In this exclusive interview, Rajesh Rajgor speaks to Avinash Raghav, co-founder of Noida-based Shift Freight, a logistics aggregator start-up that has achieved 1,000% growth in six months of its operations. The company aims to revolutionise the movers and packers’ segment with customer-centric processes
The corona virus pandemic has transformed the landscape for businesses across industries with impact varying as per the category of product or service. As soon as the lockdown was lifted and people staying far away from families started to relocate, they looked for movers and packers. The ongoing push for social distancing to slow the spread of the virus has meant that not only more people residing in metro cities looked for ‘internet-based’ online services to book a vehicle for their logistics need, but so did people residing in Tier I and II cities. The demand for fleet and professionals who adhere to pandemic-related protocols increased.
It is not just a sheer coincidence but an opportune time that Shift Freight was conceptualized during the paradigm-shifting pandemic. Born out of a poor personal experience to find professional movers and packers in the UAE, Avinash Raghav established Shift Freight in October 2019 to help city dwellers move houses without any hassle. Explaining the idea and the subsequent launch of Shift Freight in India, Raghav says, “The whole rationale behind Shift Freight was to solve the ever-changing needs of the city dwellers to relocate from one rented apartment to another or from an old house to a new. We saw a huge gap in the market when it comes to providing the right service.”
“The whole feel-good, customer-centric essence of the value-chain was missing. We didn’t want to be merely a lead-sharing company but facilitate the partners and vendors working with us into adopting methodologies that can transform the perception of the movers and packers industry in reality. We decided we want to be an aggregator (a marketplace like Amazon) and began with a focus on the whole ‘home shifting’ clients to people moving ‘smaller or fewer’ items in India to give consumers the best services they deserve. We began our operations with an angel funding of USD 1 million in February 2020,” he adds. While they began operations in February with 20-25 vendors attached to their platform, the countrywide lockdown in March slowed their operations a bit.
However, the company utilised that phase to hone its backend with technology that can ensure right prices for the orders generated. They added vendors who were ready to learn and transform their operations in a much structured manner. Post the unlocking there was no looking back as the orders grew. “I would say the real business for Shift Freight, in full swing, started in June 2020, as the first month’s revenue was slightly over Rs 6,00,000. In December, revenues shot up to Rs 60,00,000,” informs Raghav. “Going with the orders, the expected January revenue would be Rs 1,00,00,000. Precisely, in six months, we have achieved 1,000% growth. In terms of moves, we began with 60 moves in June and have crossed 1,000 moves in December alone,” he adds.
Done ‘IT’ Right
As an aggregator it becomes essential that not only is the platform is conducive for the end consumers but also for the vendors working with you. Shift Freight has made considerable investments in information technology to ensure that clients are provided with complete visibility for their consignments. Their app boasts of information on available vehicles, their load capacity, tracking of vehicle in transit for consumers, etc. “When you are a marketplace, you should be accessible by any media. A customer can call us, go to the website and also download our app and send a query. As said earlier, we are customer-centric and want to provide integrated client servicing to end consumers by being accessible to them via the medium they like,” Raghav says.
“A few easy clicks helps clients book as per their needs and they are in complete control of the order. For instance, if a client wants to hire movers, then he can select between small van, pick-up, boxed truck and extra-large trucks,” he adds. The app, at the outset, clearly mentions that there are zero additional charges once the client books the order. “With our affordable shifting options, customers can save as much as 40% compared to others in the open market. Customers are not even penalised for cancellations or rescheduling,” Raghav informs.
Valuable Vendor Partners
Similarly, the company has customer-friendly norms that benefit the vendor partners. “We have a pool of trusted ‘shifting’ service providers to move belongings. We have categorized them into vendors and super vendors. All super vendors own trucks, while the vendors are encouraged to own trucks. Elaborates Raghav: “A majority of movers and packers in NCR don’t own vehicles. They take orders, outsource the packaging, hire a van or truck and provide services which are largely monitored by the fleet or vehicle owner. Against this practice, we encourage the vendors to buy their own vehicles. We support them, give them business and deduct some portion towards the vehicle.”
The vision for revamping the structure in which the logistic service providers work doesn’t end here. Shift Freight is making concentrated efforts to improve the lives and working standards of the blue-collar workforce, including truck drivers and delivery boys. “Our revenue model revolves around the security and peace of mind that consumers get. We get the complete KYC done of vendors and their manpower. We ensure that no crime or cheating happens where people and goods are involved since we do not want to put consumers’ goods at any risk in transit,” Raghav says.
“Our services are further enhanced by providing fleet personnel with PPE kits, uniforms, shoes, hand gloves and sanitizers to ensure hygienic, safe and smooth deliveries. In addition to this, we have service ‘move’ managers who assist each client throughout the order. They are trained to put customers’ interest first. Since the customer is paying us to manage his goods, quality of service is topmost priority for us,” he adds.
Growing with Quality
Given the focus on safety, security and professionalism of both consumers and vendors, Shift Freight has over 80 vendors enrolled on their platform, operating with over 250 vehicles across 15 cities. “When we started, our strategy was clear: we don’t want too many vendors. Our mechanism is clearly segmented in vendors and super vendors. Anyone who wants to join us may do as vendors and after completing a certain number of moves we promote them as super vendors. Majority of our delivery is now done by super vendors. We want them to expand their business with us. From the 1,000 moves we clocked in December, almost 800 were handled by super vendors. Thanks to all such efforts, our super vendors are now in Bengaluru too. In January, they will start operations in Hyderabad and Chennai. There are others too who are growing together with us,” Raghav informs.
As to what would be the ideal number of vendors for Shift Freight to offer services pan-India, Raghav says, “We don’t want to pile up a lot of vendors but help grow a few quality players and assist them in serving different regions. So, the quantity of vendor partners is not as much important as much is the quality they provide. It doesn’t make sense to add more vendors and then give business to them in bits and pieces. Rather, focusing on certain quality vendors who can continue to serve customers at a reasonable rate is our focus.” Ecstatic with the initial success the company has tasted and the word of mouth-yielding repeat customers, Shift Freight wants to expand to 40 cities by the end of 2021. “Because of the top-notch service customers get, they will be our brand ambassadors. We have had instances where there have been customers who have used our services more than once. For further reach, we have branded all our vehicles with our logo in order to market our services across the cities our vehicles travel through. Given the scope of the movers and packers industry which is estimated at USD 3.5 billion, we will be maintaining the momentum of growth so that by 2021 we will be amongst the top players in the market,” Raghav concludes.