Startup news and update: Daily roundup (April 4, 2023)

GAIL inaugurates centre for digitisation of payments process

GAIL (India) Limited has taken a major step towards complete digitisation, centralisation, and automation of its payment processes with the inauguration of its first centre for vendor invoice management—Shared Service Centre—partnering with IBM Consulting.

Titled ‘SARATHI’, the facility will serve as a pan-India hub for processing and managing vendor invoices. The centre went live with SAP-OpenText’s Vendor Invoice Management.

With the central theme of improving vendor experiences, the centralised vendor invoice management by GAIL aims to provide prompt payments, better experiences, enhanced efficiency, and transparency to end users.

Shiprocket appoints Somil Agrawal as senior VP and marketing head

Shiprocket has appointed Somil Agrawal as senior vice-president and head of marketing.

Agrawal has over 15 years of experience in marketing at global B2C and B2B companies across multiple geographies such as United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Australia and India.

Agrawal's extensive product and marketing experience will play a crucial role in driving growth for the brand, said the company. He will also play a significant role in leveraging consumer behaviour insights and driving marketing function within the organisation, it said.

CureBay appoints Vasant Nangia as president

CureBay has appointed Vasant Nangia as president. In his new role, Nangia will forefront operations and spearhead efforts to augment the company's reach and impact across the region.

With Nangia’s appointment, CureBay now aims to scale up from 30 e-clinics and pharmacies currently to build a world-class healthtech enterprise by harnessing innovative technology and rapidly building seamless infrastructure across geographies.

Nangia recently stepped down as the CEO of Chumbak Design, a home and lifestyle retailer, which was acquired by GOAT Brand Labs earlier this year.

Moglix, IIT-Kanpur join forces for AI innovation

Moglix has signed a memorandum of understanding with Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Driven Entrepreneurship - Center of Excellence (AIIDE-CoE), Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur at its Noida campus.

Moglix and IIT-Kanpur will collaborate on developing new technologies in the rapidly evolving field of AI and identify new opportunities for innovation under AIIDE-CoE in the areas of supply chain optimisation, product recommendation, natural language processing, image recognition, and predictive maintenance.

The two organisations will also be engaged in connecting with startups incubated with the incubator to explore opportunities in investment, partnerships, product piloting for research, best practices, and collaboration on new projects and initiatives aimed at augmenting the startup ecosystem.

ZebPay appoints Abhishek Gupta as HR head

Zebpay has appointed Abhishek Gupta as the head of human resources. Gupta joined the company in 2021 and has been leading talent strategy at ZebPay.

In his new role, Gupta will be responsible for developing and implementing ZebPay's organisational growth strategy, talent management initiatives, and culture transformation efforts. He will work closely with leaders across the company to foster a culture that prioritises personal and professional development.

Gupta has held leadership positions at KFC India, DP World India, Yes Bank, and Capgemini. He holds an MBA in HR from the Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SMCHRD), Pune.

Amazon's third annual Brand Protection Report outlines progress in combating counterfeiting

Amazon has released its third annual Brand Protection Report, which showcases the company's efforts to combat counterfeit products on its platform. According to the report, Amazon prevented over six million counterfeit products from reaching customers in 2022 by identifying, seizing, and disposing of them appropriately. The report highlights Amazon's use of technology and experts to stop bad actors and make an impact beyond its marketplaces.

Amazon's Brand Protection Report outlines progress in four areas: robust proactive controls, powerful tools to protect brands, holding bad actors accountable, and protecting and educating customers. The report notes that Amazon's seller verification process, including one-on-one video chats, has deterred bad actors from attempting to create new selling accounts. In 2022, Amazon stopped over 800,000 attempts to create new selling accounts, down from 2.5 million in 2021 and 6 million in 2020.

In 2022, Amazon's Counterfeit Crimes Unit sued or referred for investigation over 1,300 criminals in the US, UK, EU, and China. The company partnered with brands and law enforcement to identify, seize, and dispose of over six million counterfeit products.