AddUp Networks, with its innovative supply chain and logistics solutions, envisions a future where small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can leverage the power of technology to thrive in the competitive market. As a SaaS-based logistics startup, AddUp Networks is dedicated to democratizing the supply chain for SMBs in India. In an exclusive interview, Abhishek Prabudha, the founder and CEO of AddUp Networks, provides a captivating account of the company’s journey, emphasizing its unwavering commitment to technological innovation, the empowerment of SMBs, and its pivotal role in shaping the future landscape of logistics in India.
AddUp Networks was conceived with the goal of creating an open tech stack for the supply chain sector. Can you elaborate on how your SaaS-based logistics solution has evolved to support SMBs in India, improving efficiency, and aiding in the reduction of high logistics costs?
SMBs in India leverage efficiency quite well, but the shift in the business needs towards tech-driven operational processes and real time data and information sharing systems, becomes a showstopper, as building tech requires competency, time and is capital intensive.
AddUp Networks helps them with a pay as you go model, where they can expense it out as per usage and get access to the latest tech stack providing integrations with the client, real time data sharing and operational process capabilities. Moreover, we are also trying to create a Freemium model for our most basic SMBs so that the business models evolve in the logistics domain, helping the sector gain momentum. This way, SMBs get lots of options to further their business models with a tech that is affordable and keeps itself updated with time, with no extra cost, time or skills demanded.
How is AddUp Networks working towards making the supply chain accessible for SMBs through technology-driven logistics excellence and innovation?
AddUp Networks is creating an ecosystem, where each SMB has the option to build its own supply chain capability and model as well as integrate with the networks of its competitors or clients. This is possible as AddUp Networks has built products facilitating core and niche areas of logistics, whether High Value or Low Value, high speed or highly efficient, the principles of excellence like – real time accurate sharing of information and capabilities of creating deep integrations with upstream and downstream supply chain.
With the above, the SMB business models becomes extremely innovative as their geographic and logistics expertise and prowess is further empowered by hi-tech, is the mix that clients need today.
Given AddUp Networks’ focus on SaaS-based logistics, how do you foresee your company contributing to the evolution of hyperlocal and e-commerce deliveries, as well as new delivery methods like same-day and slotted delivery?
The ecosystem we are developing, we expect it to form the basis of a new innovative business model, where logistics services like hyperlocal, e-commerce deliveries or exceptional operations like slotted or same day delivery, could be achieved at higher cost efficiencies with consistent service quality. As the larger players would specialize in national movements and could depend on capable local/regional SMBs to create service excellence with their area specific operational prowess. This also marks our move into data sciences and intelligence to power our products with capabilities to facilitate the supply chain of quick commerce, e-commerce, hyperlocal and heavy goods. Where we look to make the local players in a given city, region or geography more and more tech oriented and relevant.
From your perspective, what challenges do you identify that still need to be addressed in the logistics sector, impacting companies, especially SMBs, and hindering them from becoming efficient and competitive?
With tech, data intelligence and infrastructure expensed out with AddUp SaaS model, the other challenge for SMBs is going to be micro-financing. Capital either for working or for rapid scale-up is going to be the next key driver in making the logistics market more efficient in terms of players and service providers. As the SMBs are able to put expansion plans into motion, capital requirements and ease of generating and closing on Capital deals will become a differentiator at micro and macro levels affecting the domestic economy as well.
Winning Zypp Electric’s EVolve Challenge Season 2 is a significant achievement. How does this victory impact AddUp Networks, and how do you envision this partnership contributing to your company’s growth?
Zypp Electric, adds a much-needed advisory panel for our management, with a proven ability of having scaled up in a fiercely competitive sector, they are bringing synergies of experience and operating processes where our tech is helping them strategically. Zypp Electric, along with their EVaaS business model, is also very keen to drive initiatives in the logistics sector, which is a natural evolution for any EV provider and opens up an extremely exciting opportunity for both of our enterprises.
From your perspective, what are the current trends and emerging technologies that are most exciting for AddUp Networks?
The Data intelligence and scientific construct of our consumer markets remains to be exploited constructively for building efficiency and servicing the latent demand. Crippled by high Cash on Delivery or Customer Dependency for last mile delivery, the experience with Hyperlocal, E-commerce or Quick-commerce still comes at an exorbitant cost due to considerable losses which have a pattern. Going forward, the business models will have to be integrated right from the upstream of manufacturing and warehousing, where predictions and demographic demand will need to drive decisions around inventory storage and mode of transport. With the transport and inventory optimised, end consumer behaviours will need to be profiled for the right service and experience. Such trends will decrease the number of Kms/miles travelled by a product to its customer as well as will be tailor-made to his/her needs to provide the optimal experience.
What sets AddUp Networks apart in the logistics sector? Looking beyond 2024, what are the long-term aspirations for AddUp Networks?
AddUp Networks, is a tech company with a very thick context of Supply Chain, which helps us consult with our customers who are SMBs, looking for our expertise besides tech. This becomes our USP and differentiator, as SMBs synergize with us at various levels helping themselves and us evolve.
Long term, AddUp Networks will look to create an ecosystem of players/service providers across all steps of the supply chain, which will make the market efficient to impact logistics cost for goods in India, where it forms around 10-15% of MRP as compared to the developed market benchmarks of 1-1.5%. Hence, we have a long way to go, however be it Warehousing, Aggregation, Trucking, First Mile, Last Mile or Hyerlocal/Quick Commerce, we are committed to facilitating diversity in the market with SMBs, helping the domestic economy with efficiency and service.
