Ex-Amazon Exec Dave Clark Aims to Tackle Supply Chain “Franken-Software”

Dave Clark, formerly CEO of global consumer for Amazon, sets his sights on solving the mishmash of “Franken-software” throughout the supply chain industry.

Clark announced his latest startup, Auger, a company aiming to combine all the software of the supply chain into one single platform. To date, Clark has raised over $100 million in funding for the supply chain hopeful.

 “At Flexport, I got to see all of these companies in the middle, like the Nikes or Lululemons, and I was amazed at how much of a struggle it is, and how much they still use Excel or Smartsheet or Tableau or something to bring all this disparate data together in such a way that they can do something,” Clark stated in an interview with CNBC “A shocking amount of supply chain still runs on Excel.”

Clarks stint as CEO of Flexport was brief, only lasting little over a year from June 2022 to September 2023 when Flexport founder, Ryan Peterson, pressured Clark to resign. Peterson accused the CEO of mismanagement primarily due to hiring too quickly and often.

Peterson did though commend Clark for orchestrating a $1.3 billion deal to acquire Deliverr from Shopify.

“I’m very, very lucky because I wouldn’t have had the courage to go and do that acquisition, but I give all the credit in the world to Dave Clark,” Petersen quoted.

Aside from the brief stint and sudden firing from Flexport, Clark played a major role in shaping the logistics and fulfillment operations for Amazon. He will be looking to do the same for Auger.

Auger will likely be a team with deep amounts of experience in the supply chain industry due to Clarks history and vast network along with his knowledge for solving the challenges within supply chains.

If product market fit can be found, and Clark can apply his expertise to this new venture, Auger might just be the next startup to solidify itself in the B2B space. Investors just hope to see more Amazon Dave Clark and less Flexport Dave Clark.