Shoppers Stop employee quits to startup e-grocery store in Ranchi, Jharkhand

If you love startups, your heart is bound to flutter with joy when you read about this startup from the interiors of India. Anand Kumar resides in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, a state which was carved out from Bihar in 2000 and translates to "The land of forests". This is a fair indication to the fact that startups is one thing the place isn't known for. An MBA from the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad, Anand took up a job with Shopper Stop and climbed the ladder to become the Unit Marketing Head in Kolkata.He had risen to the post in a short span of 14 months but then quit. Why? "I always wanted a business of my own," says Anand brimming with confidence. "I had seen how retail works and internet is the next big thing. People have started ordering from home even in Ranchi and I thought this is the time," says Kumar. And thus he started up along with his friend and partner in crime, Anupam Krishna with an investment of INR 5 lakhs.

Named rather unimaginatively, the e-grocery store is called Intelligent Marketing. But what matters here is the intent. Following traditional methods of marketing, Anand and Anupam have managed to spread the word and with the help of two delivery boys, are shipping 10-20 products everyday. And they are not even a month old yet. They claim to have close to 5,000 SKU's having an average ticket size of Rs 400.

The navigation and UX on the site is not something you'd call top notch but it works, one can understand what to do. Heavily relying on phones, the numbers are flashed at the top and the orders are also confirmed by phone. A user can put in the item and preferred brand, much like creating a checklist of the items, after which the order is confirmed on phone before delivery. They are going door-to-door to get households registered and convert them into loyal users apart from flyers. Hoardings are also on the cards.

Explaining the logistics, Anand says, "We have dealer contacts of all brands and we get our supply from dealers at our stock room directly. We purchase a few things from the wholesale market. Once the product is at our stock room /distribution centre, we deliver the ordered product on bikes. This is the current set up. Once we grow, we will source directly from the company and will also introduce private labels. When volume rises we will have our own delivery vans as well." They hold small inventories which are replenished every 7 days.

If they find the right guidance and some capital to boost their scaling process, Intelligent Marketing (with a different name) can surely penetrate deeper and create a sustainable business. These are the kind of endeavors that'll truly usher in the startup culture and take India ahead.

Website: Intelligent Marketing