City start-up to streamline unorganised air cargo sector

Formed in September 2015, the company, which has offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai, aims to address the complete information requirements of the air cargo sector, including freight forwarding rates, benchmark prices, airport tariffs, flight schedules, tracking and such vital information in real-time.

Nivesh Jain and Vinay Sethia are the Co-founders of the enterprise, which aims to bring about transparency and efficiency in the air freight logistics sector. On the launch of its app-based and web-based services globally, Nivesh tells us, “India currently spends around 14 pc of its GDP on logistics, as compared to other developed countries, where the spending is between 8-9 per cent. Even today, the logistics industry operates offline. 

So, people rely on traditional modes of communication like emails and phone calls to make inquiries. As a gamechanger, our business is that of an aggregator. We get the entire industry on one platform enabling all parties to interact with each other.” 

He explains, “Say you are importing a shipment from Dubai or China. You get in touch with an agent who will take at least two days to contact his counterpart in that country and provide you with a quote. So, there is a certain level of ambiguity involved, not to mention, the absence of a real-time data.  There are also the hurdles of kickbacks and undercutting among the parties involved. Our aim is to reduce the turnaround time significantly and bring down freight costs across the board.” 

This will encourage small-scale importers and exporters to sprout up in the country. Talking about the USP of the platform, Nivesh says, “On our platform, an airline, importer, exporter and freight forwarder can speak the same language. All one needs to do is enter the origin and destination, and you are presented with all the necessary rates, in a comprehensive, integrated manner whether it’s import, export, domestic, international or even cross trade (where you can conduct business without being physically present at either the origin or destination of the shipment). 

We have tied up with agents who provide us with these quotes, and depending on the choice of the customer, business can be initiated.” Having received 300 registrations per month on an average, the company currently has over 1,200 users on board and is operational in eight countries – India, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, UAE (Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi) and Qatar. 

The company will be opening registrations for importers and exporters in a short while. Its clientele includes the likes of HDFC Ergo, ICICI Lombard for Air Cargo insurance. The organisation aims to cover the entire of Middle East and Far East by 2017, Africa & Europe by 2018, and the other locations by 2019. Nivesh says, “We will be shortly opening offices in UK and Sri Lanka. With respect to aggregation of information on air freight cargo, we are targeting a global presence over the next few years. By the end of this year, we are hoping to register 50,000 importers and exporters with us pan India.”