Elixia Tech is a leading incubator of high-end technological innovations in the field of the supply chain. The organization recently launched India’s first WhatsApp-driven, end-to-end tech-powered logistics marketplace- ‘Elixia Connect’. Elixia Connect provides shippers and transporters a common platform to interact and negotiate to meet their on-ground logistics requirements. Below is a snippet from a recent interaction with Mr.Sanket Sheth, Founder & Managing Director, Elixia Tech Solutions:
Prateek: Kindly brief us about the company and the services that your company offers.
Sanket Sheth: Elixia Tech was founded in the year 2011 with an ambition to organize the logistics and supply chain sector in the country by introducing high-end technological innovations. We provide interlinked soft-bots for logistics, warehouse, and inventory that control supply chain planning and execution to reduce costs for goods-in-transit and provide actionable business intelligence using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
We provide integrated solutions to both logistics & supply chain service providers resulting in real-time visibility of all their shipments, for both dedicated as well as market vehicles. Elixia introduced its first product in the telematics space and has now developed a completely digital and efficient suite of supply chain solutions, under the umbrella of Control Tower.
Elixia Tech is associated with 1500+ customers across FMCG, Pharmaceutical, Chemical, 3PL, and many more sectors. It now has a global presence across regions like Australia, Africa, Brazil, Middle East and is continuing to expand in international markets.
Prateek: What is the current logistic scenario in India?
Sanket Sheth: Logistics in India is still a high-cost and low-margin business. The majority of the players in this domain are small fleet owners, who are not exposed to automation and digitalization that can help lower logistics costs. Inadequate logistics infrastructure, different taxation laws, traditional warehousing practices are the other factors that account for the unorganized logistics sector in the country.
But owing to the Govt initiatives in developing the logistics infrastructure, policies, and technological investments, we can expect a bright future for the Indian freight sector. India can save almost Rs. 10 lakh Crore by investing in digitalization and by improving its freight efficiency.
Prateek: Why logistic sector needs a revamp?
Sanket Sheth: The logistics sector in India needs a technological push to reach the international standard of operations. An efficient logistics system is an interplay of technology, infrastructure, and manpower and we are currently lagging behind in all of these factors. From technology per se, almost 70% of logistics businesses rely on paper-based or manual modes of handling operations. Almost 71% of India’s freight is transported through road transportation, which is unorganized and a costly mode of operation. We do lack skilled & knowledgeable manpower in the sector too. The experts in the domain express the need to educate people for automation & digitization to bring in a noticeable change in the logistics domain.
We also need to look out for alternatives for Green Logistics that can help us reduce carbon emissions, fuel costs and thus, improve the overall efficiency of the logistics process.
Prateek: Can you elaborate on the Global vs Indian Logistic Scenario?
Sanket Sheth: The logistics market, both in India & abroad is highly unorganized. If we look at only road transport, the transportation efficiency of trucks is much lower than the global scenario. Daily utilization of trucks in India (in km) is only 250-400km as compared to 500km in BRICS & 700-800km in USA/Europe. The empty running percentage of trucks is also 28-43%, which is much higher than in the USA & Europe. India also accounts for the highest logistics expense of 14% compared to 9.4% in the US, 8% in Germany & 10-11% in BRICS. Even the small percentage of organized players need a technological revamp to improve the overall efficiency and save on logistics costs.
Prateek: What is the importance of Analytics in Supply Chain Management?
Sanket Sheth: In today’s era, it’s very easy to get data but what is tough is to find the right insight. Today’s supply chains are all the more complex and involve numerous interactions where data is captured every second. This is where Analytics comes into the picture. Supply Chain Analytics gives you the power to make key business decisions that have a direct impact on the company’s profitability.
Prateek: How control Towers can improve the efficiency of Supply Chains?
Sanket Sheth: Control towers themselves don’t reduce the complexities of the supply chain. Change can only be brought when their design, features, technological capabilities, agility, and responsiveness are embedded in the system and day-to-day processes to work well for your business. Elixia Tech Solutions Ltd. has come up with Supply Chain Control Tower, a chain of interlinked solutions that can be used to control supply chain execution practices. Practical by nature, the solution built is Industry agnostic and with control on all logistics cost drivers. Starting from Dispatch Planning, followed by Load Optimization, Automated Indenting, Transporter Allocation, Shipment Tracking, and Transporter billing, control tower brings in visibility for the costs associated as soon as the shipment is out of factory premises till it reaches the distributor. We then intelligently collate the data from all the processes on a single platform and provide actionable business insights that help in making informed business decisions.
Prateek: What are your future plans for this year?
Sanket Sheth: The mission of Elixia Tech is to enable businesses to harness the power of technology and simplify their lives. After developing good expertise in the area of supply chain digitization, we are launching two more products this year that can increase tech adoption and benefit the logistics market as a whole.
Elixia Connect is India’s first WhatsApp-driven, end-to-end tech-powered logistics marketplace. This solution connects the most reliable shippers and transporters on one platform and gives them a competitive environment to interact & negotiate the best deal to meet their on-ground logistics requirements. Elixia Lite is the lighter version of our flagship product, Supply Chain Control Tower. It brings together all the applications that transporters need to fulfill their logistics needs. From fleet maintenance to order allocation, tracking to delivery documentation, this turnkey solution will provide affordable yet seamless operational efficiency.
The team at Elixia, backed by the support and response of their customers, are very optimistic about their products & their success in the Indian market and are all geared up to bring in a digital revolution in the logistics sector. The company is currently serving clients across India, Australia, Cairo, Brazil, and the Maldives, and has plans to expand its reach to Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, in the coming few years.
