“The plan is to build LogiNext into an IPO ready company” - Dhruvil Sanghvi

One of the biggest bottlenecks in the logistics sector currently is shortages in the availability of drivers. The number of drivers is not increasing and this is where the LogiNext solution for delivery driver management steps in. The platform allows enterprises to have complete visibility over delivery drivers (be it third party or their own fleet) and through features like auto-order allocation and route optimisation the platforms efficiently manage drivers to reduce delivery costs, increase customer experiences and help brands navigate through the problem of driver shortage in a better fashion.

Seems simple, right! 

Behind any ideal solution to one of the biggest problems, lies a story. This story goes back more than a decade in 2010 when Dhruvil was working with Deloitte and EY as a technology advisor to Fortune 500 companies in the logistics sphere. An alumnus of Carnegie Mellon University, Dhruvil Sanghvi is currently the CEO of LogiNext. So, we caught up with him to understand the journey and how the company is disrupting the logistics space and ensuring easy last-mile delivery.

On way to his entrepreneurial journey

In 2010, some major disruptions were underway- the iPhone was becoming mainstream globally and the app store created a whole new dimension of the use case for what people could do with their mobiles. Similarly, in the enterprise world, around 2011 Amazon had already crossed $1 billion in revenues and cloud adoption strategy was no longer a question in boardroom discussion, and along with these came a proliferation of e-commerce and allied industries enabled by the cloud and app ecosystem which were redefining the whole user and customer experience across from groceries to pharma to everything.  

This is when it dawned upon me that I am actually sitting at the intersection of all these trends which are at the cusp of enabling a major revolution. This is what made me take the plunge into the entrepreneurial journey with LogiNext.

AI at the wheel

As the entire premise of the LogiNext platform is based on automation, AI and ML form its base. Be it route optimisation, auto-order allocation or predictive ETA (expected time of arrival) calculation, there is a lot of data science at work. There are tonnes of variables involved while just calculating the expected time of delivery for a pizza. For instance, where is the order coming from? What are the traffic and weather conditions? Is it peak hour? Where are the delivery drivers and which would be the most cost-effective method? All these calculations happen in the background before popping a message on the end user’s screen with the ETA for an order. 

Till now LogiNext platform has tracked more than 12.5 billion location data points which make its algorithm stronger each time it is used and gives accurate results to help brands make better deliveries.

Another bottleneck exists, be it the movement of goods from hub to hub or movement from warehouse to a central hub, there is a lack of information on where the goods are. Again, features like in scanning and out scanning linked to the shipper portal gives shippers visibility in real-time about where the goods exactly are and decisions can be taken accordingly. 

What LogiNext is up for now

On-demand deliveries have become the flavour of the season in the last couple of years. From deliveries in 3-5 days, next-day and same-day deliveries have become the norm. “Quick commerce is pushing the envelope to the limits with under 10-minute deliveries. And this is the entire trend LogiNext has pioneered where we help enterprise brands compete with the likes of Amazon and new-age startups on delivery speed and delivery experience,” said Dhruvil. 

Be it QSR chains or Retail brands or Courier companies, LogiNext’s SaaS platform enables enterprises to gain visibility and automate the logistics behind a great delivery experience.

Challenges at hand

Being a traditional industry, the logistics sector was used to both paper and manual work. The pandemic has hastened a digital revolution and accelerated the transformation journey with several challenges attached:

• SaaS and cloud-based softwares were not known 4-5 years ago to a wide audience and one of the major roles for us was to create awareness around this area. The benefits of SaaS and cloud platforms are now known.
• Driver shortages are a topic that is hot all the time and it’ll continue to do so.
• Several inefficiencies still exist that needs to change with the help of technology. For instance, load balancing, 3D packing optimization, delivery driver management are some of the ways by which this challenge can be tackled.

What’s next

“Digitisation and automation is a major trend that will carry on in 2022 and accelerate further. Major corporations for whom eCommerce or home deliveries weren't on the radar have undergone rapid digital transformation journeys or are in the process of doing so,” said Dhruvil. He also pointed to the top five trends for the home delivery industry in 2022. One can read here.

LogiNext has raised $50 million over three rounds of funding from marquee investors like Steadview Capital, Tiger Global and Alibaba Group of Companies. The company is consistently growing 100% YoY and the plan is to build LogiNext into an IPO ready company by focusing relentlessly on customer success, growing revenues and ensuring a great work culture. 

Talking about the hiring plans, Dhruvil said, “Our engineering team is based in Mumbai and we’re actively hiring across departments and geographies to keep up with the incoming demand and interest around the product.”

Today, LogiNext has 200+ enterprise clients in 50+ countries with a vast majority of them spread across North America, the Middle East and the APAC. Among many things that the pandemic disrupted or transformed, logistics is one of those industries that saw demand pick up and also the need to transform came to the fore.

Kumar Gandharv is a Content & Research Associate at INDIAai. I am a firm believer in technological advancements with artificial intelligence impacting the future of virtually every industry. I cover stories around AI, covering startups and Indian academia.