Separator

Unanu: Leveraging on Technology and Innovation to Disrupt the Indian Logistic Marketplace

Separator
Srini Sundar,CEOThe global logistics market reached a value of US$ 4.92 Trillion in 2021. According to IMARC Group, the market is expected to reach US$ 6.55 Trillion by 2027, exhibiting at a CAGR of 4.7 percent during 2022-2027. The factors fueling the market are the growing e-commerce industry coupled with the rise in reverse logistics operations and trade related agreements. In addition, the rise of techdriven logistics services and the growing adoption of IoT-enabled connected devices are also expected to drive market growth. Established in 2020 in Chennai, WIZ offers a one-stop solution for all inbound and outbound logistics needs globally. The firm has crossed all hurdles of time and seasoned itself according to the changing needs of the logistics ecosystem.

WIZ is a digital player in emerging markets that works directly between carriers and customers, leveraging a full-stack execution model that provides visibility and cost reduction to all stakeholders. The firm allows emerging market exporters and importers to book and manage cross-border shipments on its tech platform with e-commerce-like convenience. Looking at the end-to-end supply chain, multiple stakeholders are involved with each having a standardized process, with different levels of documentation that need to be filled out at each stage of cargo movement. The process is time consuming and tedious due to the substantial requirement for documentation and follow up. Implementing digital solutions has the potential to reduce errors and time consumed while reducing costs and improving customer experience with shipping visibility. WIZ's AI-powered platform saves
shippers numerous hours by offering rapid capacity discovery, dynamic pricing, optimized routing, door-to-door tracking, and automated document processes.

WIZ was founded by two serial entrepreneurs, Ramkumar Govindarajan (Co-Founder & CEO) and Ramkumar Ramachandran (Co-Founder & Chairman). Govindarajan is a tech wizard, with a keen interest in technology and deciphers technological solutions to help increase efficiency and effectiveness by reducing manual work and time consumption. As a logistics professional with over 30 years of experience, Ramachandran understands the drawbacks, the gaps in the process, and the issues customers face and incorporates technology to eliminate these issues and bridge the gaps for a better customer experience while optimizing the process.

WIZ provides its customers with a lean and cost-effective hightech solution that enables them to manage their supply chains more efficiently by leveraging its state of the art platform


WIZ offers a range of services ideal for exporters and importers looking for supply chain and logistics solutions. These services include air and ocean freight bulk break, customs clearance, project logistics, transport, cargo insurance, and trade advisory. WIZ's expertise and disruptive technology helps its customers to automate manual workflows, achieve higher visibility, generate savings, and book shipments with competitive pricing while tracking their shipments with realtime status updates.

In spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic at the time of its inception and limitations posed capacity constraints on both airlines and shipping lines, WIZ has grown from a small enterprise with a team of over 850 people at over 25 locations across India, expanding into Asia, the US, and the Middle East. The firm is also planning its expansion with new offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Vietnam, and a few other key markets. The company raised USD 36 million in Series A funding in mix of equity and debt in March 2022, the funding round was led by Tiger Global, with the participation of Axilor Ventures, Fundamental, Arali Ventures, Alteria Capital, and Stride Ventures. Earlier in August 2021, Axilor Ventures had led a $3.5 million seed round.

WIZ has received an overwhelming response and is already providing logistics services to over 2500+ customers. In addition, WIZ has opened a 20,000 sq ft Tech and R& D Center in Chennai, which can accommodate up to 200 personnel, with ambitions to open similar facilities in Bangalore and Singapore to further develop its AI/ML, blockchain, and IoT capabilities in order to provide intelligent and connected cross-border shipping to its customers.