WOW Express manages to wow investors, raises Rs 15 cr funding
The e-commerce logistics start-up Wow Express, that had caught our eye in December as a new-age company following seven commandments to stay hearty and ahead of competition, has managed to impress investors as well. The company has raised Rs. 15 Crores in pre-series A round of funding led by US-based investors. Their existing investors Tamarind Family Private Trust and the family office of the Mansukhanis(promoters of Onida), also participated in this round.
With the fresh funds, WOW Express targets to be in 50 cities with 100 branches, and scale up the bulk of their operations. The company is eyeing to clock one million shipments by the end of this year. Co-founded by logistics industry veterans Jayesh Kamat, Mazhar Faruqi and Sandeep Padoshi who collectively bring over 45 years of experience and expertise from the logistics industry, Wow Express started operations in January 2015, and established robust progress in 20 cities. The company currently operates from 30 branches with more than 500 “Service Marshals,” focusing on marquee e-commerce clients. Within their first year, Wow Express was processing over 3.5 lakh monthly orders, growing at a 100% quarter-on-quarter growth.
“This round will help us achieve geographical expansion and enhance our technology,” says IIM-A alumnus Sandeep Padoshi, Co-Founder and CEO at Wow Express.
Their commandment, “Thou shalt respect law, stakeholders and all the members of the family” ensures that while other companies may be operations-driven, they stay HR-driven. The startup invests in their service marshals(delievery boys) through gestures like being the only logistics company which provides breakfast at branch. They have experienced less than five percent attrition - one of the lowest attrition rates in the industry.
And their commandment, “Thou shalt swear by your smartphone” exemplifies their focus on being tech-driven. The service marshals are to post updates in real time to ensure complete transparency. Failed attempts of delivery should be supported with evidence by the marshals: a photo of the doors of the customers. And in keeping with the new IoT wave, the team has equipped all their service marshals with scanners that can be strapped on to their hands, so that scanning details of consignments to be picked up happens accurately, automatically and in real time.
Finally, their commandment, “Thou shall build a company with a soul” sets them apart as a logistics firm with sound values. “We don’t wish to just acquire business and show growth – we want to focus on our bottom line, which is making the delivery experience as enjoyable as the online shopping experience for the consumer – through satisfied staff that feel strongly about their duties, and who are provided the comfort and ease of state-of-the-art equipment, and made to feel like the most important cog of our machine,” says Mazhar.
Being the pioneers in sports bicycle based deliveries, the company intends to expand their “Wow Rush” service also across the country. “Sports bicycle based delivery is gaining momentum and we believe that there is a need for a sustainable means of delivery, especially for the small parcel deliveries," says Sandeep.