Deeptech, patents, and growth: The making of an agrologistics powerhouse
New Delhi-based agrologistics company SLCM has grown rapidly over the past five years, clocking net revenues of Rs 482.78 crore and receiving two patents in warehouse management.
Leading agrologistics company Sohan Lal Commodity Management (SLCM) is on a roll right now. Over the past five years, the company, which specialises in post-harvest agricultural logistics and commodity warehousing, has expanded across multiple parameters: from generating Rs 482.78 crore in net revenue (from Rs 363.57 crore in 2020) to opening 36 cold storages and over 20,000 warehouses (more than 250% increase from 5,121 warehouses in 2020).
One of the things that helped the company maintain steady growth even in turbulent times, like during the pandemic, was fast-tracking its digital operations and introducing Agri Suraksha, a unique network of solar-powered CCTV cameras that were weatherproof, easily installable, and equipped with SIM-based connectivity.
“Agri Suraksha turned out to be a cost-effective, scalable, and resilient innovation that helped us maintain business continuity. All video feeds of our warehouses and cold storages were also directed to a centralised command centre at our Delhi office, where we deployed staff in three shifts to ensure 24/7 real-time monitoring and surveillance,” says Sandeep Sabharwal, Group CEO of SLCM.
The company, which employs over 5,000 people, is headquartered in New Delhi and has an operational presence across 22 major agricultural states in India, and Myanmar. Since July 2024, SLCM has been working towards transforming into a publicly listed company.
“This formal decision to be a public company was made in 2023, following sustained revenue growth, strengthened profitability in FY23, and a Profit After Tax surge of 395% in FY24,” he says.
Solving operational hazards in the agricultural industry
Sabharwal believes that the agricultural ecosystem in India continues to face “many persistent challenges” like inefficiencies in warehousing, lack of real-time quality checks, opaqueness in a commodity’s lifecycle, and poor asset management.
SLCM has tried to create technologies that directly address these problems. One such technology developed by the company is Agri Reach, which received the company’s first patent, “Method for Real-Time Data Management” (392498) in March 2022.
“The patented method covers real-time monitoring and synchronisation of quality control data across warehouse networks, regardless of infrastructure variability—essentially providing a seamless, robust digital visibility of physical commodities,” Sabharwal tells YourStory.
The company also received a second patent, “Method for Real-Time Monitoring of Quality Control Data in a Warehouse Management System” (538672) in May 2024, after it developed an AI-led system to control the quality of the crop in its storage facilities in real time.
“These patents represent a major breakthrough—not just in technology, but in providing intrinsic value to the Agri ecosystem, enabling financial institutions, traders, and farmers to base their decisions on scientifically validated data,” he says.
Traditionally, the founder says, quality testing of food grains was either rough estimation through eye tests or NABL lab tests, which gave results in two days, with an additional cost for each quality test, along with the cost of transportation.
To solve that, the company developed an in-house AI-based QC application, the Agri Reach app, that could standardise the test results and produce results that are just as reliable as an NABL result.
“It uses AI and ML solutions to analyse images of commodities like wheat, rice, and maize, assessing parameters such as grain damage, shrivelling, colour, pattern, and foreign matter. We do it by comparing the image against a comprehensive database trained on over one million reference samples, delivering scientifically validated results in under 90 seconds,” he explains.
Sabharwal claims that the app delivers an accuracy of 88% in wheat quality assessment and has also been accredited by NABL. As of now, it has completed 3,17,724 inspections across 99 commodity types, covering 14.94 million metric tonnes across 21 states, and serving 5,080 clients.
Apart from these, SLCM is developing advanced predictive algorithms for warehouse inventory management to proactively reduce spoilage risks and “optimise storage capacity utilisation efficiently”.
“We are also leveraging AI to build automated buyer-seller matching within the Agri Reach marketplace, connecting farmers to the best deals faster and driving transparency and value across the supply chain,” he says.
Uptick in Indian agritech?
Sabharwal believes that the term ‘agritech’ is largely being used as a buzzword, and most agritech companies that have emerged operate primarily as aggregator platforms.
“While these platforms often showcase impressive Assets Under Management numbers, many lack direct control over key elements like compliance checks, warehouse management, and quality control. This absence of end-to-end operational involvement limits their ability to fully address challenges in the supply chain,” he says.
He adds that many players in the sector are sometimes seen trying to find problems to justify existing solutions, rather than developing answers. However, he is open to collaborating with companies that are rooted in delivering tangible value to farmers and allied stakeholders—particularly those with financial institutions and grassroots testing centres.
“Such collaborations not only empower farmers with better access to markets and credit but also build long-term resilience across the agri ecosystem. The way forward for agriculture lies in forging partnerships that are purposeful, scalable, and impact-driven,” he says.
One of the ways forward for SLCM has been foreign expansion and currently, most of the company’s international footprint remains deeply anchored in Myanmar and has been for over a decade.
“There, we manage more than 300 diversified warehousing facilities handling upwards of 1,600 agro and non-agro commodities. This operational hub contributes approximately 8% to our group revenue and fully adheres to our patented standards,” he shares.
The founder mentions that the company has been in talks with organisations in countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Malawi with an interest in leveraging its warehousing and supply chain management expertise.
“For these regions, our strategic approach focuses on licensing out our patented warehouse technology, standard operating procedures, management knowledge, and training modules.”
On the Indian front, Sabharwal says that there is a noticeable change with farmers adopting a generally positive outlook towards embracing technology.
“Farmers who initially viewed AI-based quality checks or digital tools with scepticism are now embracing them eagerly. The Agri Reach QC app, for instance, has helped reduce time and cost burdens to some extent—saving farmers unnecessary travel and laboratory expenses,” he says.
Farmers have also warmed up to SLCM on account of Kissandhan, the company’s finance wing that enables farmers to access timely credit based on their stored produce. It operates as an RBI-regulated non-banking financial company (NBFC) and has amassed over 37664 clients with loans disbursed worth Rs 3,330.12 crore.
Competing with companies like Noida-based Arya.ag and New Delhi-based RAAV Techlabs, the CEO believes SLCM separates itself due to its deep investments in R&D developments.
“We are the only post-harvest company in India with two patents in warehouse management. We continue to develop highly scalable solutions. Our robust technology, along with standardised SOPs, has helped us scale immensely.”
Edited by Jyoti Narayan