Transportation and Logistics – Dutch Uncles

Delhivery: Balance of Technology and Human Touch Both are Essential in Logistics

Shalmoli Sarkar — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 12:39:12 +0000

Musician Dave Caroll along with his band Sons of Maxwell came up with a trio of hilarious protest songs under the name United Breaks Guitars after he received a broken guitar after flying with United Airlines in 2008. His guitar while in United Airlines’ custody was roughly handled by the baggage handlers who threw his guitar on the ramp at Chicago O’Hare International Aiport during a layover on his flight. He arrived at the destination only to find that his $3500 Taylor guitar was brutally damaged. He had applied for compensation from the aviation company but was ineligible since he failed to claim within the 24-hour timeframe. He also underwent fruitless negotiation for about nine months. In his song, he sang how the employees of United Airlines turned a deaf ear to the manhandling. The song became an immediate hit on YouTube and iTunes upon its release in July 2009 and a public-relations embarrassment for the airline. And soon a sarcastic dig on United Airlines became synonymous with an aviation company that breaks guitars.

When people pay for expensive flight tickets they expect their belongings to be handled with care and in return, if they do not deliver as expected tends to erode their reputation. Similarly, in any logistics business, the smooth handling of shipments and parcels is integral to its success. But, for Delhivery- an Indian delivery and e-commerce logistics company rough handling of the goods seems to have resulted in harsh customer reviews. According to Trustpilot- an online customer review platform, it found 93 percent of the customer reviews are negative about the rough handling of goods. On other customer review platforms Mouthshut.com and TrackingMore, customers have expressed their harsh reviews about receiving no response and updates from the company regarding the shipment and delayed deliveries. Some people have complained about its WhatsApp chatbot that does not solve issues with its automated replies. According to NewVoiceMedia’s report, poor customer service in a business costs losses worth $75 billion annually. In addition to this, a survey from Voxware finds that 69 percent of consumers are unlikely to shop from e-commerce retailers again if an item they purchased is not delivered within two days of the date promised. This speaks of huge losses and high consumer acquisition costs for e-commerce and D2C retailers which will be about 5 to 25 times more than retaining an existing customer.

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According to NewVoiceMedia’s report, poor customer service in a business costs losses worth $75 billion annually.

How can Delhivery improve its operations?

Implement Cargo Trackers and monitoring: Logistics business is an execution game. If a significant percentage of the cargo or shipment gets damaged due to rough handling one cannot know since, the managers and business owners are not on the field to monitor and review the handling and have no information in case someone has mishandled it, which is a challenge. Therefore, the challenge can be overcome by employing an advanced, real-time cargo tracking and monitoring service.
Minimise Delays: Delivery delays in the logistics business are an existing problem that further worsened with restrictions in the pandemic. To minimise late deliveries the business must have diversified supply bases and alternate shipping routes as contingency plans for when troubles arise. To minimise delivery delays, businesses should look forward to adopting micro-fulfillment centres, and cross-docking. Let us peek a little deeper into what do the above ones mean-

a. Microfulfillment centres: Micro-fulfillment refers to small-scale distribution centers positioned closer to the end-consumer.

b. Cross-docking: in a cross-docking facility, the main function of the distribution center is as a place where goods quickly move through to the next stage of the shipping process. Storage space is minimal, and everything must be carefully organised according to inbound and outbound shipments.

Prevent tampering of goods: while goods are in transit they change several hands and pass through several different partners, employees, therefore one cannot figure out if the package has been tampered with. Tracking tampered packages or parcels becomes a challenge, where blockchain integration comes to the rescue. Blockchain integration is backed with real-time sensor data that ensures the integrity of the supply chain and prevents any unauthorized manipulation of cargo.
Chatbots are not enough: Several consumers have complained about Delhivery’s WhatsApp chatbot giving out replies for solutions for predictable problems. In chatbots the solutions offered to the problems are mechanised, and when there is an occurrence of complex or technical questions, consumers would like to speak with a live agent. As per NewVoiceMedia’s survey, 86 percent of customers feel that an emotional connection with a customer service agent is likely that customers will continue to do business.

Seamless warehouse management: Seamless warehouse management is the need of the hour for every logistic business. There have been common instances where customers are found complaining that the goods have reached a wrong destination, no updates, incomplete orders, etc., these are errors which if not regulated can be costly. These can be avoided with the help of effective and updated warehouse management systems. Implementing new warehouse technologies such as mobile apps for picking, automated picking and packing systems, voice picking, develops a system of checks throughout the process that can reduce errors and streamline processes. Assuring that warehouse staff is well-trained and that policies clearly state where and how the product is to be handled reduces the risk of error.

Therefore, the key takeaways are that the logistics business should not lose sight of human connection. There should be a balance of both technology and human interaction. Nonetheless, technology will certainly aid the business to simplify, speed up and enhance customer services but people will never forget how in their time of need you made them feel. The art of regularly communicating and sending updates to the consumers will further increase their loyalty to the business.

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Ecom Express’s E-Zippie, Enabling Small Businesses Partner with Logistic Services in No Time

Shalmoli Sarkar — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 05:35:10 +0000

The pandemic has laid a fillip to the e-commerce sales right from ordering groceries, essentials, and food, which also pushed the demand of bolstering the delivery and logistics services. Several small businesses and brands have pivoted online to build their independent online store to become direct-to-consumer brands. The increasing number of small businesses going online is paving demand for logistics service post- covid a majority of them now will be heavily dependent on the doorstep or last-mile delivery services.

Challenges in the last mile delivery for MSMEs and D2C companies

The D2C business counters several bottlenecks in the supply chain while being a new player in online commerce. Here are the most challenges faced by the businesses :

Last-mile order tracking: It is cumbersome for small businesses to manage last-mile deliveries through multiple courier partners that also require customer care to be seamless and proactive.

Not catering to all geographic locations: Small businesses cannot do order fulfillment for demand coming from small towns and villages of India as their logistics partner does not service such remote areas, leaving those markets underserved and losing business opportunities.

Managing reverse logistics: Reverse logistics management is crucial for MSMEs to remain competitive and provide the best online shopping experience to customers. Most problems faced are during the pick-up point of the returns, as most delivery men are not available at the designated time slot.

To cater to the challenges faced by the small business and D2C in the supply chain, Ecom Express – a technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solution to provide for the e-commerce industry – has recently announced the launch of a self-sign-up portal called E-Zippie.

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E-Zippie enables micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, sole-proprietors and home-preneurs, to quickly and conveniently sign-up for logistics services.

What is E-Zippie for small businesses all about?

The portal enables micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, sole-proprietors and home-preneurs, to quickly and conveniently sign-up for logistics services. It will act as a one-stop shop for logistics services in less than 30 minutes. Also, benefitting Ecom Express, this initiative will help to simplify the customer onboarding process with various small businesses by enhancing user experience and providing more flexibility in terms of service plan and price selection.

E-Zippie will be leveraging the latest banking and identity verification APIs to reduce redundant manual back-end processes and paperwork for smooth onboarding and can start shipping orders instantly. For solving customer grievances, small business owners can submit requests at their convenience through their mobile that will be directed to the concerned department that handles the request without any manual intervention or re-keying of information.

How will E-Zippie prove to be beneficial for small businesses?

The backbone of India’s economic strength lies on the shoulders of 6.3 million small businesses. With online shopping becoming the norm in the pandemic, robust logistics and digital capabilities will be crucial for the growth of an online small business. What took 10-12 days for a small business to register with a logistic player, with E-Zippie will take less time.

Moreover, Ecom Express’s delivery network reaching more than 27000 pin codes, will enable small businesses to make their products available to rural and remote places of India and tap the underserved market conveniently. Small businesses can gain direct control of their shipments with maximum flexibility in managing their end-to-end shipment life cycle.

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Medium Enterprise Segment Becomes TruckBhejo’s New Destination

Anju Nambiar — Sun, 29 Aug 2021 05:35:08 +0000

Logistics and Delivery is a vital part of mid-large sized enterprises. But logistics can quickly turn into a massive problem if the deliverables and the geographies are hugely disparate. Therefore medium and large enterprises need access to truck fleets that are not only from a single source but come equipped with connected trucks driven by tech savvy drivers. TruckBhejo, a tech-logistics start-ups has discovered a new market among medium enterprises in India.

Who is TruckBhejo?

TruckBhejo is a tech-logistics firm who is connecting the supply and demand sides in logistics. They offer their services to all three delivery miles namely, first (farm-factory-warehouse), middle (regional warehouse to city distribution point), and the last mile (distribution point to end consumers). They possess a fleet of trucks and facilitate shipping and deliveries to their clients. Founded in 2016, TruckBhejo is headquartered in Mumbai.

Growth, Presence, and Expansion Plans

Growth

TruckBhejo has grown almost 20% in terms of topline since last year. They have also registered an average of 10-12% of gross margin.

Presence

Within a span of 5 years, TruckBhejo has expanded their presence to 40 cities, and 7 Indian states. Their platform operates 3000 active trucks and currently operates across 45-50 lanes in the state of Maharashtra.

Expansion plans

TruckBhejo wants to raise growth capital to expand the market and tap into the medium enterprise segment operating mainly in last mile services.

The technology-led logistics market

The tech logistics market is valued at $160 Bn and is growing at the rate of 10.5% year-on-year (y-o-y). The market is expected to be valued at close to $200 Bn within the next 6 years. The unorganised sector in the market contributes to almost 65% of the business.

Profit margins in the tech logistics industry

The profit margins in the tech logistics industry vary from service to service. For the full-truck-load service, the gross profit margins vary between 11-13%. Whereas for services like PTL (partial truck load), ecommerce, and express, the margins vary between 17-18%.

Market opportunities among median enterprises

Median-large sized companies face problems when it comes to sending deliverables to hundreds of cities across the country. To ship such a massive load, these companies need to communicate with hundreds of transporters which is cumbersome to them.

Here are the gaps in the median enterprise market in the tech-logistics industry

- Uniting multi-vendor interfaces
- Eliminating geographical restrictions
- Bringing technology to integrate the unorganised supply.
- Carpet coverage of logistics services across the supply chain.

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They offer their services to all three delivery miles namely, first (farm-factory-warehouse), middle (regional warehouse to city distribution point), and the last mile (distribution point to end consumers).

Why should you invest in the Median Enterprise segment?

The median enterprise segment does business in the range of INR 100-500 Cr. Mid-sized enterprises also have a presence between 2-10 states in India. Most of the start-up ecosystem including the traditional players are focusing on the bigger blue-chip companies. Also, there is a bigger ecosystem being developed comprising almost 65 Mn SME (small and medium enterprises) players or medium enterprises. The number is eventually going to go up and newer policies will be implemented by the Government.

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Pepfuels, Disrupting Fuel Delivery Space In India

Anju Nambiar — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 03:35:12 +0000

Almost everything is home delivered and ready to consume. Fuels like Petrol and Diesel have also joined the list. Large industries and corporations find it cumbersome to take their fleet of trucks and large vehicles regularly to the fuel station for refuelling. If instead, the fuel is delivered to them via mobile dispensing stations, it will reduce costs, save time, and eliminate the counter productivity of the task. Pepfuels is delivering fuel to the B2B sector through online orders.

Pepfuels, Fuel home delivered

Pepfuels is a mobile fuel delivery start-up with an online doorstep delivery platform for diesel fuel. Founded in 2014 and based in Delhi, they are a B2B (business-to-business) start-up serving customers across multiple industries. Pepfuels offers doorstep delivery of fuels mainly Diesel and Engine Oil through an app-based service.

How they are disrupting the mobile fuel delivery space

Pepfuels, a new entrant is disrupting the mobile fuel delivery space by helping their customers reduce their carbon footprints, save time, and fuel costs, and prevent pilferage. They are also venturing into new markets like Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to fulfil the end-to-end needs of their customers. Through their business model, the company wants to encourage the adoption of a gas-based economy. Their strategic tie-ups with key B2B stakeholders are disrupting the industry. They are expected to reach an annual turnover of INR 100 Cr. Currently, Pepfuels has a presence in three Indian cities namely, Delhi, Ghaziabad and Noida and is slowly inching towards a PAN India presence.

How their IoT-RFID Technology works

Pepfuels is pioneering the fuel delivery space in India with India’s very first location-based fuel delivery system through their patented IoT-RFID (Internet-of-Things Radio Frequency Identification) device. This is a smart fuelling technology which has a server monitored reader connected through a dispensing machine. This technology offers accurate, theft-proof, and zero loss in fuel. The vehicle dispatched to deliver fuel is equipped with an RFID tag. The dispensing machines have a reader that reads the RFID tag and dispenses as per the order quantity. Also, the dispensing vehicles are geo-fenced and have GPS and fuel sensors.

The fuel home delivery space in India

Current scenario

In 2020, a INR 2000 Cr market for fuel delivery start-ups opened up in India. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) had invited bids and Expressions of Interest (EoI). Start-ups who aspired to become fuel resellers could pitch in by becoming Fuel Entrepreneurs (FuelEnts). A lot of start-ups sprung up in the fuel home delivery space after this move.

Existing players

Existing players in the fuel home delivery space include start-ups like ReadyAssist, Fuel Buddy, iSafe Assist, Roda on Road Assistance, MyPetrolPump, Humsafar, Repos Energy etc. who have rolled out on-demand fuel delivery services.

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They are also venturing into new markets like Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) to fulfil the end-to-end needs of their customers.

What’s in it for me?

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), a government owned body has a INR 100 Cr ONGC Start-up Fund for start-ups. This is under the Start-up India initiative which provides an end-to-end support chain for start-ups including seed capital, hand holding, mentoring, market linkage, and follow-ups. Innovative technology-enabled ideas that can disrupt the oil and gas sector in India stand a chance to acquire seed funding through the ONGC Start-up Fund.

As already mentioned, the market valuation is slowly inching towards the INR 2000 Cr milestone. A lot of start-ups are signing deals with large fuel corporations. Existing oil marketing companies are rapidly expanding to new cities and states in India and establishing a pan-India presence. There is high demand for fuel delivery of petrol, diesel, engine oil among industries like construction, transportation, education, and the corporate industry. The home delivery of fuel is a good answer to the problem of rising petrol and diesel prices in India because it cuts down on the time and fuel costs needed to travel to the petrol station and reduces the environmental impact for B2Bs.

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BlackBuck, Connecting Businesses with Truck Owners and Freight

Vaishali Das — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 10:30:03 +0000

Who is BlackBuck?

BlackBuck is India’s largest trucking platform. Founded in 2015, it aims to organise and simplify the trucking industry for both, shipper and trucker. The platform has been a pioneer in bringing the offline operations of trucking online.

The platform also aims to reshape the infrastructure around trucking to facilitate insurance, payments and financial services. With just one click, truckers can book a load and move at capacity. Along with this, shippers can book a truck of their choice, of any size, at the right time and at a right price.

By keeping the application minimal for the not so literate people, the app operates through Google maps. The drivers and truckers can accept work and navigate in a seamless manner. For the clients, they can install the similar app to make their respective bookings and BlackBuck matches the demand with available trucks and drivers in the area. Just like Uber, BlackBuck connects shippers with trucks.

Inefficiency Problems in India’s Truck System

India’s Trucking Industry is the most marginalised, unorganised and inefficient sector and is critical for the country’s economy. This problem is dragging India’s economy down as this contributes around 14.4% to India’s GDP. This sector is also the highest employment generator as 85% of the transportation community is constituted by small operators.

Being a major choke-point in the supply chain, the trucking industry functions on uncoordinated set-pieces causing all the inefficiencies and disparity in their operation. The reason behind this are:

Highway and Roads conditions that can hardly be termed comfortable for driving. This causes delays and is also responsible for breakdowns of trucks and heavy loaded vehicles.
The poor vehicle maintenance is another reason for the inefficiency in the trucking industry. In order to transport maximum freight with minimum costs, truck owners neglect the efficiency of their vehicles which in return cause miserable conditions.
There’s no standardisation of remuneration as different transport companies’ offer diversified paychecks.
Sometimes there’s problems with authority at several checkpoints. Drivers mostly being not very literate end up in a situation where they’re caught up in state laws and have to face delays.

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BlackBuck matches the demand with available trucks and drivers in the area, just like Uber, it connects shippers with trucks.

BlackBucks Customer Base

The platform has more than four lakh partner trucks, operating pan India in 500 districts and 400 industrial hubs. Around 70% of BlackBuck’s 10,000 clients are corporation based and the rest are small and medium sized enterprises. The client base also includes big companies like Reliance, Coca-Cola, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, TaTa, Vedanta, L&T and Jindal.

BlackBuck: Digitizing freight and logistics across India

Amidst the pandemic to kick start the movement of goods across the country and reviving the supply chain in pandemic, BlackBuck started with the Move India Initiative. This provides a digital logistics platform connecting businesses and shippers with truck owners for intercity logistics.

With 700,000 truckers and 1.2 million trucks connected with its platform in India, BlackBuck is the first logistics firm to turn a unicorn this year. In the pandemic when the government pushed digital adoption the platform too moved from replying upon call centers for bookings to an app-based system.

By providing FASTag offering, 35% of India’s trucking toll happens via BlackBuck. This is the proof that India’s logistics industry and supply chain is shifting from paper to digital. The startup is one of the handful of start-ups that is digitizing freight and logistics across India. It is bringing a transformation to the Indian trucking ecosystem by providing unique solutions for the truckers and also by streamlining the trucking sector.

Insights For Startups Under This Sector

BlackBuck aims at providing a smooth channel for truck owners and builds an ecosystem around trucking. By offering services like credit cards which can be used for tire repair, toll payments, fuel and insurance by truck owners and drivers, it eases up the hectic lifestyle in this sector. The startup is also aiming to partner with commercial banks and NBFCs to venture out of the vehicle financing segment.

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Delhivery’s Delivery on Success, Becoming a World-Class Logistics Company

Niharika Neureker — Sat, 12 Jun 2021 02:35:04 +0000

Giving in to our hunger pangs by ordering food at ungodly hours is something that most of us have done, but ever heard of a business idea being birthed by this simple act of ‘pick and drop’, that is now dominating India’s logistics sector? The inspiring story is about Gurugram-based Delhivery, which started its journey as a hyperlocal food-delivery start-up in 2011 and became the new-age logistics major.

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Delhivery was the first one to perceive an opportunity in a restaurant delivery network and that’s how they ventured into the hyperlocal market in the first place.

A Midnight Conversation…

It was a midnight conversation with a delivery guy that struck a business proposition in the heads of co-founders Sahil Barua and Suraj Saharan. The duo had ordered food from a nearby restaurant in Gurugram at about half-past midnight. Soon they found themselves indulged in a conversation with the delivery guy standing at their front door. Upon learning that the restaurant was on the verge of shutting down permanently, the two set off to meet its owner, Balaji, who explained his dilemma of letting his staff down with this decision.

Barua and Saharan took it upon themselves to recruit all of the restaurants’ employees, which led to the inception of Delhivery. However, what the duo did not know then was that Balaji, who also ran a cargo business, was destined to indulge in a business with them in a few years time.

The company started off by attempting to provide a solution to restaurants and their problems in delivering food within a limited period. They understood the growing needs and limitations in the restaurant distribution network and got off in a hyperlocal environment with only 5 employees handling everything from accounts to product service to delivery hookups.

Even to their own surprise, the founders managed to carry out and complete delivery within 30 minutes.

Delhivery was the first one to perceive an opportunity in a restaurant delivery network and that’s how they ventured into the hyperlocal market in the first place. The duo was later joined by co-founders Mohit Tandon, Bhavesh Manglani (COO) and Kapil Bharati (CTO), as the start-up gained momentum.

They opened its first branch at Sushant Arcade in Gurugram, a 250-square-foot space that served as their corporate office, dispatch centre, call centre, and development centre – all in one.

It was when the start-up’s business started booming, with processing of over 100 local orders per day, is when one of their investors – Abhishek Goyal – got them started in the e-commerce market. The start-up had caught the eye of Goyal, co-founder of Tracxn, along with Prasant Tandon, ex-founder of HealthKart, who showed great interest in Delhivery and their ability to deliver packages under thirty minutes.

An entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity. The start-up founders did the same. Spotting an opportunity to create an integrated, technology-driven solution in the e-commerce segment, they decided to move from local food delivery to e-commerce fulfilment.

A year down the line since Delhivery’s inception when the founders decided to venture into the e-commerce market, they realised that they needed cargo services and approached Balaji, who to this day continues to be one of their largest and most important vendors.

Taking the E-route

It was one of their early investors, Times Internet, who played an instrumental role in getting the start-up into the e-commerce market. They reasoned that if they could handle food delivery, why not expand into the e-commerce business and deliver parcels and packages as well? In short, monetise the existing resources and add new revenue streams.

By the end of December 2011, the start-up began to deliver over 500 packages each day in the Delhi NCR region for five e-commerce clients. Their team had grown to 25, and they had opened their second and third locations in Malviya Nagar and Janakpuri, respectively, to serve the entire Delhi-NCR region.

Despite being late in the segment, the founders saw the start-up’s requirement in logistics. During that time, e-commerce companies either had their own delivery arms or used courier companies (bulk cargo). However, neither of them focussed on rapid delivery. Delhivery cashed in on this problem to penetrate the internet space and therefore emerged as a third-party, last-mile logistics delivery firm to serve the e-commerce companies.

Hence the addition was made and eventually the transformation. Delhivery understood the massive scope of e-commerce delivery against traditional delivery right in time.

The B2B Approach

Delhivery follows a unique B2B business model. The platform offers services under three departments – warehousing, transportation and commerce – with the majority of operations specialising in transportation. The primary focus is on the delivery and distribution model, in which each organisation’s branch is run as a hub. This enables the parcels to be shipped to the customers in a hassle-free manner.

When a product is purchased online, it is obtained from the retailer and sent to a receiving facility, where it is stored to be sent to the destination. This is also known as a first-mile operation. Following that, a line haul is used to convey the goods from the manufacturing site to their desired location. The product is then shipped from the distribution system to the consumer’s home in what is known as the last mile process.

Delhivery aids in last-minute delivery and distribution, third-party and transit warehousing, reverse storage and logistical requirements, payment aggregation, vendor-to-warehouse and vendor-to-customer shipment, and much more.

Their proprietary network architecture, infrastructure, alliances, engineering, and technological skills are transforming and redefining India’s logistics industry today. The founders claim that the order cycle that previously used to take up to four to seven business days has come down to as low as 24 hours.

Furthermore, Delhivery’s business concept has a competitive advantage over its rivals. Unlike other players such as Rivigo and Blackbuck, who are primarily concerned with a relay-based transportation system for high-end commercial demands, the start-up employs delivery boys to provide services to small businesses and individuals. The fact that Delhivery caters to local requirements as well as those of giant organisations while remaining a unicorn is what distinguishes it from others.

Creating Dominance

For FY 2020, Delhivery claims to have a turnover of Rs 2800 crore; with further ambitious plans to grow to Rs 6000-7000 crore in the next two years.

The start-up has raised a total of $934.5 Million in funding over 9 rounds since inception. Its first round of Series A funding of $1.5 million came in April 2012 from Times Internet Limited, which bought a minority stake in the venture in June 2019. This marked the beginning of Delhivery’s success.

The start-up later got its ticket to the prestigious Unicorn Club following a Series F funding of $413 Million led by SoftBank, Fosun International, and Carlyle Group in 2019. This was coupled with an investment of $265 Million from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in two rounds. The platform’s growth and progress is accelerated as a result of this and in the coming years, it hopes to raise Rs 220 crore.

The company faced initial losses owing to the sheer scale of creating a logistic infrastructure and the basic framework (Fixed cost). However, the long term vision was positive, as for any infrastructure-based company.

The investors placed their bets on Delhivery as they believed that the demand and volumes produced by the supply chain would eventually pay off and when that happened, Delhivery would make a comfortable amount of profit. With Delhivery emerging as a unicorn, the investors’ hopes and beliefs were eventually met.

Since the financial year 2015, Delhivery claims to have grown at a pace of 65% every year, with the firm delivering 25% of all e-commerce orders. This unicorn in the foreseeable future is expected to grow to 20,000 pin codes and also start investing in growing its supply chain network to small and medium-sized enterprises using its new funding.

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Delhivery follows a unique B2B business model. The platform offers services under three departments - warehousing, transportation and commerce - with the majority of operations specialising in transportation.

Key to always being Ahead: Facing Competition

With the introduction of GST, the country’s logistics sector, which is currently worth about $160 billion, is expected to grow to $215 billion in the next two years. As a logistics-based business, Delhivery is bound to face more competition in the industry than it already has been.

Over the years, its notable competitors include Ecom Express, DotZot, FSC (Future Supply Chain), BlackBuck, Delex, Delivery.com. The customers have a variety of options because of market competition, many of which deliver almost equal quality.

However, Delhivery in the process of selling its services emerged as a business that is marked by a very distinct and unique service because it was one of the first of its kind to realise the importance of e-commerce.

Delhivery as a start-up faces competition from two different segments. One is the simple logistics industry where it faces competition from big players like Rivigo (Unicorn) and Blackbuck (Soonicorn) and the other is a specific e-commerce logistics industry where it challenges start-ups like Ecom Express, Xpressbees, etc. Delhivery has the advantage of having a strong funding pool, which is used in strengthening the infrastructure at the early stage itself. Hence, it’s an already established strong and vast framework to work upon in comparison to other start-ups.

In 2020, Delhivery collaborated with Volvo to add tractor-trailers to the express network and will continue to invest in the same with a corpus of around Rs 300 crore to increase its fleet capacity.

According to Barua, this merger is the first huge deployment of tractor-trailers in express trucking. It is believed to be a significant move for Delhivery in terms of gearing up for the future, extending its network base, and strengthening the firms’ dominant position in the industry.

According to reports, Delhivery presently delivers 1.5 million orders a day in over 17,500 pin codes across 2,300 towns and cities in India. Its network of almost 7,000 drivers and over 5,000 trucks play an instrumental role in its achievements. Besides, the firm is also constructing some of the country’s largest trucking terminals in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai.

Dodging the Lockdown Bullet

With the onset of the pandemic, the logistics sector in the country was met with both challenges as well as opportunities, particularly for start-ups. Everyday necessities such as e-grocery, food distribution, and e-commerce sites emerged as the biggest gainers out of sheer necessity besides indulgence.

The ability of businesses to be able to provide these services gave them a positive picture in the eyes of their clients and helped them find a position in the market.

In order to meet the increased demand for more structured companies in the sector following the pandemic, Delhivery is now looking to invest Rs 300 crore in 18-24 months on extension, which includes growing fleet size and building trucking hubs.

IPO Dreams, Going Back to Food and more…

The logistic start-up has recently raised $277 Million as a part of its final funding round, prior to its IPO launch later this year. The new round valued the 10-year-old startup at about $3 billion.

Furthermore, Delhivery has re-entered the food delivery market, collaborating with cloud kitchen businesses and taking direct restaurant deliveries. It is also looking for acquisitions in the B2B area. This time, the business has chosen to collaborate with food businesses and restaurants that have been seeking alternatives to Swiggy and Zomato due to their alleged hefty commissions.

What started as a simple hyperlocal express delivery service for boutiques and restaurants in Gurugram has grown into one of the leading e-commerce logistics platforms. With the current need for more efficient and well-organised logistics players on the rise, the platform holds tremendous promise for future development and expansion, whose only aim is to keep their clients happy and satisfied and resolve any problem that arises relating to the product or service.

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AI Brings Disruption in the Logistics Industry

Aakash Sharma — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 10:35:05 +0000

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global supply chain, the logistics industry faced yet another challenge. But this time, it was not underprepared to take on the enormous challenge; it had the critical tool of the latest technology, i.e., artificial intelligence.

As the pandemic forced a faster digital revolution, e-commerce has seen tremendous growth, with retail sales amounting to a global total of $4.28 trillion in 2020. The ease with which customers can purchase all products online has led to a growth in domestic shipping services and innovative options promising fast and efficient delivery, thanks to AI.

The concept of online delivery is nothing new. However, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and the Internet of Things (IoT) are playing a crucial role in saving time in getting from one place to another. This is improving the productivity of automated logistics companies on a cost basis.

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India is slowly becoming home to one of the fastest growing online markets in the world.

How India’s Delivery Start-ups Utilise AI in Logistics

Delhivery

Supply chain logistics service Delhivery is now the leading third-party delivery service provider in India. It gives a wide range of moving assistance such as Express Parcel, B2B and B2C Warehouse and Reverse Logistics.

The Delhivery platform runs and collects 1 billion system functions, 30 million addresses, 4 billion GPS posts and 2.7 million terabytes of image processing data. To meet the emerging e-commerce ecosystem requirements, the company uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data to produce a flexible, responsive and synchronised delivery system.

Dunzo Digital

Dunzo is a Bengaluru -based ultra-local delivery start-up that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to transform the e-commerce space by creating faster postal services. The platform uses on-demand delivery services of AI to figure out personalised content to decode the best delivery approach.

Changing Logistics of Traditional Mailing System

Machine learning has also significantly changed the Indian postal system. Today, many postal operators rely on barcodes. The use of artificial intelligence to obtain information about the sender and recipient has strengthened the process. In general, more post offices are improving their sorting capacity and labour requirements while sorting speed and affordability to support fast operations.

Pivotal Logistics Sector Functions Changing for Good with Modern Technologies

AI Profitability for Transportation

AI affects warehousing services such as collecting and interpreting information or inventory processing. As a consequence, AI helps in increasing efficiency and getting profit.

EV Vehicular Transformation

Due to IoT and AI, EVs and self-driving vehicles bring changes to the supply chain and help reduce expenses in logistics. AI capabilities are seriously ramping up company efficiencies in the areas of predictive demand and network planning.

Forecasting Industry Trends

Having a technology for specific demand forecasting and capacity planning allows companies to be more proactive. Industry can modify how supplies are used for maximum benefit, and AI can do these equations much faster than ever earlier.

What’s in it for New and Small Businesses?

Technologies provide an opportunity for different optimisation levels in production, logistics, warehousing and last-mile delivery that could become a reality very soon. Models like demand delivery will help consumers have their goods delivered where and when they need them by using flexible courier services.

With the increasing demand, more opportunities will open up for businesses. Start-ups aiming to scale up their progress in this segment can vigorously adopt these technologies by fetching support from the tech industry and driving to the last mile of success.

The post AI Brings Disruption in the Logistics Industry appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Rivigo, Making Driving Humane for Indian Truck Drivers

Divyanshi Kumari — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 10:31:45 +0000

The splendour of a truck, expanse of the highways, and the opportunity to discover new places. Bhagwandas’s dream to become a truck driver was sparked by his father, who was in the profession. His father was not very happy with the idea though. In their village – Haryana, truck drivers were called the 37th caste (an outcaste) of the society and were associated with various social vices. As a father, he did not want his son to lead the same distressed life, so he made him do an ITI skills training course instead. However, life had other plans for Bhagwandas, as he ended up trucking driving with Rivigo and today, leads a life of his and his father’s dreams.

With Rivigo, about eight thousand Bhagwandas come home to their families every day. Like any other professionals, they wear uniforms, have specific work hours and work in a safe environment. They get several fringe benefits and their children go to school. Most importantly, nobody in their family sleeps with an empty stomach anymore.

Founding of Rivigo

Even as consultants in Mckinsey & Company, Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra always knew they had to build something of their own and it had to be a game changer, something that the entire world would be inspired from.

While working at Mckinsey, Deepak was especially interested in the logistics and automotive sector. So, choosing the same sector for his own business was not difficult. But it was during his research on the field that he came to notice how flawed the system was. India, back then, needed one million new truck drivers every year for the next 10 years to support its freight transportation system as well as to achieve the GDP growth aspiration, but the driver-to-truck ratio remained below 750 per 1000 in the country. Deepak realised the issue was not about the truck pilots’ income or the skill gap, but their own poor socio-economic growth that made their families push them to quit their job. The drivers live a poor-quality of life, staying away from home for months under poor and unsafe conditions. While most of them have little to no time for their families, others do not even get to start one. On the top of it, substance abuse and diseases like HIV are a common site in the community.

Deepak only got to witness all these problems first hand during one of his trips to Jaipur. He knew truck driving was too inhumane to be a profession and he was going to do something about it.

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Rivigo has managed to disrupt the logistics market by introducing the first-ever global idea of relay driving and providing it as a service to other fleet owners.

Relay Model: The Birth of a Billion-Dollar Idea

To Deepak and Gazal, their goal was crystal clear. They needed to bring in a radical innovation that would improve the lives of these truck pilots, while also changing how the logistics sector functioned as a whole. So, they decided to run trucks to deliver goods and just like that, in the year 2014, Rivigo was born.

This endeavor did, however, come with a twist. Its founders knew in order to make an impact, it was necessary to build a proper logistics and supply chain ecosystem and so they built what is known as a driver relay model in the industry today.

The relay model is an operational business model that works like a relay race. The process starts as a truck pilot drives through his shift before changing over with another fellow pilot and passing him the truck like a baton is passed on in a relay race. This way, every pilot drives for about four to five hours over a network of relay pit-stops until the vehicle delivers the goods to its destination. The pilots who are done with their shifts come back via another truck, that halts at the same pit stops on its way back from the opposite direction. So, both the trucks keep running until they deliver the goods, dropping off the pilots, who got off their shifts, to their home bases along the way, thereby making sure all the pilots reach home at the end of the day.

Rivigo’s Beliefs as a Brand

The company believes the personal growth of their pilots helps in eventual growth of the company. If their pilots reach home every day, they no longer lead a lonely life, eat irregular meals in unhygienic places or sleep in unfamiliar and unsafe surroundings. The relay system also brings down their 14-15 hours of drive a day to just four or five hours, preventing them from driving in stressful fatigued conditions, that can lead to accidents and fatalities. Travelling back and forth on the same, hence, familiar route every time is an added advantage. The pilots’ health, comfort and safety eventually ensure efficiency in their day-to-day tasks as well.

Rivigo stresses on improving the lifestyle of their pilots in other ways as well. The pilots get accurate and timely payments in their bank accounts every month which helps them in saving more money and ensures they successfully get a bank loan- neither of which was possible earlier. The pilots also get health insurance for them and their entire families and scholarships for their children.

Furthermore, the brand focuses on complex data-driven problem solving through technology. The platform is fully digitised and takes care of the entire tracking, allocation, interaction, training, help, chats and performance management for the pilots as well as the clients, making the entire process easier and error free.

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Rivigo trucks are known for delivering in air equivalent time, making them three times faster than any regular delivery truck.

Technology: Power Source of the Pioneer

In India, about 90 per cent of the logistics takes place via roads, but the transit method does not necessarily give satisfactory results. The reason being apart from the driver shortage, the delivery consumes more time than necessary. Rivigo as a brand seeks to achieve a feasible way to resolve both the issues. As a brand, it is striving to normalize truck driving as a regular day job (by making sure pilots return home every day) while simultaneously leveraging the transit time. When it comes to managing time, the model makes it possible for the company to be able to deliver in air equivalent time ensuring 50 per cent-70 per cent less than the total transit time of a regular truck. So, while a conventional truck takes rounds 3 times a month, a Rivigo truck can do so about 8 times during the same period making it 3 times faster than the former one.

Reduction in the transit time is also the result of the firm’s core strength, that is their cutting-edge technology. Rivigo Labs, the technology think-tank which consists of the country’s best data scientists and engineers, is an important asset to the firm. Thanks to them, all the company’s trucks operate through IOT (Internet of Things), big data and AI (Artificial Intelligence) like advanced technology that facilitate the entire transit process- from viewing performance analytics to checking status updates in real time, with high visibility and transparency.

Apart from convening the rides for the pilots with the app, the company’s tech team has also managed to add new comprehensive solutions in the form of digital services. These services help their client companies get goods delivered in short transit time and with maximum reliability (with Rivigo Zoom) and even allows them to reduce line haul cost per shipment for the goods by creating their own time-sensitive and feasible line haul network (with Rivigo Prime).

How Is Rivigo ahead in the Game?

The Indian logistics industry, which drives about 14 percent of the country’s GDP, has grown massively over the last decade – particularly in the digital trucking operations. With a market size of about $215 billion USD (in 2020), the field has a lot of scope for innovation and big players like Blackbuck, DSV, Truck Suvidha have used it to their maximum advantage. As online logistics service providers, they all give tough competition to Rivigo but the firm has managed to stand out as a brand.

To ensure data driven operation, in all these companies, the drivers and trucks are tracked and connected through applications which consume a lot of battery and data during the travelling. The company, however, has implemented MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) to minimize data consumption and maximize battery life in their IoT devices. Unlike most of these firms, Rivigo serves both B2B and B2C transactions and for B2C businesses (like the ones in e-commerce industry), it even takes care of all the state regulatory requirements that can be ambiguous including state permit creation and paying the entry tax. In addition, with self-owned 3000 trucks and one the largest pan India service network, the company is able to provide 90 per cent plus on-time performance, making it much more reliable.

Apart from working for its own marketplace (Rivigo Freight), the company has further extended it’s services by now helping other fleet owners with their own services. The brand got its relay model recognised by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2019 and now, that it has patent rights over its model, it has launched what it calls as Relay-as-a-Service (RaaS).

The service is based on using their relay model to empower numerous shippers and fleet operators to optimize their fleet and service altogether. The model uses algorithms to assign, process and complete the task. Thus, through RaaS, the brand is working to create a freight ecosystem where all the stakeholders work together to build the sector which, contrary to its current state, will be known for its safety, reliability, transparency, precision and creating value for everyone. The company has partnered with JK Tyre & Industries to introduce TREEL Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), an industry-first partnership for the tech-logistics firm to provide a first-time tyre management solution to fleet owners under RaaS. Aside from this, Rivigo’s clients are able to leverage their reduced Turnaround Time (TAT) and reliability to reinvent their business models – serving new markets, reducing inventory and significantly cutting down cost to serve their customers.

Rivigo: What Lies down the Road

Over the years, this company has constantly strived to better their system and technology. Today, it offers services in various sectors like e-commerce, retail, automobile, cold-chain, healthcare, electronics and FMCG around the country but language barrier for the drivers as well as the clients have been an obstacle in widening their reach to the hilt. So, the company has recently been working on developing AI based Conversational CRM Agents (chatbots) to enable hyper-growth and infinite scalability in connecting with customers while reducing manual interventions in the whole process – yet another first in the industry. Currently, it has a CRM AI Agent for only English language, but they hope to extend it to Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other Indian languages soon. This is sure to open up the path to the brand in the near future to a whole slew of growth opportunities.

The post Rivigo, Making Driving Humane for Indian Truck Drivers appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Indian E-Commerce Logistics: Growth Trends and Industry Forecasts

Aakash Sharma — Mon, 31 May 2021 08:35:04 +0000

While the Indian e-commerce sector’s skyrocketing growth has been the town’s talk for the past year, its biggest beneficiary has been the adjacent e-commerce logistics sector. India’s e-commerce logistics industry is growing very well. Due to the enormous investments in logistics by e-commerce giants such as Flipkart, Amazon, Jio Mart and others, logistics associated with e-commerce is moving towards an organised market.

According to the latest report titled “India E-commerce Logistics Market (2020 to 2027)” by Research and Markets, India’s market in this segment is expected to reach $11.48 billion by 2027 at an overall annual growth rate of 18.8%.

Trends and Forecasts for Future Development

With the growing e-commerce demand from Tier -2 and lower-lying cities and increasing consumer expectations for express delivery services, the e-commerce logistics industry is expected to proliferate.

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In terms of domestic e-commerce delivery, it is expected to record the highest CAGR rate between 2020 and 2025.

As per different end-users, the market is divided into B2B and B2C. The dynamic growth drivers of the industry are the high internet penetration, the increasing number of smartphone users, the rise in online shopping prices, increase in demand, innovative technology and fast delivery services.

COVID-19 Outbreak Has Spurred the Growth of E-commerce and Logistics Industry

According to a report titled “E-commerce Trends Report 2020” released by Unicommerce, the total number of orders in India’s e-commerce industry has increased by 17% since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the development of the logistics e-commerce industry. Due to increased demand, e-commerce participants are looking for alternative storage locations to improve business continuity and reduce delivery times.

As awareness about social distancing and COVID preventive measures is spreading, people, even in rural areas, are turning to online platforms more than ever. Further, extended lockdowns in several states have resulted in disrupting the supply chain. The logistics players in e-commerce are using options like contactless delivery to reduce the risk of infection and further increase the demand for online sales.

Prominent Players in India’s E-commerce Logistics Sector

Among the leading companies in the Indian e-commerce logistics market are the following:

Ekart Logistics
Shiprocket
FedEx Corporation
Ecom Express Private Limited
Gati-Kintetsu Express Private Limited
Mahindra Logistics Limited
Amazon.com, Inc.
Blue Dart Express Limited
Delhivery Pvt Limited

What can SMEs in the E-commerce and Logistics Segment take Advantage of?

While India’s e-commerce giants are focused on adopting organic growth strategies to sustain their place in the dynamic market, small businesses can take advantages by filing in the demands of both the giants and the customers.

Big companies are looking to expand their services to even the smaller cities. Locally independent logistics and start-up businesses can help them map that vast market by taking on the roles of delivery partners in these remote areas. The knowledge of local terrain is always a plus for people involved in the logistics business. SMEs and start-ups can leverage that.

Tech-driven start-ups can hitch on the bandwagon of the ongoing technological disruptions. They can introduce delivery modes like monitored robots, drones, inbuilt RFID, GPS, IoT, telematics and more in tracing inventory and deliver goods on time; their future is bright.

All considered, the expansion of e-commerce to Tier-2 and below cities will increase the success chances for all stakeholders involved -both small and big- and better serve the population in these areas.

The post Indian E-Commerce Logistics: Growth Trends and Industry Forecasts appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

These are the Upcoming Conferences in e-Commerce

Anju Nambiar — Wed, 26 May 2021 07:35:05 +0000

Online conferences

E Retail E-Commerce summit 2021

Organised by Economic Times Retail.com, the E Retail E-Commerce summit 2021 will take place on the 27th of August, 2021. A virtual event, this e-commerce conference is being conducted to benefit brick-and mortar retailers, e-commerce and retail technology companies.

The conference will harbour discussions on how e-Commerce can sustain rapid growth as well as about the future of the industry.

Commerce Now 2021

An online event, the Commerce Now 2021 conference will be taking place on the 23rd and 24th of June 2021. A free, global conference, this year will see the 5th edition of Commerce Now. The event will give industry leaders a podium to share their insights on the future of digital commerce.

Virtual Customer Engagement Summit 2021

As the name suggests, the Virtual Customer Engagement Summit 2021 is an online event which will take place on the 9th and 11th of November 2021. The 10th chapter of this e-commerce conference will feature exclusive content on how start-ups and small businesses can achieve accuracy and provide services to meet customer expectations through digital engagement strategies.

Seamless Asia 2021

The next noteworthy online conference for e-commerce is Seamless Asia 2021 which is mainly focused on the future of commerce in Asia. This virtual event will begin on the 16th and conclude on the 17th of June 2021. Seamless Asia will feature some of Asia’s industry leaders in the payments, banking, and e-commerce sectors.

Emerging Asia E-Commerce and Last-Mile Logistics Summit 2021

The 3rd edition of Emerging Asia will happen on the 27th of July 2021. Hosted by Magenta local events, the aim of the event will be to highlight the importance of last mile logistics in order fulfillment.

Offline conferences

DigiMARCON India 2022

At the DigiMARCON India conference taking place at the Hyatt Regency, Gurgaon on the 29th and 30th August 2022, you can gain insights into innovative technologies to scale up your business. Key discussions on customer loyalty, lead generation and customer engagement will help you drastically improve your marketing efforts. You will also learn a ton of interesting strategies like building traffic, expanding brand awareness and improving the quality of your customer service.

International Research Conference on Arts, Commerce and Business Management IRCACBM

This physical conference is scheduled for the 27th of May 2021 at Hubli, Karnataka. Organized by the National Conference Organization, the main theme of this event will be the rapid strides achieved in technological advancements in IRCACBM.

World Conference on e-Education, e-Business, and e-Commerce WC EEE21

The WC EEE21 will take place on the 4th of July at Chennai, India and will be a platform for researchers and industry stakeholders to discuss cutting edge developments in e-Education, e-Business and e-Commerce.

ICS 2021

The Internet Commerce Summit will take place at Hotel Conrad, Bengaluru on the 4th and 5th of August 2021. The content themes established for the event include lifestyle, omni commerce and more.

Indian Retail & eRetail Congress

IReC 2021 is India’s brand-new commerce show taking place on the 22nd and 23rd July 2021 at Hotel Sheraton Grand Bengaluru. Co-hosted by Indian Retailer.com and ‘Entrepreneur’, the event will be a celebration of start-ups and will encompass several sub summits like the Leadership and Omnichannel summits for 2021.

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Organised by Economic Times Retail.com, the E Retail E-Commerce summit 2021 will take place on the 27th of August, 2021.

What’s in it for me?

Conferences and Expos are opportunities for start-ups to connect and learn insider tips, trick, and strategies that you won’t find elsewhere. You will obtain valuable knowledge straight from the experts and industry leaders.

These conferences and expos are must-attend events for companies and professionals in the e-commerce industry. Irrespective of whether they are free to attend, paid, or exclusive invite-only events, they are worth attending for start-ups and small businesses.

Speakers and attendees are mostly dignitaries and experts with know-how of the inside and out of the industry. You can surely benefit from the discussions taking place and extract key insights from them.

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