Zipaworld Success Story: The Logistics E-Mall of India online marketplace from where the customers

2 months ago 97

Zipaworld success story The Indian logistics market is one of the most significant ones in the global logistics and supply chain market which is worth $4.3 trillion.

Zipaworld has already managed to bring multi-modal transportation and logistics like air freight, ocean freight, road freight into one platform just within a span of 9 months since its launch in September 2020. Over the past few months, it has grown organically with partnerships and associations with various vendors and other players within India, in the Gulf countries, Europe, and the USA. It managed to have associates in over 35 countries across the world providing logistics services.

Zipaworld – Company Highlights

Startup Name-Zipaworld
Founders-Dr. Ambrish Kumar
Founded-September 2020
Headquarters-Noida
Industry-Logistics and Supply Chain
Parent Organization-AAA 2 Innovate Pvt Ltd.
Website-zipaworld.com, aaa2innovate.com

Zipaworld – About and What it does

Zipaworld is a logistics service provider but the digital way, or a digital logistics platform. The team calls Zipaworld – The Logistics E-mall. The concept of E-mall is applied here, that is, a single-window portal that displays several catalogs, products, or vendors providing their products and services. The idea is to provide a single-window solution to the customer who is otherwise required to go from pillar to post for their requirements.

In the logistics arena, there has been a dire need for the centralization of processes and single window sources, as currently, the customer must go to various vendors and service providers. The concept of e-Mall for logistics was coined by the founder, Dr. Ambrish Kumar, and named Zipaworld. As the name suggests, Zipaworld provides various logistics services to the numerous zip codes of the world. This includes multi-modal transportation, other freight forwarding services through air, ocean, rail, road freight along with the other aspects of the supply chain.

Zipaworld Integration Process

The vision for the next few months is to integrate more than 25000 zip codes of India into the platform and integrate the same with the global zip codes connecting them using the various modes of cargo transportation.

The long-term vision of Zipaworld is to use the latest technology like Machine Learning, AI, IoT to automate the complete logistics processes and bring in blockchain technology in the logistics and supply chain. The idea is to turn the tables for the supply chain bringing in sheer visibility, mitigating risks, reducing the demand and supply gap, consequently reducing the logistics cost which is currently very high.

Zipaworld – Logistics & Supply Chain Industry

The logistics and supply chain sector in India is the second-fastest-growing sector after e-commerce. The growth of the sector is phenomenal and contributes to more than 14% of the GDP. The worth of the sector stands at USD 170 billion currently and is expected to grow up to USD 250 billion at a CAGR of 10.5% in the next 5 years.

Also, India is set to become a global investment hub for production and manufacturing, warehousing, and a potential trans-shipment hub and gateway for trade movement from the nearby countries. The supply chain and logistics sector in India is also the largest employment provider, with more than 8 million people employed across India. However, there are several drawbacks that keep the logistics cost at 14% of the GDP.

Zipaworld – Founders and Team

AAA 2 Innovate Pvt Ltd, the parent startup company, and Zipaworld were founded by Dr. Ambrish Kumar. The core team comprises of his co-companions from his previous company, some experts of the supply chain & technology sectors, fresh young minds aspiring to kick-start a career in logistics and supply chain and IT fields of work, and those seeking to grow with the growth of the start-up. The core team that is taking the concept forward consists of personnel from the shipping line, airline, ports and terminals, freight forwarding, technology backgrounds.

AAA2 Innovate Pvt Ltd. Logo

About Dr. Ambrish Kumar | Founder, Zipaworld

Dr. Ambrish Kumar is a renowned name in the logistics and supply chain fraternity. He has been the brain behind the award-winning Indian startup LogYcode that revolutionized the Air Freight logistics ecosystem a couple of years back. The concept coined and implemented by Dr. Ambrish Kumar turned out to be one of the initial movers to launch a mobile app for Logistics services. Dr. Ambrish holds the acumen of more than 16 years of experience in stalwart diverse combinations in the domains of Logistics, Freight Forwarding, CFS, Operation, Supply Chain Management, Warehousing & Evaluating New Project Movements.

He has an affluent academic background, having attained P.HD. in Economics, with his thesis on ‘Industrial Policy and Industrial Growth’. Also, his qualifications include M. A. in Economics and MBA in International Trade and is also SAP qualified. There is an innovation involved in every action of Dr. Ambrish and his team whether it is designing the office space of the start-up or designing a digital gateway to revolutionize the logistics sector.

AAA2 Innovate Pvt Ltd. – Office Reception Area

The startup is gradually growing which started with a team of 6 core members and now has a team of more than 30 members in the direct payrolls. In addition, the start-up has also managed to acquire stakes in a domestic transportation company by the name of Radiant X-Ways Logistic Pvt Ltd, which has offices in more than 40 locations across India.

The office encourages leisure and fun with an in-house chill-out and gossip area with couches, bean bags, and recliners, reading nooks, Table-Tennis, and other activities to keep its people engaged with more than just work.

The startup has done its best in supporting the team members and their families during the crisis hours and the pandemic.

Zipaworld

AAA2 Innovate workspace

Hiring and Head-hunting

While head-hunting, the company looks for partners in their crime and not employees. The aspirants who wish to be an integral part of the team, who are responsible themselves, and who wish to grow with the growth of the company. The startup is highly instrumental in campus recruitments and offering internships to freshers and thereafter rendering them opportunities to make a career in the company itself.

Zipaworld’s Ideation Journey – How it Started

The founder of Zipaworld, Dr. Ambrish Kumar is a hardcore logistics professional who has grown from ground level and held senior-level positions in various levels of the supply chain like, ports and terminals, shipping lines, freight forwarders, etc. He is also SAP qualified and always was inclined towards technological advancement, artificial intelligence, and human development. As he has experienced several loopholes in the conventional logistics processes that still exist with manual workflows and heavy paperwork, he realized that automation and integration are the need of the hour.

Within a month’s time, it managed to get more than 20 customers and 30 vendors onboard the platform. There are some other reasons that rendered an impetus to Dr. Ambrish Kumar and his ambitious team to develop Zipaworld. The increasing logistics and supply chain cost which is almost 14.5% in India, compelled for integration and digitalization of the processes offering single-window solutions. Another major reason is the improving Government policies and initiatives to encourage the logistics industry and draw global trade opportunities and investments.

Zipaworld – Products/Services & USP

Zipaworld is a logistics engine or can be called a marketplace, or an e-Mall that exclusively caters to the logistics services needs of the market and customers. Zipaworld happens to be the most unique digital logistics platform where e-booking and other transactions can be done related to air freight, ocean freight, and surface freight all from one platform.

Hence, the customer does not need to go to various vendors for various services like transportation, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and so on. The portal negates conventional delays caused by time zone differences, as the price quotes and the processes are fully automated and are available 24×7.

Zipaworld is developed keeping in view the end customer or a layman. So the user interface of Zipaworld and its flow are easily understandable by even a layman. The portal simplifies the complexities of logistics and renders an easy gateway to book cargo just like booking travel or vacation.

Zipaworld is a web and cloud-based platform that makes it readily handy for anyone with a smartphone or laptop to use. It is developed in such a way that people located in remote areas can also carry out their logistics and supply chain transactions from one gateway without having to go through the otherwise puzzling processes and documentation formalities.

The logistics sector is largely disintegrated and fragmented. This causes the end customer or the owner of a consignment, to suffer the most.
Currently, not just in India, but across the world, there are very few single-window gateways that offer all logistics and multi-modal transportation services from one gateway.
Hence, the end customer must go to various disintegrated vendors for various services, like a vendor for warehousing, another for transportation, another for freight forwarding, and so on.
Moreover, the customer is required to manage the pricing, invoicing, and payments separately for each vendor.
This calls for not just wastage of time and energy, heavy paperwork, multiple authorizations, etc., but also fetches high-cost factors as there are many players and mediators involved.
In a nutshell, the uniquely designed Zipaworld portal addresses the pain areas and optimizes cost-effectiveness, time efficiency, and service efficiency.

Zipaworld – Name, Tagline and Logo

Significance of Name ‘Zipaworld’

The name ‘Zipaworld’ signifies the various zip codes of the world. As Zipaworld is a centralized platform that is involved in 3PL/ 4PL services, the name justifies the service portfolio encompassing all logistics services from origin zip code to destination zip code from a single window, anywhere in the world.

Notion Behind Zipaworld’s Logo Design

The logo shows speeding lines with Zipaworld written, which shows fast and prompt service.

Zipaworld’s Tagline

The tagline ‘The Logistics E-Mall of India’ again means a one-stop e-marketplace that offers all logistics services.

AAA Logo

The logo of the parent company AAA 2 Innovate Pvt Ltd is a pencil with a tree growing on top of it. This denotes writing and starting innovation and flourishing into various levels and fields of work. As the startup is into various other services like software (ERP, SaaS) development, digital marketing, cloud and server services, Trading and sourcing, financial management services, logistics consultancy. The tagline of the parent company is ‘Innovation is our addiction’, resonating with the innovative addictive impetus that each team member carries with them.

Zipaworld – Business Model and Revenue Model

Zipaworld is an online marketplace from where the customers can choose and book one or more logistics services as per their requirement. Zipaworld offers options to pick and choose services with instant pricing quotes available for air freight, ocean freight and express services thereby optimizing the turnaround times. For air or ocean consignments, just like booking a travel ticket, one needs to insert some basic information like origin, destination, date of materialization, number of packages, weight and dimensions, and commodity type, checking the requisite services from the checkboxes.

Zipaworld’s revenue comes from the incentives, performance-linked bonuses and volume-based contracts, and commitments with vendors and carriers. The margins levels and service/ convenience fees and commissions have always been kept on the lower side as the bigger aim is to cater with a competitive and reliable gateway for the service seekers.

Zipaworld – Startup Launch and Growth Hacks

The company was launched during the pandemic which was a time of disillusionment for most businesses. However, the team saw it as an opportunity and looked forward to launching the platform for prospective customers from the pharmaceutical and medical sectors. The idea was planted rightly and they started getting pharmaceutical customers on board just within a fortnight of the launch. The first customer to be on board with the company was a pharmaceutical manufacturer and trader. The customer located in Mumbai could easily access the portal and e-book shipments on their own which helped them during the pandemic when they could not rely on their vendors who were mostly closed.

Earlier people had to approach multiple vendors like transporters, warehouse providers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, which was hectic and they could not focus on their core business. Also, they had to chase the vendors for freight documentation, trade-related authorizations, billing invoices which was a painstaking hassle. Also, they did not get proper information regarding the status of the processes and shipments. Zipaworld portal helped them improve their supply, procurement, exports, and distribution turnaround time to less than 1/4th of what it was before. They were able to focus on their core business more and maximize the production and distribution activities during the COVID time

Zipaworld – Challenges Faced

The Logistics sector still follows an orthodox working model. If one compares the air freight forwarding process with the passenger air travel industry, the latter is fully automated for almost 15 years with e-booking platforms and smooth paperless transactions.

Zipaworld – Future/Expansion Plans

Zipaworld will be soon having its Partner program for registering on-board the aspirants who wish to carry out a logistics business from their convenience and location and be a part of the logistics ecosystem.

The online portal is all set to integrate more than 25000 zip codes across India with extensive global connectivity in the remainder of the year 2021, thereby resolving the first and last mile connectivity issues pertaining to the sector.

Zipaworld plans to expand outside India on a large scale in a coming couple of years and become a global player with a virtual presence in more than 150 trading countries. It plans to create a huge network in the supply chain integrating all stakeholders for smooth movement of trade.

Zipaworld – FAQs

What is Zipaworld?

Zipaworld is an online platform that provides automated solutions for air freight, ocean freight, road/ rail freight, door-to-door services, first/ last mile pick-ups and deliveries, express services, courier, warehousing services, customs brokerage services, and other logistics services.