Tag: Ecom Express

Business

Ecom Express launches its first All-women Delivery Center in the country

Dec 2, 2021 by Agency 0 Comments #co-Founder, #Delivery Associate, #Ecom Express, #Ecom Express Limited, #Kusum Jain, #Manju Dhawan

Gurugram: Ecom Express Limited, one of the leading technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions providers to the e-commerce industry, announced the launch of its first all-women Delivery Center in Delhi today. The all-women Delivery Center is an initiative towards empowering women and providing them financial independence while strengthening the company’s Diversity and Inclusion agenda.

Women force have already been inducted in the Delivery Center and it will be the first time in the company that a 10-member team, exclusively comprising women from the ranks of Delivery Center Head to Delivery Associates, will be engaged independently in all operational activities.

Inaugurating the all-women delivery center, Manju Dhawan, Co-founder, Ecom Express Limited, said, ‘’The launch of our all-women delivery center is a conscious agenda and an extension of our continued effort to supporting women with opportunities that empower them to grow and economically elevate them. Our aim is to create more and more opportunities for female team members across roles, including a front-line delivery role as we remain steadfast in our approach to support them and their career progression.’’

Ecom Express is also planning to establish more all-women delivery centers in the near future. The firm is working on breaking the glass ceiling by bringing in the need of the hour ideas and business models. Today, Ecom Express has close to 2000 women working across its processing centers, hubs, centers, fulfillment centers, and many women bikers as delivery associates across the country.

“I am pursuing my graduation and I look forward to create a good career for myself in the future. I was thrilled to explore this field and wondered if men can get into delivering goods, why can’t women. I have always received a positive response and in a year’s time, have grown in my role with Ecom Express – from a part-time delivery partner to a full-time on-roll employee.,” stated Kusum Jain, Delivery Associate at Ecom Express’s all-women delivery center.

Ecom Express is looking to increase diversity across its supply chain to make it more inclusive. Several of its large facilities across the country have their operations for general shifts entirely run by women. Sortation and fulfillment centers including Bilaspur (Haryana), Bhiwandi, Surat, Vijayawada, Guwahati, and others have women staff taking care of millions of shipments, contributing to a seamless e-commerce experience for customers.

Business, News

Ecom Express launches self sign-up portal ‘E-zippie’ for small businesses

Aug 2, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Co-founder and CEO, #Ecom Express, #T.A. Krishnan

 

Ecom ExpressGurugram: Ecom Express, a leading technology enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider for the e-commerce industry, today announced the launch of its self sign-up portal called ‘E-zippie’. The portal is for micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, sole-proprietors and home-preneurs, to quickly, conveniently, and securely sign-up for a one-stop-shop for logistics services in less than 30 minutes, a new benchmark for the industry. This move is aimed to simplify the customer onboarding process with the company by enhancing user experience and provide more flexibility in terms of service plan and price selection.

By leveraging the latest banking and identity verification APIs to reduce manual back-end processes and paperwork, the self sign-up portal makes it possible for online businesses to register and start shipping orders instantly. The portal is highly secured by strong authentication protocols and sophisticated access controls.

Commenting on the announcement, T. A. Krishnan, Co-founder and CEO, Ecom Express, said “India has approximately 6.3 crore* small and medium businesses and with the pandemic, the numbers of businesses are increasing every day. Logistics plays a significant role in the growth of these businesses, and we wanted to offer both our digital and logistics capabilities to support them. With ‘E-zippie’, we can fast-track registration to less than 30 minutes against a 10 to 12 days process taken by most players in the market. The self sign-up portal is a major milestone in our effort to provide an automated and seamless experience for online businesses right from onboarding to fulfilling all their shipping requirements. We will continue to enhance customer experience by making logistics simpler and convenient for small and micro businesses, by providing direct control on their shipments and flexibility in managing end-to-end shipment life cycle. Our aim is to help them expand their market access to 27000+ PIN codes, diversify their customer base, and solidify their supply chain through Ecom Express.’’

Ecom Express has leveraged various technologies while building the back end to make the portal seamless and convenient for use. The portal is mobile responsive through which sellers can submit requests at their convenience and which is then funneled directly to the right department that handles the request without any manual intervention or re-keying of information. Once the seller is onboarded, they will get direct control over their shipments to manage distribution through a dedicated state-of-the-art dashboard and customer support to get real-time status and closure on their shipments.

The self-service functionality available through self-sign-up will make a positive impact and the company estimate that the portal will enhance around 100% more sign-ups from online sellers and businesses.

Business, News

Ecom Express named among Best Places to Work by AmbitionBox

Jul 26, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Co-founder and CEO, #Ecom Express, #Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, #Saurabh Deep Singla, #T.A. Krishnan

Hyderabad: Ecom Express, a leading technology enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the e-commerce industry has been awarded the Best Places to Work in India in in the country’s first employee choice awards by AmbitionBox, an Info Edge subsidiary and a rapidly growing career advisory platform. Ecom Express was ranked among top 4 Large Internet Companies and top 2 among Tech Startups in the country.

AmbitionBox Best Places to Work in India 2021 Awards recognizes the top companies to work for in India based on reviews and ratings shared by employees who have worked with a particular company during the year 2020. The reviews and ratings capture employee sentiment across key workplace metrics including culture, career growth, compensation, work-life balance, development of skills, work satisfaction and job security.

Commenting on the announcement, T. A. Krishnan, Co-founder and CEO, Ecom Express, said “We are honoured to be among the Best Places to Work in India. As the pace and shape of work has seen a dramatic change in the recent past, earning a spot in the Best Places to Work list is significant. This is a testament to the company’s value-driven and people-centric culture where the most talented and creative minds create a difference every day. I am proud of the diverse group of outstanding individuals we have at Ecom Express and I am heartened that collectively, they likewise recognize and respect the effort that we put into creating a positive and empowering working environment.”

Saurabh Deep Singla, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, Ecom Express said, “At Ecom Express, we believe that great organizations are built only when its people are inspired and motivated, and therefore we have always aspired to create an inclusive culture and environment that encourages people to be themselves, find, explore, test and share their ideas. This achievement only strengthens our resolve to continue our journey on making Ecom Express one of the Best Places to Work.’’

Ecom Express’ culture is built around its shared iCORP values, which stands for – Integrity, Commitment, Openness, Respect and Passion. These are the pillars upon which the company culture is built and are the fundamental truths that transcend every department and position. The employees hold each other and themselves accountable to these values and guiding principles, for they are the essence of the kind of company that Ecom Express is today and will be in the future.

This achievement further strengthens Ecom Express’ commitment to building a credible and transparent workplace culture for employees, customers, and partners. As an organization dedicated to creating fairer and safer workplaces, Ecom Express is thrilled that employees feel their mission is echoed within organization.

Health, News

Ecom Express to partner with Government and Medical Bodies to set-up vaccination camps for employees….

May 6, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #CEO and Co-founder, #Ecom Express, #T.A. Krishnan

Mumbai: In its endeavour to further its efforts towards employee and community well-being, Ecom Express, a leading tech-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the Indiane-commerce industry, has announced initiatives for Covid relief, which include setting up of Covid vaccination camps for employees across multiple locations in India. These camps will be organized at Company’s offices and warehouses and beneficiaries will include contractual workforce covering more than 45,000 people.

This will be one of theslew of initiatives taken by the Company this yearin collaboration with the government and local medical bodies. It will be using its own infrastructure besides taking additional spaces across district towns and villages such as schools, community halls, etc. to set-up the vaccination camps. The drive will also be extended to the families of employees and community.

Speaking on the initiative, T.A. Krishnan, CEO and Co-Founder, Ecom Express says, “The health and well-being of our employees are paramount and so is that of their families and people around them. We are encouraging and educating our employees, especially the vulnerable ones for their active participation in this vaccination drive and bringing their family and community to be a part of this programme. We will extend full support to the medical bodies in the logistics and managementof this drive. Our employees at these camps will also be helping citizens who cannot register themselves for the covid-vaccination with the registration process. In furtherance of our support to the cause, we have connected with hospitals and NGOs to provide logistical assistance for transportation of essential items anywhere in the country.’’

The Company has procured oxygen concentrators for employees to avail in case of medical exigencies. The pool of concentrators will be kept at the Company’s facilities for distribution to employees and for their families. An internal emergency response team has been set up to provide information on doctors, ambulance services, lab tests, medical insurance and oxygen supplies for the benefit of employees.

Keeping mental wellness of employees as one of its top priorities, the Company has been organizing frequent webinars and online sessions with experts and counsellors to provide everyone the much-needed mental health conversation and have initiated various employee-engagement programs to keep teams motivated.

Business World

Ecom Express receives US$ 20 Million follow-on investment from CDC Group

Mar 9, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #CDC Group, #Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ecom Express, #Ecom Express, #T.A. Krishnan

CDC Group, the UK Government’s development finance institution and impact investor in South Asia and Africa, today announced that it has closed a US$ 20 Million investment round in Ecom Express, a leading tech-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the Indian e-commerce industry. This will be CDC’s second round of investment in Ecom Express after its initial investment in December 2019.

CDC’s latest commitment will support Ecom Express in advancing the company’s sustainable development and impact agenda of enhancing skills and boosting job creation in the Indian hinterlands. With the high demands for jobs in India, the country needs to create 8.1 million jobs a year to maintain its employment rate. This investment supports India’s effort as it will enable Ecom Express to create 8,000 new jobs in addition to an initial target of 15,000 roles – prioritising employing women for jobs at delivery centres, fulfilment centres and warehouses across the nation.

Additionally, Ecom Express will be utilizing the equity infusion by CDC Group investments for strategic initiatives such as growth driven capital expenditure, working capital requirements, new business initiatives, expansions, and potential strategic acquisitions/partnerships.

Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia at CDC, said: “Ecom Express is playing a vital role in enabling e-commerce growth and expanding product reach across India. CDC’s additional investment in the company reflects our support for the company’s pan-India expansion, and a commitment to channelling our patient capital toward a business that aligns with our development, impact, and sustainability goals. Moreover, we are delighted that this investment will further enhance efforts India is making to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals of achieving gender equality and empowerment, and promoting sustainable growth and decent work for all.’’

T. A. Krishnan, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ecom Express said, “We are extremely pleased to have a continued partnership with CDC. This fresh infusion of capital will enable us to further strengthen our network, infrastructure, operations, and technological prowess while assuring support to our next levels of growth. We are looking at a development led impact which includes strengthening our sustainability initiatives, job creation and diversity. In CDC, we have a partner which helps us become socially responsible and contribute to the society at large through these initiatives.”

Ecom Express recently invested USD 11 million (about Rs 80.6 crore) in Bangladesh’s largest third-party e-commerce logistics (3PL) firm, Paperfly. Through this investment, Ecom Express entered Bangladesh marking its maiden venture outside India, after having covered the length and breadth of the country reaching over 1.2 billion people daily.

Business World

Pre-Budget quote- Logistics | Ecom Express

Jan 23, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Co-founder & Director, #Ecom Express, #Mr. K. Satyanarayana

By Mr. K. Satyanarayana, Co-founder & Director, Ecom Express.

‘’The logistics industry is one of the key sectors of the Indian economy that has seen immense growth in the last couple of years. With improved logistics infrastructure, there is a significant growth potential of e-commerce and trade in general, especially in tier 2/3 cities and rural areas.

From the Union Budget FY2021-22, the expectations for the logistics industry are a series of supportive initiatives, such as effective execution of a well-defined National Logistics Policy (NLP), rationalization and relaxation of taxes for warehousing, and focus on creating a skilled workforce for logistics and supply chain. Several players, driven largely by the e-commerce boom, have implemented some of the latest technologies such as automation, IoT, AI/ML for smart warehousing and logistics. In order to provide the much-needed impetus, the industry is expecting policy support and tax relaxations that will help infuse investment particularly on technology and make India’s logistics industry more competitive globally. Furthermore, subsidy/incentives for usage of Electric Vehicle (EVs) for logistics purposes and for transportation of goods could go a long way to help EV adoption in the long run.

Rising fuel prices present a challenge for logistics industry, as increasing costs typically force players to either raise prices or suffer financial losses. Therefore, neutralization or relief measures must be provided by government so that the pressure on the transportation costs is contained and it does not have an impact on viability of operations.

Given the nature of pan-India presence of logistics companies, we expect policies that make it easy for businesses to manage multiple offices spread across the country. Not all businesses have resources to meet the micro level compliance requirements under various laws, such as The Shops and Establishments Act, Trade Licenses and CLRA provisions. The government should ease rules and also offer support/exemptions or single-window clearances to small and medium businesses from certain mandatory compliances.

Overall, the post-pandemic budget is expected to keep logistics as a priority sector. Increased allocations in the Union Budget FY2021-22 for logistics can benefit other sectors too and create a strong backbone for our country’s lifeline.’’

Business World

Ecom Express enters Bangladesh, fortifies its presence in adjacent markets

Jan 12, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #CEO and Co-founder, #Ecom Express, #T.A. Krishnan

Ecom Express, India’s leading technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the e-commerce industry, has announced a strategic investment worth of USD 11 million in Bangladesh’s largest third-party e-commerce logistics (3PL) firm Paperfly. Through this investment, Ecom Express is entering Bangladesh marking its maiden venture outside India.

After having covered the length and breadth of the country reaching over 1.2 billion people daily, Ecom Express is now looking at expanding into adjacent countries, starting with Bangladesh.

With more than 167 million inhabitants and over 90 million internet users, the e-commerce industry in Bangladesh is emerging and has become one of the fastest-growing markets in the region. The increasing per-capita disposable income has fueled higher consumption from expanding middle classes. Moreover, greater mobile and internet penetration has led consumers to increasingly shop online and expect shorter delivery times.

T.A. Krishnan, CEO and Co-Founder, Ecom Express says, “We see a lot of growth opportunities in adjacent markets and the current investment is one of the many things in the pipeline. We looked at multiple aspects before identifying Bangladesh for our first international venture. The market draws parallel with India in terms of growth and demography and we want to leverage our experience and domain expertise to enable high scalability growth and build a strategic backbone of e-commerce logistics in Bangladesh. Paperfly is quite similar to Ecom Express in its operations and we admire what the company has accomplished in the Bangladesh market. We look forward to enabling Paperfly to unlock new avenues for enhanced third-party logistics and home delivery in the country.”

Founded in 2016 by Shahriar Hasan, Md. Razibul Islam, Rahath Ahmed and Shamsuddin Ahmed, Paperfly is the first homegrown technology-enabled logistics company in Bangladesh and has been able to scale up to the size that it is today in a very short span of time. Covering all 64 districts, the company has the widest delivery network in the country and enables e-commerce platforms with full-fledged delivery and logistics offering and services including last mile delivery, cash on delivery solutions and returns management. The fast growth of Paperfly is a testament to the solid experience and extensive industry expertise of its management team.

The investments will be used by Paperfly towards the transformation of logistics through intelligence-driven automation and data sciences that would enable the company to meet the fast-growing demand for quality e-commerce logistics services in Bangladesh. It will further accelerate the company’s implementation of advanced supply chain and logistics processes, agile solutions in delivery and warehouse management, and other operational facets in the logistics and supply chain.

Business World

Ecom Express appoints Venkatesh Tarakkad as CFO

Dec 14, 2020 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #CFO, #Ecom Express, #Ecom Express Private Limited, #Mr. Venkatesh Tarakkad

Gurugram: Ecom Express Private Limited, a leading technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the e-commerce industry, today announced that Venkatesh Tarakkad has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer effective November 20, 2020. Venkatesh will be based out of the Company’s headquarters in Gurugram.

As CFO, Venkatesh will be responsible for Finance, Accounts, Legal, Secretarial, Commercial and Administration functions besides spearheading business goals, including the profitability of the Company.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. T.A. Krishnan, CEO & Co-founder, Ecom Express Private Limited said, ‘’We are pleased to welcome Venkatesh to our leadership team. His deep and extensive cross-industry experience across Finance, Compliance and other functions, and a strong track record of delivering results, will surely make a positive impact as we manage through the current business environment and continue to position Ecom Express as a leader in the space. I am confident that Venkatesh will provide strong leadership and is an excellent addition to the team.”

Mr. Venkatesh Tarakkad, CFO, Ecom Express said, “I am excited to join Ecom Express, a company making a mark in the e-commerce logistics domain. Ecom Express is leading the way in new technologies, has a strong business model and a proud growth story in the last eight years and I look forward to working with the team to execute on the company’s priorities, accelerate growth and enhance value for all stakeholders.”

Venkatesh comes with 25 years of experience of core expertise in steering the financial planning for some of the world’s leading retailers and wholesale brands, including TCNS, Metro Cash & Carry and Siam Makro. Venkatesh also served in finance positions at Coca Cola and Ernst & Young. In his previous role as a group CFO in TCNS, he played a crucial role in leading the IPO process, implementing an end-to-end ERP solution and overhauling the company’s warehousing capabilities. At Metro Cash & Carry, he drove Finance, Technology, omnichannel capability, Horeca customer target group and Supply chain to grow the business rapidly close to a billion dollars.

Venkatesh is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant and Certified Information Systems Auditor.

Business World

Apparels and accessories the most purchased products during festive sales: Ecom Express

Nov 4, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Apparels and accessories, #Ecom Express, #festive sales, #Siddharth Agarwal

Ecom Express, a leading technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the e-commerce industry, today revealed key highlights of consumer buying pattern across fashion, mobiles and tablets, and medicine categories in the ongoing festive sales. The data has been gathered based on volumes of merchandise assigned to Ecom Express by more than 2000 e-commerce players in the country. The total jump in the volume of sales for the same duration in August versus October, including all categories, stood at 72%.

Apparels and accessories were the most purchased categories of products in terms of volume share from February to August. In the October sale, this segment saw around 5% increase in share of total volumes and a whopping 200% + increase in growth over its pre-COVID volumes.

According to the company, this growth was driven primarily from major cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. Kolkata’s October sales numbers showed the highest spike, especially in apparel and footwear, capturing on Durga Puja fervour. It reflects that people in Kolkata waited for the festive season, and their preferred choice of gifts this year were apparel, footwear, and accessories. Although Delhi saw a decline in apparel volumes, adjoining cities in the NCR such as Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad contributed significantly to the volumes.

Further, mobile, tablets and mobile accessories bounced back post-COVID to show an 89% growth in August. This category remains strong in a sale promotion-driven category, showing a huge surge during the October festive sales grew by over 210%. While the large cities remain the largest markets for this category overall, smaller cities appeared to drive festive season sales, with customers/re-sellers waiting for sale promotions. High volumes were driven out of small towns like Arrah and Narkatiyagunj (Bihar), Raigarh and Sarangarh (Chhattisgarh) and Dhaka near Dumka district of Jharkhand.

Medicine and supplements including hygiene saw a very high growth attaining a 260% jump in August compared to pre-COVID days. This purchasing pattern in medicine and supplements was fuelled by the pandemic and its volumes have stayed consistently at the August level in the October sale. Sales in this category was driven not just out of metros and large cities, but also from tier-2 and tier-3 cities including Bhopal, Patna, Agartala, Indore, Silchar, Kanpur etc.

Commenting on the insights, Siddharth Agarwal, Vice President – Corporate Strategy and Planning, Ecom Express said, “We had anticipated the surge in online shopping that was backed by festive sales and increased preference for doorstep deliveries. Due to COVID-19, there has been a rise in first-time online buyers.

Moreover, even offline retailers and brands are riding on the e-commerce wave to reach out to their audience which is why we geared up to keep up with the demand, even from the remotest parts of the country. Our reach to over 27000 PIN-codes is definitely proving to help people even at faraway places to enjoy their festivity and give us an edge in delivering last mile smiles.”

Interestingly, laptops and accessories, footwear, beauty products and toiletries ruled the roost in February just before COVID-19-induced lockdown. However, these products saw a decline in sales volumes in August and continued their downward trend through October mainly due to factors such as work from home (WFH), less offline meetings/public outings amongst others. The Footwear segment still managed to revive in October sales and its demand more than doubled in October.

In terms of categories, moderate growth in volumes were also seen in Home Décor, kitchen and dining, and large appliances till August. While home décor remained steady, others saw a moderate decline in the October sales.

Business World

Ecom Express appoints B. Krishnaraj as Country Head Operations

Oct 20, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #B. Krishnaraj, #Ecom Express, #Mr. T.A. Krishnan

Ecom Express, a leading technology-enabled end-to-end logistics solutions provider to the e-commerce industry, today announced the appointment of B. Krishnaraj as Country Head, Operations. Krishnaraj comes with 34 years of experience in core logistics and operations management.

In his current role, Krishnaraj will be leading the operations for Ecom Express, in continuously augmenting logistics solutions for the e-commerce industry. He will lead and drive the team of logistics professionals on strategy and in ensuring process compliance, productivity, and efficiencies on the ground. Krishnaraj will operate from the Company’s headquarters based in Gurugram.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. T.A. Krishnan, Co-founder and CEO, Ecom Express said, “Krishnaraj comes with an exceptional operational background with extensive leadership experience in end-to-end logistics and supply chain sector. We are confident that his vast experience, execution capabilities, business acumen and a proven track record of over three decades, will play a key role in accelerating our Company’s growth trajectory and will strengthen our leadership team.”

B. Krishnaraj, Country Head-Operations, Ecom Express said, “Ecom Express is at an inflection point in its growth trajectory as it continues to consolidate its leadership position as logistics solutions provider to the e-commerce industry. I am excited to be a part of a high performing team at Ecom Express, which has established its presence as an industry trailblazer in a very short span of time. I am deeply honoured to be taking up this role and look forward to contributing to the organization’s growth to the best of my abilities.”

In his previous roles, has led many innovative projects, such as system development designs, process time reduction, MIS, and BI tool designing, to name a few. His career in operations spans numerous roles at Blue Dart including the company’s General Manager and National Operations Head – E-tail, wherein he was instrumental in setting up the E-commerce vertical to give an exclusive focus to the B2C segment. Prior to that, he was the Head of South Regional Operations, where he was actively involved in PUDO (Pickup and Delivery Optimization) Project and the successful rollout of the Smart Truck Project for Blue Dart.