WOW Express plans to double reach: Sandeep Padoshi, WOW Express
WOW Express plans to double reach: Sandeep Padoshi, WOW Express

When you speak retail, you can’t sideline inventory and logistics. And with arrival of AI, machine learning, it becomes imperative to know what lies next in the retail centric logistic services.

In a candid chat Sandeep Padoshi, Co-founder, Wow Express expresses his desire in exploring new verticals through advanced technologies.

You recently raised Rs 30 crore Series A funding. What's next for WOW Express?

We at WOW Express are planning to double our reach in the next 12-13 months. Currently, WOW Express serves in 50 cities, and is conducting 20, 000-25, 000 shipments per day. We intend to double this expansion as well in the near future. Also, we are focusing on immediate expansion and strengthening technologies to ensure new verticals and advanced technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Analytics so that end to end visibility can be provided to customers.

What are the sectors where you offer your services?

Currently we are engaged in e-commerce companies, integrated logistics service providers and end to end logistics service. We offer first mile delivery for the products offered and last mile for intra and inter cities product deliveries. WOW is the first logistics company to pioneer a tech enabled platform for delivery in the diagnostics space. Our customers include Netmeds, Sipla and lilac Insights. This activity is carried on WOW Health Express and it includes services such as  online medical delivery, and carrying blood samples from point A to point B. Being the first organized player in this segment we do the civil pickup and delivery of blood sample and bone marrow sample.

What specific services you have for the retail and e-commerce companies? Who are they?

We have WOW First Mile, WOW last Mile, WOW Now, WOW reverse, WOW Warehousing, WOW Health Express. And we also have customers like Nykaa, Amazon, Myntra, Limeroad, Netmeds and BigBasket.

Going forward, with more adoption of AI and machine learning, people are expecting greater turnaround in receiving logistic services. What's your adoption level of such technologies?

We are already existing technology company in machine learning and artificial intelligence. The enhancement of technology is further strengthening with more AI and analytics into the system. In technology, predictions of payment deliveries like service marshals contribute a lot in increment of efficiency. For example- if a customer uses his/her card at the time of payment and the other customer prefers cash on delivery at the same time, using the historical database with the help of artificial Intelligence it becomes time efficient to read the behavioral mannerisms of the customers and deal with it accordingly. Likewise in the terms of delivery, using machine learning and analytics doing predictions in addresses saves a lot of time and energy. At least 50% of products are returned correctly on their addresses saving up a lot of effort and time.

How these technologies can reduce cost/bring greater revenue for the retail/e-com players?

Technologies are used as a constant practice to bring greater revenue with the address correction feature which helps in delivering correct products to the correct customers on time. The productivity of route optimization has been increased by service marshals. As we take the fastest routes compared to others; it leads to Increase in efficiency and reduction in cost. Large scale efficiency can be passed on to the customers by delivering at office and residential address accordingly. No unnecessary attempt to deliver the products, instead the first time attempt would suffice and hence generate greater revenue and reduction in cost.

Stay on top – Get the daily news from Indian Retailer in your inbox
Also Worth Reading