Roadcast is building the world’s most advanced logistics automation platform by partnering with organisations to offer them a complete mobility management suite to help them scale their business faster than ever. With its AI powered technology, the company has been successful in helping its customers create efficient supply chains across the world. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Roadcast Co-founder Rahul Mehra talks about technology in e-commerce, logistics, warehousing and more.
When did you start Roadcast? What was the motivation behind starting it?
The company started with the idea of creating a real-time tracking app in 2015. The product was intended for B2C as a social platform. But when the tech was ready, we saw a larger use case in the logistics sector in India, and hence the product evolved into an enterprise logistics management platform.
Now, we offer optimisation, visibility and connectivity. We provide solutions for coordination from a single point or centralised location and are perfectly connected to the entire place. We help delivery-based businesses by providing them with a robust, scalable and cost-effective solution to automate operations with end-to-end solutions for logistics management automation.
Our delivery and Order Management Software offers enterprises a reliable platform with information such as pick-up & delivery scheduling, image recognition, auto-route optimisation, audio/video surveillance, distance to the recipient, estimated time of arrival and more. We make sure that our logistics tech is ahead of tech curve offering the latest tech-based solutions.
How has the e-commerce industry evolved in the last two years? At what rate is it growing?
E-commerce and Q-commerce (quick commerce) by virtue are now about quick deliveries. There is no longer a geographical restriction as such. Besides this, the industry has brought into its fold many more silos of commerce. No matter the product, be it essentials or perishables, e-commerce has evolved how it functions and caters to customers.
What is the penetration of e-commerce in tier 2 and tier 3 towns in India?
The e-commerce market was at $55 billion in 2021. In the next 5 to 7 years, it is expected to grow to over $200 billion. The market penetration is very high, and it has especially grown significantly in the past couple of years with the improvement in road, rail and air connectivity. Various states across the country have allocated specialised lands for logistics parks, warehousing, etc to enable the growth of the e-commerce industry.
Which major logistics services do you offer?
We are one of the few technology enterprises that provide a highly comprehensive platform that combines the power of Internet of Things (IoT) for vehicle tracking and a seamlessly connected driver application for delivery uberisation.
Roadcast’s technology can be applied to businesses offering food delivery, logistics & transportation, electric mobility, and courier & parcel delivery. With everything that Roadcast offers, customers build fast-growing delivery teams that can be remotely managed along with cost optimisation across various workflows.
Which are your major markets for hyperlocal, e-commerce, warehousing and quick commerce?
Our technology has been implemented at the intersection of three major global investment verticals—last-mile hyperlocal delivery, vehicle fleet management, and e-commerce logistics. In our 7+ years of operations, we have built a highly scalable and affordable solution by aiding businesses in delivery management of over 40,000 drivers and fleet connectivity of over 1,50,000 vehicles in 300 enterprises across 50 cities and 7 countries including the UAE, UK, Qatar, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.
Our clients range from Udaan, Gro Fleet, Bylane Logistic, Netlink, Hero Lectro, Zyngo, and Foodak among others, while the future holds more potential engagements with companies like Tata 1mg, SkyEx, PDS Logistics, Xpress Bees, Jumbotail, and Tata Communications. Roadcast plans to expand rapidly across North America, Europe, and Africa, targeting delivery aggregators and logistics service providers.
What percentage of your clients are from the fashion/textile industry?
Currently, the fashion and textile industry comprises only a small percentage of our client base, as most apparel businesses use 3PL for fulfilment. Now with tech becoming an integral part of every business, companies are looking for an end-to-end integrated solution that offer visibility. With this, the requirement for our services is increasing.
What are the challenges that are hampering the growth of D2C segment?
The bottleneck currently is the lack of infrastructure to support the rate of technological advancement. The solution for this lies in pursuing a logistics infrastructure strategy that maximises cost-efficiency, minimises investment and is energy-efficient.
What innovations in logistics do you plan to bring in the future?
We plan to integrate technology into our supply chain automation platform to provide extensive visibility. With our tech, we provide dockyard & hub automation, asset tracking, vehicle tracking and various other tools that make operations more efficient.
Being at the forefront of technological advancements and our application at a global level, we have learnt from the best practices. This exposure to varied markets, systems and topographies has helped us bring the best of all worlds to our operations in India.
Published on: 11/10/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
20230103183907.png)
