Rivigo shifts focus from freight marketplace to Relay-as-a-Service

October 18, 2019: Logistics-tech unicorn, Rivigo, has today announced a shift in their focus of business from freight marketplace to Relay-as-a-Service (RaaS). The shift to the relay trucking model that they have launched in August 2019 is explained as to directly address the inefficiencies in trucking and solve the challenges faced by small fleet owners while providing better customer service.

The company has added Rs. 300 crore to its topline registering a 45% annual growth last year, a more than four-fold rate compared to the growth for the entire logistics sector. It is all set to become one of the first unicorns to turn profitable, expecting to become cash breakeven in the current fiscal itself. Focused on profitable growth since the beginning of the year, the company has shifted focus away from building a freight marketplace, says the release.

Commenting on the shift in focus, Gazal Kalra, co-founder, Rivigo, said, “We believe it is important to build a freight marketplace with real value for customers and fleet owners. Through Relay-as-a-Service we directly address the inefficiencies in trucking, solve for the challenges faced by small fleet owners while providing better customer service. It is a necessary step towards becoming a profitable company that looks at a business model that not only adds to the topline but bottomline and elevates the quality of service to an industry benchmark.”

The recently piloted RaaS offers Rivigo’s technology, access to relay pilots and a countrywide network of relay pit-stops to fleet owners. It also makes its patented fuel solution and maintenance and cashless payment solutions available to fleet owners.

“In a country like India, where the quality of infrastructure and asset is a challenge, end-to-end controls fueled by deeper technology will give customers a better experience and create disruption for the industry in the long run. Hence our focus on strengthening the relay trucking technology and offering it as a service for fleet owners” added Kalra.

Started in 2014 by McKinsey alumnus Deepak Garg and Gazal Kalra, Rivigo has so far raised multiple rounds of funding to strengthen its technology and network coverage and build its patented relay-trucking network, which has been a game-changer for the logistics market in India. The company turned operating EBITDA profitable in March 2019.