Today Gurugram based ShiftKarado is one of the forerunners in India’s packers and movers industry. Founded in 2015, the company has been at the forefront of adopting modern technology that is greatly helping in revolutionizing India’s highly unorganized packers and movers industry.
The company has been equally successful in maintaining culture of high professionalism and work ethics. Today these factors is helping this young company in clocking impressive growth rate and is very well poised to emerge as one of the most prominent players in packers & movers industry in coming years.
The company recently added yet another feather in its cap, after it became official relocation partner of India largest hospitality company OYO Rooms.
To know more about this and future plans of the company, Techpluto spoke with ShiftKarado’s co-founder Mr. Sahil Mithal. Below are the excerpts of this special interview.
Q) Can you please shed some light on your recent collaboration with OYO Rooms, which recently appointed ShiftKarado as its official relocation partner?
ShiftKarado, a leading tech-enabled relocating company recently collaborated with India’s largest hospitality company OYO to provide relocation facilities to its employees at PAN-India basis.
Backed up by a synergistic combination of business models & tech-enabled competencies, both companies will implement the partnership that promises substantial benefits to all stakeholders in the long run.
Q) Apart from OYO, who are ShiftKarado’s other corporate clients?
ShiftKarado’s other prominent corporate clients include: Dainik Bhaskar, Prop Tiger and CIANS and many more.
Q) What is ShiftKarado’s current outreach across the domestic market?
The current outreach of ShiftKarado stretches up to Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai in the southern zone. In the north, we cover Chandigarh, Mohali and the six cities of NCR, including Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. The western region reach is all over Pune-Mumbai region, including Navi Mumbai as well. We have recently included Jaipur and Kolkata as well in our portfolio. Our goal is to expand the spectrum of our services to Pan-India level.
Q) How ShiftKarado is leveraging the power of modern technology in order to help customers?
Our app and website is tech enabled. Unlike the traditional packers and movers, ShiftKarado leverages digital technology to reach people across the country and help them with their relocation moves. Customers can simply fill an online form on the website shiftkarado.com or mobile app sharing their requirements and other details to get a customized instant quote of opportune services and booking the shift saving a lot of time. Both the mobile app and website have a standard interface for trouble-free bookings and secure payments.
Besides, we are planning to integrate our app and mobile app with Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), which will keep the entire relocation process more transparent and instantaneous with ShiftKarado.
Q) As is very evident ShiftKarado’s business is primarily centered around office and house relocation. How do you see the re-location market shaping up in few years down the line?
We also shift personal and official vehicles as well. Re-location market is quite unorganized as a large number of local and domestic transporters are working independently with the average fleet size of 5 trucks. But digital technology is one of the major challenges that the re-location sector has to deal with.
Dynamic routing, quick delivery of packages, weather and climate change predictions, and precise traffic information and instructions to the drivers are a few things that the digital transformation of the Indian logistics sector can offer. Though many logistics companies are planning to invest at least 5-6% of their annual revenue in the blooming digital culture, those who do not adapt themselves until 2020 are vulnerable to business failure.
Versatile customer expectations, the burgeoning of relocation service providers and technological advances may disrupt the industry as innovative ways to outrank the competitors are likely to be brought up.
Q) Can you please share the current growth and revenue figures of ShiftKarado?
In terms of growth, we are growing 100% as last year we were present in Delhi and now have got our presence in other prominent cities as well like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. In north we cover Chandigarh, Mohali and NCR, including Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. The western region coverage is all over Pune-Mumbai region, including Navi Mumbai as well. We have recently included Jaipur and Kolkata as well in our portfolio. Our goal is to expand the spectrum of our services to Pan-India. We are growing at a steady growth rate of 20% (MoM).
Q) Any plans to focus on any niche markets like e-commerce logistics and other niche markets?
We are primarily a relocation partner for all types of office, household shifting whether it is e-commerce or any other industry.
Q) ShiftKarado as of today is a completely bootstrapped startup. Any plans to raise funds in coming months?
Right now, our current investment and logistics is enough to address the relocation needs at PAN-India basis. In future with growing demand and ever evolving market, we may get VC on board.
Q) Since today mover & packers industry is marked with intense competition, I would like to ask how ShiftKarado is different from other competitors.
It’s the technological aspects of our company along with our understanding of the international standards that primarily set us apart and give an edge over the competitors. Other than that, we also offer our clients, be it household or corporate, with the instant booking, instant quotation, urban mobility, security as well as transparency in our services.
Q) Any specific prediction about the packers and movers & the entire logistics industry as a whole. What key trends do you foresee in the future for the entire industry?
Indian logistics industry is quite unorganized as a large number of local and domestic transporters are working independently with the average fleet size of 5 trucks. It owns a big share of total road transportation revenues in India which makes it one of the dominant industries in India. But digital technology is one of the major challenges that the transportation and logistics sector has to deal with.
In this dynamic world, relocating homes and offices from one place to another is something everyone has to undertake at some point in their lives. And, like any other field, the new-age businesses operating in the relocation industry are also leveraging the digital advantage to raise the competitive bar and transform the customer experience with an intention of complete disruption.