The 24-year-old Mr. Pushkar Singh, together with Mr. Sudarshan Ravi and Mr. Ankit Parasher, founded Lets Transport in January last, with the sole idea of giving a new twist to the old methods being followed in the transport industry. This start-up is in fact overhauling the transport business as such.
Mr. Singh agrees: “Transport is currently the hot space. A lot of giants, old money and old school practices are in place. So disrupting that is a challenge.”
Transport is one sector where education and creativity are not considered pre-requisites to make an entry. These three young IIT-Kharagpur graduates are changing the tune.
Born in Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Singh’s first job in 2013 was with the food division of ITC Ltd. He handled its operations, product launches and quality checks, and oversaw its manufacturing facilities. A mechanical engineer, Mr. Singh also learned to handle operational issues.
Almost all start-ups are working on the common concept of disrupt, innovate and change. Like them, Lets Transport has made service its driving force rather than profit. Mr. Singh says: “A technologically advanced company will have a lot of SAPs in place, but still they will not have control over an external agency which is involved in the entire process. A real value addition to the entire manufacturing and logistics sector would be to offer a technological solution which can help increase efficiency in the industry.”
Getting started
In his first job Mr. Singh learnt the nuances of co-ordinating end-to-end supply chain operations, from sourcing raw material to delivering finished goods to the retail outlets. He shares: “There I saw that senior managers would actually chase trucks so that subsequent operations do not suffer. That’s where the idea for Lets Transport was born. I knew that even a little bit of technology in this space would make a great difference. In manufacturing as such there is sophistication, and it is moving towards Just-In-Time, and to match that you need to augment the service levels of your logistics industry. My experience in operations exposed me to the customer as well as the supplier.”
With a 14-member team in the age group of 24-28 years, Lets Transport began with a one tonner. The three founders each take care of operations, sales and analytics. The rest of the team, including four women, work on improving efficiency at the ground level, business development, and technology.
Matching vehicle with the industry is what Lets Transport focuses on. Mr. Singh explains: “A food company will not transfer its items into a scrap truck. Every industry operates in a different fashion, and understanding them at an operational level is what is needed right now in the industry.”
Working with a variety of clients such as Spoon Joy, Decathlon, Adarsh Construction, ITC Ltd. and Chillies, among others, keeps Lets Transport on its toes at all times to engage willing drivers with light commercial vehicles who wish to convert their time into money, literally.
Why small vehicles? He answers: “Bigger trucks deliver to warehouses, but to distribute from there within the city you need these small vehicles. As you start catering to many different verticals you realise every industry needs a light commercial vehicle, and then you can expand your offerings.”
In March last, Mr. Singh and his team acquired ‘Shifter’, a logistics company founded by two graduates – one from NIT – Trichy and the other from IIT – Delhi. Since they did not wish to get heavily involved in business operations, they were happy to sell it to Lets Transport. In turn, Lets Transport received 12 light commercial trucks and technology.
Consumer-focused
Mr. Singh offers three levels of servicing to his clients. First is providing simple technology like GPS tracking system with the delivery trucks to help manufacturers manage their downstream operations better. He explains the other two levels: “Can you put in technological reliability into the component of service industry? Any local vendor with 20-odd light commercial vehicles will come up in this space because the entry standard is low. But can you rate the drivers as per your client’s requirement? Do you know what was the customer’s perception about a particular driver? So the next time if he orders, can you cater to his needs? That’s what we are working on.”
According to him, there are some drivers who can handle furniture but not food, and a normal player would not be able to differentiate.
Lets Transport head-hunted Mr. Mehboob, an owner-driver of a one-tonner, right in the beginning. They cured him of the perception that he is overworking. Mr. Singh shares: “The drivers park their vehicles at a particular point and wait for business to come to them. We showed them that we can help them increase their earnings. If in a month they earned Rs. 30,000 we pushed that upto even Rs. 50,000. That’s when they started appreciating our efforts.”
Lets Transport has now created a database of about 70 drivers after extensive interactions. It created a driver-friendly mobile app, functioning in English and Kannada languages, which allows them to access Lets Transport. Mr. Singh says: “Through the app they let us know that they are free for a trip. We told some of the drivers that we would give them a minimum monthly sum of Rs. 20,000 irrespective of whether we give them a trip or not. Initially they were not open to the idea thinking that they have to let go of their existing customers. So we found ways to ensure that they realise that the benefits are real for them. In the beginning, Mehboob called us up at least thrice a week, and when we started giving him trips, he saw a steady rise in his revenue. Then he started calling us daily.”
Lets Transport has taken these drivers under its wing and gives them thorough training at technical and cultural levels.
Today Mr. Mehboob has found a friend in Mr. Singh and Lets Transport. Mr. Singh says: “I personally know him and his family now. I have spent time with them to understand how they live. He is now a groomed person and has started respecting people, and his behaviour with others has changed. These drivers now are focused on giving service.”
Service rather than profit
Lets Transport was born with a seed money of close to Rs. 40 lakhs. The team knows that in an oversupplied market there are more trucks floating than the actual requirement. Hence Mr. Singh and his co-founders have made technology their USP. He explains: “When you start building operations, it can never depend entirely on an app. Only if you integrate technology and operations well will it be a success. Ours will not be a simple product where you can merely book a truck. But it will cater to the entire logistics solution of a company.” That is what will set them apart from other last mile service providers, he believes.
In the next couple of months, Lets Transport will see itself in other cities, including Chennai. The founders have a simple point – the day the delivery boys’ bags become unbearable, that’s the day Lets Transport would have found its niche completely.
Lets Transport is here to disrupt!