Zippon enters packers & movers segment, aims to use tech for better service
When it comes to logistics, many are facing problems across the globe. Just imagining moving house can get one sweating over the idea. The transportation of household goods from one place to another, in one piece, is a most challenging task. Though there are various players in the “packers and movers” segment, the reliability factor is extremely low. Exorbitant transportation charges, chances of damage of goods and other losses are common issues faced by the people.
Having suffered losses at the hands of packers and movers, Venkatesh C L, Shakir Basha K and Sachin M Shet planned to address the issue. In January 2015, the trio co-founded Zippon.in with an aim to provide less costly, reliable and hassle-free service to consumers.
Zippon.in is a shopbot in the logistics sector. It has a total 15 verified logistic players offering services to consumers. “Within the logistic segment, the packers and movers segment is highly unorganized in the country. There are many providers of the service, but only a few are reliable. We are working to bridge the vendor and customer gap and provide better experiences to consumers,” says Venkatesh, Co-founder and CEO, Zippon.
Zippon claims to address the challenges faced by consumers. “Through extensive research and surveys, we have been able to come up with an effective cost structure. Zippon has implemented an algorithm which selects the best vendors for relocation based on geographical area, distance of commute, vendor inputs, and customer inputs. Finally we show customers a set of packers and movers best suited for their requirements,” says Venkatesh.
Talking about the features of the website, he says that it provides real time prices, online price comparison, pre-screened logistic solution providers, real time tracking, transit insurance and affordable prices. “All existing players are merely marketplace. We strongly believe in building a platform that can enable vendors to sell their service, and customers can avail that service free of cost,” says Venkatesh.
Setting up venture
Zippon is bootstrapped. The trio started the venture with a capital amount of Rs 30 lakh. Around 50% of the amount was spent on setting up offices, and technology, and the rest on human resources and marketing of product.
“We offer free services to end customers, and quote nominal fees to vendors per customer serviced, through Zippon,” said Venkatesh.
Market size and growth
The logistic segment in India is huge in terms of market size. It is also a highly unorganized sector. “Market size will reach Rs 48,000 crore by 2019 in India. The ever-growing market size provides a lot of opportunity for us,” says Venkatesh.
Talking about the existing competition in this vast market, Venkatesh says that every player is vying to capture the market. He is also facing tough competition from existing old players. “With continuous improvement of technology to provide the best customer experience possible, we are trying to make our presence felt.”
Challenges faced
“The vendors available in the market provide poor quality of services. Therefore, it is our top most priority to get quality vendors on our side so we can provide professional services to the customer. Another problem is technology. The technology in this segment is not up to the mark, and we are working continuously to improve customer experience through our technology. We are conducting random sessions involving our vendors to educate them on quality of service and conduct while servicing,” says Venkatesh.
Growth plan
Based on the response of the website-users along with the interest of VC firms in the venture, Zippon foresees high growth prospects.
“In our early days, we were approached by couple of VC firms; but we decided not to go for VC funding as we had just started out. Now as we are thinking of expanding to four more cities in next four months. At the end of 2016, we are planning to expand our services to most of the cities in India. We are also planning to launch a mini-truck hiring segment. Now, we are actively talking to many investors for either seed funding or angel investment,” says Venkatesh.