Generating sales in a business is definitely a major challenge for ecommerce sellers, especially those in the MSME segment. But what’s equally, if not more, challenging is being stuck with one third-party courier service to deliver all orders, which can even cost them their business. This is where choice and access to information play an important role by helping sellers make an informed decision.
Yash Jain, a second-time entrepreneur with over seven years of experience in building technology and marketing products, understood this well. Given his background in technology, he decided to introduce a tech-enabled shipping channel that would help ecommerce sellers pick a courier partner of their choice and ensure the fastest delivery possible to their customers. Such a solution, he hoped, would also bridge the gap between online sellers and major courier companies in the country.
“I realised that online sellers know the ins and outs of selling products, but lack of access to technology and dependency on third-party courier partners could even cost them their business,” says Yash Jain, Founder and CEO of NimbusPost.
He says that shipping is a major challenge that ecommerce players, especially small sellers, face, as they often depend on a single courier partner. It is not feasible for small sellers with small shipping quantities to directly approach big shipping partners, he says.
“I wanted to build an automation platform that helps online sellers make informed decisions after calculating and comparing shipping rates,” says Yash, the former founder of Nationkart, an export-focused ecommerce SaaS product.
Thus, was founded in 2018 as a logistics aggregator software platform that would help MSMEs and even large enterprises streamline their end-to-end logistics operations through shipping (domestic and cross-border), warehousing and fulfillment solutions.
How does it work?
For online sellers, finding the right courier partner who offers safe delivery and the best shipping rate at the quickest time possible is easier said than done.
NimbusPost’s fully-integrated platform attempts to resolve this issue through API integration. As soon as a seller receives an online order, the details are fetched on the platform automatically and the seller can pick a courier partner of their choice, based on the recommendations of the platform’s ‘courier recommendation engine’ and ensure the fastest delivery to customers.
The recommendation engine suggests appropriate courier partners for each shipment based on metrics such as pin code serviceability, shipping rate, delivery success rate of the courier partner, and customer reviews.
To reduce delivery time, the platform’s route planning system helps delivery partners find the most efficient route for delivery by giving insights into traffic congestion, driver proximity, road conditions, and ETA.
The company works with 27 courier partners across the country, including , , , DTDC, and .
NimbusPost’s dashboard includes features such as a verification system, automated non-delivery report, live shipment, order booking, post-purchase shipping notifications, and performance tracking. The platform also has an AI/ML-enabled fraud detection feature to get rid of fraudulent orders.
The company has built a fully-integrated WhatsApp-based tech solution to fulfil sellers’ requirements.
The automated platform reduces manual errors and time-consuming tasks and streamlines operations significantly, says Yash.
The startup is working with the governments of Haryana, Delhi, and UP to facilitate import and export transactions for MSMEs.
“By working with government organisations, we aim to go vocal for local, as we facilitate small merchants’ simplified shipping. We get a chance to be innovative while providing ease of logistics to sellers who lack tech-oriented facilities,” says Yash.
NimbusPost also offers sellers small thermal printers so that they can connect to mobiles phones and print the shipping labels.
The company has around 540 warehouses across tier I and tier II cities and around 30 warehouses in international markets for clients to store their inventory and thus save on transportation costs and reduce delivery time. Its average warehouse capacity in the domestic market is 3,50,000 units and 1,50,000 units in the international market. Services include inbound storage, outbound storage, stickering, and warehouse management system.
NimbusPost’s domestic shipping services are priced between Rs 21 and Rs 26 for 500 grams. The international shipping charges start at Rs 215 for 50 grams. Warehouse storage is priced at Rs 4 per to Rs 15 per unit.
Growth story
The startup clocked a revenue of Rs 23 crore in FY21 and Rs 55 crore in FY22. It catered to 96 lakh deliveries and registered a four-fold growth in FY22.
Currently, the company serves over 60,000 clients, including SMEs, large enterprises, and D2C players. It has served brands such as Indian Oil, Meena Bazaar, , and . It clocks 2 million transactions on its platform every day.
The company’s key seller base mainly deals in FMCG, F&B, apparel, and appliances.
NimbusPost shares 80% to 85% of revenue with affiliated delivery partners.
The core team of NimbusPost has about 500 members. The company has offices in Bhilai, Noida, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Bengaluru. It also has operations in Indonesia.
In February 2021, NimbusPost raised a seed funding of $1.5 million from XpressBees, an end-to-end logistics company. It has a commitment of another $10 million from XpressBees.
Its core competitor in India is Shiprocket. “Our use of cutting-edge technology gives us an edge over our competitors in the market,” says Yash.
The Indian logistics market was worth $250 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $380 billion in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 10 to 12%.
Way ahead
The logistics startup is projecting a 10X growth by FY23. It is looking to expand its footprint into US, Australia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia. It also aims to launch services such as a fully integrated SaaS platform for end-to-end D2C requirements, hyperlocal shipping, and cross-border services and hire over 1,000 tech and logistics experts by the end of FY22.
