By 
When Vipul Yadav and his four friends first ventured into ecommerce, they learnt a tough lesson – the success of their brand depended largely on the logistics and delivery network. Having experienced this very issue, they decided to solve this problem with an artificial intelligence (AI) based solution. Mumbai-based iThink Logistics was founded about a year ago by Vipul, Bharat Karotra, Paresh Parmar, Nikul Dodia and Zaiba Sarang.
This bootstrapped startup has a technology platform that ensures that once a parcel leaves the premises of an online seller, it is efficiently monitored so that it can strategically reach the end customer. “We identified some issues and gaps with the ecommerce industry, especially the huge increase in the high return ratio and decided to build an AI assistance solution,” says Vipul, Co-founder and Head – Product strategy.
The iThink Logistics Solution iThink’s AI assistance solution is a virtual calling technology platform, which coordinates with all stakeholders in the delivery network. It connects the online seller, logistics partner and the end customer to ensure efficient monitoring of the parcel. “We manage the entire shipment delivery lifecycle,” says Vipul. This company sells its solution to an online seller where the logistics partner also comes onboard while the end customer is only intimated through messages or calls. Once the online seller uses the solution, the platform connects with multiple logistics players to deliver the shipments. Here, the seller does not have do anything manually to track the shipment.
Vipul says, “The biggest challenge for any online seller and the logistics industry is the last mile delivery.” In a typical scenario, the individual who actually delivers multiple parcels is unlikely to complete the entire assignment, and would probably give false reasons for non-delivery. He claims ‘wrong address’ is one of the top reasons for non-delivery. “Our technology identifies the issue much before the shipment is delivered in terms of whether the address is correct. This is more of a preventive measure and helps in maximising the shipment ratio,” he adds.
At the end customer point, iThink Logistics has developed a virtual calling assistance that can understand what a customer is saying by converting speech to text and vice versa, providing real-time updates. The technology is also able to distinguish between genuine and fake calls. “We coordinate with all the stakeholders through different touch points like call and SMS, and our entire technology process is automated,” says Vipul. Further, the solution also maps service level agreement (SLA) metrics agreed upon by the online seller and logistics partner so that the AI solution understands the framework and is able to respond.
Comments