Loop Returns: E-commerce returns management platform that automates reverse logistics, exchanges, and refunds. Adjacent to 71lbs's lost/damaged claims module, focused on the returns side of the parcel equation rather than late-delivery refunds or contract negotiation.
- FourKites: Supply chain visibility platform providing real-time shipment tracking across parcel, LTL, truckload, ocean, and air. Comparable to 71lbs on shipment monitoring and analytics, but at a much larger enterprise supply-chain scale and without the refund-recovery monetization model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
71lbs social profiles
Digital presence71lbs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
71lbs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
71lbs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
71lbs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about 71lbs
What does 71lbs do?
71lbs is a shipping cost management platform that helps businesses reduce FedEx and UPS shipping costs. The platform connects directly to carrier accounts to automatically monitor shipments, file late delivery refund claims, negotiate carrier contracts, pool SMB shipping volume for enterprise pricing, and recover lost or damaged shipment claims. Services are delivered through a self-serve SaaS portal combined with dedicated specialist support, all priced on a contingency basis where 71lbs only gets paid when customers save money.
Is 71lbs a public or private company?
71lbs is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was 71lbs founded?
71lbs was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is 71lbs based?
71lbs is headquartered in Sunrise, United States, in the North America region.
How does 71lbs make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Contingency-based Late Delivery Refund Recovery is the primary driver. The others are contract Negotiation Services, shipping Insurance and lost & Damaged Claims Recovery.
Who are 71lbs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Shippo, Refund Retriever and Shipware. Broad incumbents are ShipBob, Stamps.com (Auctane), Flexport and ShipStation. Emerging players are ParcelPerform, Loop Returns and FourKites.
Does 71lbs have an API?
Yes. 71lbs provides an API that enables companies to access shipping analytics, showing exactly where their money is going, what discount percentages they should be getting, and where opportunities exist to save. The API is used to display shipping data in the dashboard and reporting features.