Healthcare logistics startup Biddano in expansion mode, volumes doubled to Rs 250 crore amidst COVID-19 pandemic

B2B healthcare platform Biddano, aims to revolutionise offline pharma distribution networks by bridging supply chain gaps between distributors and chemists through technology and is looking to expand its network to 25 Indian cities on the back of growing demand in healthcare services.

At present, the startup is operational in six cities across Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, and plans to enter new cities after its upcoming funding round. The Pune-based startup plans to raise around $10 million in a Series A round over the next two months. 

The company had raised about a million dollars in a pre-Series A round from Venture Catalysts and LetsVenture in October 2020.

Founded in 2016 by Talha Shaikh and Ashok Yadav, Biddano helps bridge supply chain gaps between distributors and chemists with its full-stack technology platform. It uses a ‘plug & expand' model to help distributors seamlessly manage their demand and supply while expanding their geographical reach. 

The platform further simplifies order management for chemists and hospitals by enabling multiple distributors to be easily consolidated into pharmacy-specific deliveries. Through its state-of-the-art fulfilment infrastructure, Biddano also ensures pharmacies, chemists, and hospitals procure medicines in less than three hours of placing an order.

On its expansion and growth, Talha Shaikh, co-founder, Biddano, stated, "We are already in talks with multiple investors for our Series A round. We plan to use the funds to expand our network and build a community of 1 lakh+ retailers and 5,000+ distributors, enhance our technology and infrastructure, and launch new products. With all this in place, Biddano would become India’s first and largest B2B healthcare supply chain platform.”

With its artificial intelligence-driven model, Biddano aims to deliver healthcare products to various stakeholders at a reasonable cost and become a one-stop solution for all the procurement and fulfilment needs of chemists and hospitals in a market that's worth over $24 billion at present and is growing at 13% CAGR.

Lately, the segment has also attracted a significant investor interest. Saveo, a Bengaluru-based startup has recently raised $4 million from Matrix Partners. Unicorn Pharmeasy has also recently started a supply chain subsidiary Retailio. Digihealth, a company formed by a consortium of Cipla, SunPharma and other few pharma companies, also acquired IvyCap Ventures-backed Pharmarack earlier in April 2021.

"The business is being structured in such a way that it not only eliminates inefficient processes both at the distributor’s and retailer’s level, but also improves throughput and margin. The entire emphasis is on creating a ‘just in time’ inventory model to free-up working capital,” said Ashok Yadav, Co-founder, Biddano.

To address some of the challenges that are currently faced by the Indian healthcare ecosystem at present, Biddano is introducing additional services backed by their proprietary tech platform: 

• Shortbuk: A one-stop procurement platform for pharmacies for non-pharma and fast-moving consumer goods 
• Biddano Logistics: A tech-enabled rapid solution for last-mile deliveries catering to distributors and pharmacies/hospitals
• Biddano Capital: A facility that will solve working capital problems for various stakeholders on the platform such as pharmacies, hospitals and distributors.

Talking about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected Biddano's growth, both the co-founders said that while the pandemic has adversely affected several lives, it also forced the healthcare industry to adopt cutting-edge technological tools and serve the public better.

Biddano grew by 36% in just three months after the pan-India lockdown was implemented in March 2020. The startup’s gross merchandise value doubled to Rs 250 crore in 2020, and it has added over 10,000 pharmacies to its network, expanding to 150 areas, and processed 1.5 million orders during the period.

About Biddano:

Striving to create a socially conscious healthcare ecosystem, Biddano works to impact millions of lives by delivering medicines and essential goods on time. A category-buster in the healthcare space, the startup has been endorsed by the All India Association of Chemists & Distributors as its exclusive channel partner. By fulfilling critical pharmaceutical and OTC deliveries across cities, it has been able to drive impact and script an impressive success story.