Exclusive Interaction with Sumit Sharma, Co-Founder at GoBOLT

Exclusive Interaction with Sumit Sharma, Co-Founder at GoBOLT

Big data has altered the way businesses think about data and how they keep it. It enables accurate data manipulation on enormous amounts of data, and it has been estimated that 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated every day. In the year 2021, the big data market in the United States is expected to be worth US$50.1 billion and in 2022, it is anticipated to reach US$274 billion. By 2027, the software category will have a 45% market share, making it the largest big data market segment. Here’s an exclusive interview with Sumit Sharma, GoBOLT’s Co-Founder, who discussed how big data, AI, and machine learning are being utilized to optimize logistics and supply chains for GoBOLT’s clients.

 

Kindly brief us about the company. It’s specialization and the service that your company offers.
Camions Logistics Solutions Private Limited (GoBOLT) is a one of its kind tech-enabled venture working with an express distribution model in the logistics market.

Incepted in 2015, the brand offers express new-age end-to-end logistics services along with SaaS-based solutions. The firm offers an array of services ranging from express line haul, planning and order management, tracking, and route dynamics, to warehouse and partner management along. Driven by the capital-efficient asset-hybrid ownership model, GoBOLT is known for its extensive networking, proprietary technology stack, and strong execution capability.

The firm’s forte lies in its express delivery services along with leveraging the potential of advanced technologies to provide high-end integrated services to its customers. Being one of the tech-savvy, flexible, and agile start-ups in the Indian logistics domain; it works with the ‘customer-first approach. Via its extensive delivery network outreach, it ensures the provision of customized supply chain solutions to its enormous customer base. Presently, it offers line haul distribution services to the E-commerce and non-E-commerce players across FMCG and FMCD sectors.

This tech-enabled logistics player works with the sole aim to streamline the supply chain model and upscale the Indian logistics industry on the whole. Headquartered in Gurugram, GoBOLT is the brainchild of Parag Aggarwal, Sumit Sharma, and Naitik Baghla. They conceptualized the venture with the vision to transform the Indian logistics market with the ‘express’ attribute via their innovative tech solutions.

 

With what mission and object are the company was set up? In short, tell us about your journey since the inception of the company.
GoBOLT aims at becoming one of the leading express end-to-end logistics solutions providers and wishes to gain popularity for bringing about innovations as well as upscaling the Indian logistics sector on the whole. It also desires to earn the recognition of being one of the most valued and trusted names in the market in the times to come.  The company was formed with the mission to convert the Indian logistics and supply chain market into an express supply chain market. Our journey for the past six years has been quite exciting. We have developed a very strong express business that focuses on e-commerce and the express industry. We have also initiated our technology initiatives for the non-e-commerce sector where we provide digitization and data analytics and AI/ML solutions to industries like FMCG, White codes, industrials nicer.

We have collaborated with a lot of good ventures and have been able to do a lot of exciting work in technology development along with the onboarding of strong investors to fulfill our vision and mission.

 

Mention some of the awards, achievements, recognitions, and client feedback that you feel are notable and valuable for the company.
The company has been recognized from time to time in terms of its achievements. GoBOLT has emerged as one of the fastest-growing start-ups in India, having secured the second position in the Economic Times 2020 Growth Champions rankings.

GoBOLT has won prestigious awards for

1) Digital Transformation in Supply Chain and Logistics; and

2) Technology Innovator of the Year, at the 4th Asian Supply Chain Thought Leadership Summit and Awards 2018 (www.asctls.com).

GoBOLT was also awarded as the Gold Winner for its innovation in technology and the Indian logistics sector at the third edition of “Super Start-ups Asia 2019”.

 

So, tell us how your company is contributing to the IoT and artificial intelligence, big data, and big data analyst, robotic self-driving vehicles, cloud computing industry of the nation, and how the company is benefiting the clients.
We are using big data and AI/ ML in terms of optimizing the logistics and supply chain for our customers, where any kind of manual operations is converted into a digital footprint. Some of the processes are automated where when the data is generated, with the help of a self-learning engine, we work upon the data and provide efficiencies to the system which can be self-sustaining and self-improving. Big data and AI help in smart vendor management, smart procurement, smart contracting, and track and trace, which is enabling our customers to track any kind of movements pan India, from payment automation to recalculations and the performance dashboards, where people are able to view all the performances of their different LSPs or logistic services provider.

 

When we talk about artificial intelligence, it is projected to be the next market. How is AI contributing to the making of your product and services?
AI is the backbone of any kind of enterprise tech solution that is out there in the market. We are in the enterprise as the B2B, where we provide acknowledged distributions to business houses. With the help of AI, the systems become self-sustaining, where when you code a particular command into the system, they start working as per what constraints and what flows you have built-in. We use data to draw patterns to which we can make informed decisions. AI systems can help us understand things much better about the operations than generalities. As AI is revolutionizing the market, it is projected to be the next market itself. AI is being used in empty aspects of businesses. At GoBOLT, most of our products and services are based on high technology.

 

How is machine learning shaping the IT, big data, and robotic industry today? How is it changing the role of CIOs and leaders?
Machine learning is when a system is on data and it starts behaving in an independent manner. For example, earlier people with decades of experience used to make decisions based upon what their experiences are in terms of how they have seen things happen. Now everything is data-backed. Human decision-making is always important but now it is augmented by the data power of the engines. Machine learning and AI are shaping everything. In terms of logistics and warehousing, robotics is primarily used in warehouse management. Today, there are smart robots that are doing a mundane job that initially used to take a lot of manpower and a lot of inefficiencies were dropping in. But with the help of AI, we are able to smoothen the process and able to resolve any kind of problem. If we talk about big data, it basically optimizes us and helps in resolving any kind of problem.

Today you need an optimization of the process in terms of how you interact with your vendors, how you procure from the market, how you make smart contracts, how you manage the different movements, how you solve the problems of efficient roots, efficient truck types, and other efficiency-related issues. Machine learning has augmented a lot of optimizers and optimizations modules for the industry. And the role of the CIO and leaders has changed from being more operational to being more technology-enabled. In every industry, if you talk about any industry, they are now spending a lot in terms of developing cutting-edge technologies. Especially after Covid, when people understand that any kind of destruction can have a very fatal effect on the company’s growth and on the supply chain. They need to have very strong agility and nimbleness, and a strong technology angle, so that any kind of disruptions can be taken care of. And the CIOs are now working very hard towards spending time and resources in developing such a technology to help the company leaders, the CEOs, the CXOs to run the company efficiently.

 

How has been your journey in the analytic industry and what are some of the analytic solutions that you have worked on?
All these are very connected technologies because all are dependent upon the basic premise being that data is gathered all across. The first stage of digital transformation is converting any operational process into a technology equivalent. When that is done, you start generating and understanding data.  And from there, any kind of analytics can be drawn as simple as if you talk about logistics, you get data on what kind of different routes your vehicle takes or diligent from A to B, what is the most efficient type of good, what is the most efficient dispatch time, which hour of the day the trucks are dispatched, given all the constraints outside, for example, state border restrictions, traffic conditions, etc., what is the ideal dispatch timing for the vehicle. So, a lot of data is being generated, a lot of AI, /ML technologies are running and crunching data and enabling the process owners to make it very informed and better decisions. There is a very strong need for data analytics, data scientists all across the industries. And we have also seen that the solutions that we just mentioned are basically overall in the entire market and benefiting our customers a lot in saving cost for them and also in improving their operations.

 

What are some of the challenges that you face in the industry today?
The biggest challenge in the industry, since logistics and supply chain is a very fragmented industry, technology could not be taken up earlier in comparison to other industries. This industry is the backbone of our economy and as the sector grows, and it can now no longer survive without technology intervention. But the biggest challenge was that now the industry participants be it on the customer side, bet on the vendor side, are not very used to team technology as an enabler. So, a lot of unlearning and relearning is being done in technology and is being inserted into the sector. And the adoption of technology has seemed to be very challenging. People need to understand that adopting these technologies is not a threat to their sustainability, but as an augmented technology.

Slowly and gradually. the industry is now overcoming the thought process change that we have to embrace the technology which we have to use very fast. Not just the newest industry type, like e-commerce, but the traditional industry type also.  in the tradition, if you talk about industrial heavy Motors, the liquor sector, iron, and steel sector, all these traditional sectors are now embracing technological advancements. The boom of the E-commerce sector in India has been the torchbearer for the adoption of agile and technology-enabled supply chain models, where even the traditional industries have opened doors for this wave of change. Digital transformation will play a pivotal role in improving the overall customer experience and will indeed revolutionize the entire supply chain and logistics sector in the future.

 

What are your growth plans for the next twelve months?
GoBOLT’s vision is to expand its pan India presence and spread its footprints into the wares across sectors by streamlining its supply chain models and boosting its growth in the market housing and short-haul logistics processes in the times ahead. We also wish to help businesses. We are restively expanding our footprint across India. We are spending a lot on technology. We are improving our product and services, adding new dimensions around here, covering more parts of the supply team. For example, right now we focus a lot on transportation and distribution. Technology means now we will be covering more parts of that. In expanding our team, etcetera and doing our revenues. Also, we have a plan to double our revenues in the next twelve months. So, a lot of activities are happening in the twelve months in terms of industries.

As we talk about markets, the global logistics automation market is expected to grow from US$48.4 billion in 2020 to US$88.9 billion by the end of 2026 at a CAGR of 10.6%. It also states that the APAC is one of the leading markets with India being the emerging market that would exhibit significant growth. The study further highlights that the digital revolution in the logistics segment, robust expansion of transportation, emergence of IoT, surge in the e-commerce industry coupled with the rising number of logistics and warehousing companies is pushing the demand for automated solutions. This statistic depicts that automation of the logistics sector will pick up pace in the times ahead and will become an integral part of the supply chain model, especially in the transportation market.

Also, we are trying to reach other, many other industry types. We are a prominent player in the e-commerce and express industry, but we are also trying to reach into other industry types like auto, ancillaries, pharmaceutical, retail, etc.