Interaction - Apurva Mankad, CEO, WebXpress

Apurva Mankad, CEO, WebXpress helps in digitising the logistics services with SaaS. Here he talks about his work.

How is SaaS technology evolving in the field of logistics for supply chains?

Apurva Mankad - SaaS is probably the best thing to happen to supply chains. Any supply chain has large number of companies, typically small and medium enterprise. Erstwhile, they did not have capacity to invest into expensive technology.

With SaaS, companies of all sizes can quickly deploy solutions across their operations. They can use technology such as GPS, Control Tower, Route Optimisation all at click, using mobile devices.

Any supply chain is as strong as its weakest link. This applies to supply chain digitisation as well. Thus, SaaS solutions fill a vital gap in journey to modernise supply chains and make them more efficient.

In what ways are the Smart techs becoming important in this segment?

Apurva Mankad - Supply chains are spread widely and consist of warehouses, transportation hubs, vehicles, railroads, ports etc. A Smart supply chain will require digitisation of all the components.

Here are some of the technology options -

GPS and IoT- We can get real time data for any vehicle or railroad or ships with GPS data. IoT sensors can provide health data about a shipment, such as temperature and humidity.

AI on WhatsApp- WhatsApp can be used to send information such as delivery location, proof of delivery, invoice documents etc. AI can automate reading of such data and populate IT system automatically.

Video Analytics- Video from vehicle mounted camera, warehouse camera can be monitored for any unusual activity, read vehicle number plate, check any spillages, unauthorized people in premise etc.

Driver behaviour sensors- Sensors can alert if driver feels sleepy or has consumed alcohol. It can also alert driver in case of over speeding.

What is the geographical expanse of your clients across India in terms of metro and non-metro locations?

Apurva Mankad - Our customers need to provide logistics services to every corner of the country. Thus, WebXpress solutions are probably used in over 500 cities across India. However, customers’ head offices are in about 15 different cities.

WebXpress is used by companies with certain scale; and they are typically located in larger cities in India- over 70% of our customers are in metro cities.

At the same time, we have significant customers head quartered at Haridwar, Trichy, Coimbatore, Bhopal, Calilcut, Kochi among others.

How do you expect more clients from the non-metro locations to use this technology?

Apurva Mankad - WebXpress solutions are Cloud based offered on Software as a Service model. Clients from smaller cities can get best technology at their doorstep without expense of a large IT or consulting companies.

Clients in non-metro locations have to work harder to compete with their counterparts from big metros. Thus, for them usage of technology become a key requirement of getting business.

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