Mumbai-based logistics technology provider WebXpress is eyeing a two-fold growth in business and raising capital amid increasing technology adoption in the logistics industry and the prospects of the connectivity improving with the roll-out of the 5G network.

Founded in 2004, WebXpress currently caters to around 100 customers in India and overseas, which includes the likes of Patanjali, Kurl-On, DTDC operating in the domain of transportation, warehouse management, e-commerce delivery.

Founder and CEO Apurva Mankad said that the company started focusing on becoming a cloud-based SaaS (software as a service) player in 2019 before the pandemic started

“Logistics industry has done well in the pandemic. Goods movement has not been impacted even in the present situation with Omicron. We have added around 40 customers this year till now. In 2020, we added about 20. We did a turnover of Rs 7 crore as of March 31, 2021. By March 2023, we should be reaching Rs 18-20 crore turnover,” said Mankad.

“We started in an era where technology was very new for the logistics sector. We saw in 2017 that we have to convert to SaaS-based modern technology. We launched our products in 2019 and we had about a year to convince our customers to go to the new model. We used the pandemic period to onboard new customers and convert our existing customers,” he said.

On the growth drivers, Mankad said that the appetite for adoption of technology across the companies is on the rise and the pandemic has accelerated the process. The adoption of IoT, GPS, temperature and pressure sensors, and AI is expected to increasingly gain ground in the logistics sector.

“As the customers become more technology-driven, they are demanding whether we can track shipments in real-time. More and more, the data capture will happen nearer to the ground, which will require the deployment in technology, and IoT and sensors will play a big role. The way to capture this data is becoming cheaper and the network is becoming stronger. This will drive a lot of innovation. I foresee that with 5G coming in, RFID usage will also mature,” said Mankad.

The company has also initiated discussions with investors for funding to scale up the business.

“We are in well-advanced talks with investors and we hope to close a funding round in the next few months,” he said.

However, Mankad said that a key challenge for a technology service provider is talent crunch with all companies looking to upgrade themselves on the digital front. The logistics industry is also expected to undergo a change with the companies looking to lower their carbon footprint while at the same time protecting margins.