Collection and Distribution are the two main aspects of trade and commerce. Especially these days when e-commerce is booming, logistics has gained renewed importance. As per a KPMG report, the e-commerce retail logistics market was valued at USD 1.35 billion in 2018 and is expected to grow by 36% by 2023. To tap this growing demand, four ex-Blue Dart employees started up Ecom Express in 2012. Today Ecom Express offers nationwide express delivery services to the e-commerce industry. Let's explore more about the journey and accomplishments of this startup that has established itself as one of the best delivery services in the country. Here's more about the Ecom Express Company, Ecomexpress Tracking, Ecom Express Pvt. Ltd. Founders, Startup Story, Logo and Tagline, Vision and Mission, Growth, Competitors, Business Model, Revenue Model, Funding and Investors, and more.
Ecom Express – Company Highlights
| Company Name | Ecom Express |
|---|---|
| Headquarter | Gurugram |
| Founders | T.A.Krishnan, K.Satyanarayana, Manju Dhawan & Late Sanjeev Saxena |
| Sector | Logistics |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Total Funding | $485.4 mn (2021) |
| Revenue | $167.48 mn (Rs 1,254 crore in FY20) |
| Valuation | $760 mn (August 2022) |
| Parent Organization | Ecom Express Limited |
| Website | ecomexpress.in |
Ecom Express—About
Ecom Express—Industry
Ecom Express—Startup Story
Ecom Express—USPs
Ecom Express—Founders and Team
Ecom Express—Mission and Vision
Ecom Express—Name, Tagline and Logo
Ecom Express—Business Model and Revenue Model
Ecom Express—Funding and Investors
Ecom Express—IPO
Ecom Express - ESOPs
Ecom Express—Investments
Ecom Express—Awards
Ecom Express—Competitors
Ecom Express—Growth and Revenue
Ecom Express—Challenges
Ecom Express—Future Plans
Ecom Express—About
Ecom Express is a leading logistics service provider in the country, which was started in the year 2012. The company offers a variety of facilities such as express services, digital services, and fulfillment services.
The Express services include ‘Ecom Express Service’ and ‘Ecom Ground Service’. Ecom Express Service renders pick-up (from sellers or warehouses) and delivery of products (to end customers) that are ordered online. While Ecom Ground Service is specifically designed for transporting huge and bulky products, they use inbuilt automated systems for tracking end-to-end orders. Under the Express service, Ecom Express also ensures QC (quality check) enabled reverse logistics facilities, whereby trained Ecom Express executives perform quality check of the products being returned by the end customers and deliver it safely to the sellers or to the warehouse from where the product was dispatched.
Ecom Digital Services offers e-KYC-Aadhar based biometric verification and industry-specific cash, cheque, and document collection and Contact Point Verification (CPV) services
Under Ecom fulfillment services, Ecom Express offers warehousing and order management services. As for warehousing, the clients can choose the location of the warehouse and the space required as per one's requirements.
Lakshya Singh
Ecom Express—Industry
The Indian logistics sector has last been valued at $160 bn, when reported in August 2021, and has over 22 million employees. The industry was estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10% to $215 billion by 2022. Ecom Express has grown to be one of the major players in this industry.
Ecom Express—Startup Story
Ecom Express was set up by four ex-Blue Dart employees, who collectively had an experience of more than 25 years in the logistics sector. It was way back in 2012 when the markets weren’t as good as they are now and the e-commerce business was just gearing up for next-level growth. Furthermore, the logistics service wasn't also as good as it appears today. As per the startup story of Ecom Express, 4 Blue Dart Express business professionals - Sanjeev Saxena, Manju Dhawan, K. Satyanarayana, and T.A. Krishnan sat for dinner and when they left the table, they were full of the idea of their new logistics startup, which would eventually be named Ecom Express. The experience that the Blue Dart Express employees bore, helped them gear forth with the idea that the B2C segment of the market would need their help, which is why they proceeded with a B2B business. The Ecom Express company was incorporated in August 2012 and its business operations started from January 2013 onwards.
Ecom Express—USPs
Ecom Express stands ahead of other logistics services with its distinctive qualities. It serves in more than 2400 towns and cities in India, with a secured and reliable shipment of products with GPS-enabled vehicles. With its fleet network operating in 150 long-haul runs and 480 short-haul runs, it covers almost 80% of the total orders via its own network. Ecom Express' order fulfillment services use cutting-edge technology to ensure controlled movements of orders and ensure point-to-point validation, thus making it a transparent process. Besides, through features like efficient route optimization, real-time electronic proof of delivery, cash-on-delivery collection, and real-time order tracking facilities, Ecom Express provides a seamless experience to both the end customers and the consignees.
Chayanika Goswami
Ecom Express—Founders and Team
When Ecom Express was started in 2012, the e-commerce sector was not as popular as today. However with the years of experience they have, the Ecom Express founders could gauge the growth that the logistics sector will see with the e-commerce revolution, and it is this vision that inspired them to start up.
Ecom Express was founded by T.A Krishnan, K. Satyanarayana, Manju Dhawan, and Late Sanjeev Saxena.
T.A Krishnan
Mr. T.A Krishnan has an MBA and has worked as the VP North and Senior Vice President North and All India Head of Ecommerce Vehicle at Blue Dart Express, after which he left the company to found Ecom Express, where he is currently known as the Co-founder and CEO. He previously served the role of the Chief Operating Officer with Ecom Express. Krishnan had over 28 years of experience when he founded Ecom Express, making his current professional experience to over 37 years.
K. Satyanarayana
Mr. K Satyanarayana is an acknowledged leader in the Indian Express and logistics industry with more than 26 years of experience in delivery services. Satyanarayana worked as a Regional Controller of the North Division with Blue Dart Express and had been with the company for 26 long years after which he quit his job and co-founded Ecom Express. Satyanarayana is currently serving as a Co-founder and Director at Ecom Express.
Manju Dhawan
With her innovative perceptions of the market trends and client-centric strategies along with 25 years of practice, Manju Dhawan leads the company with functional excellence. Manju had over 24 years of experience with Blue Dart, where she had served as the Head of Customer Care after which she decided to co-found Ecom Express where she currently is the Co-founder and the Head of Customer Care.
Late Sanjeev Saxena
Sanjeev Saxena was another Co-founder of Ecom Express and was known for his entrepreneurial insight and visionary approach. Saxena died in 2020 and has been remembered for the strategic and operational direction that he has brought into the company, which resulted in the overall growth of Ecomm Express.
The company has a team of directors and executive management with more than 19000 employees.
Ecom Express—Mission and Vision
The company aims to make ecommerce shipping easy. "Providing end-to-end technology-enabled logistics solutions to small and large e-commerce players" is the mission and vision of the company.
Ecom Express—Name, Tagline and Logo
"We Offer Possibilities In Every Direction" - goes the tagline of Ecom Express. "We Make E-commerce Shipping Easy" says the company on its website, where we can see another tagline, which is "Simple Solutions. High Impact."
The name ‘Ecom Express’ portrays the collection and distribution services offered by the company in the e-commerce industry.
Ecom Express—Business Model and Revenue Model
Ecom Express operates in a B2B business model and offers its services to e-commerce companies. With its digital services, Ecom Express also provides services to companies from Banking, Insurance, and Financial sectors. Ecom Express's clientele includes market leaders such as Amazon, Flipkart, Clovia, Myntra, Paytm, Nykaa, and more.
Ecom Express gains a major portion of its revenues from the deliveries it makes and its related commissions.
Shubham Kumar
Ecom Express—Funding and Investors
Ecom Express has mopped up a total of $485.4 million in funding over the 6 funding rounds it has witnessed, which includes its latest funding of $20 million that came from the CDC group in March 2021. The Warburg Pincus-backed firm was last valued at $760 mn in August 2022.
Ecom Express is likely to have funding coming in from Amazon, which is looking to buy a majority stake in the logistics and delivery company to own it. Unlike its rival Flipkart, Amazon lacks an in-house logistics and delivery provider, which is why the ecommerce giant wants to pick up a majority stake in the company. This will reportedly help Warburg Pincus exit the captable. The talks are currently in the early stages when reported on August 9, 2022.
Here's a look at the Amazon funding rounds to date:
| Date | Stage | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 9, 2021 | Venture Round | $20 mn | CDC Group |
| December 16, 2020 | Private Equity Round | $250 mn | Partners Group |
| December 10, 2019 | Venture Round | $36 million | CDC Group |
| September 11, 2017 | Private Equity Round | $25.38 mn | Warburg Pincus |
| June 4, 2015 | Private Equity Round | $113.56 mn | Warburg Pincus |
| September 9, 2014 | Venture Round | $13.36 mn | Peepul Capital |
Ecom Express—IPO
Ecom Express is currently looking for an IPO worth around Rs 4,860 crore ($648 mn), which would have a public issue of shares, as approved by the Board of the New Delhi-based logistics firm. This IPO would contain a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,160 crore and an offer for sale of Rs 2,700 crore from the existing investors of the company, as of February 2, 2022. The company has recently been changed into a public entity. This inches Ecom Express closer to filing its DRHP with the market regulator SEBI, thereby making it the second logistics and delivery company that would file the draft red herring prospectus from the delivery segment.
TA Krishnan, Kotla Satyanarayanan, and Manju Dhawan, the founders of the company have invested Rs 3.63 crore each to increase their stakes in the company, as per a separate filing of the company.
Ecom Express - ESOPs
Ecom Express has adopted a new employee stock option scheme, ECOM ESOP SCHEME 2022. This ESOP scheme of the company consolidates the old ESOP plan from 2017 into the new pool, as per the separate regulatory filings of the company.
This new ESOP plan contains 126,000 stock options, each convertible to one equity share. The Ecom Express ESOP plan is estimated to be worth somewhere around Rs 115 crore.
Ecom Express—Investments
Ecom Express has currently invested on two occasions in the Bangladesh-based logistics firm Paperfly. While the former investment was in January 2021, the latter one was announced on April 19, 2022, when it invested Rs 34.3 crore in the company, marking the second investment.
| Name of the Company | Investment Date | Investment Amount | Lead Investor | Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paperfly | April 19, 2022 | $4.48 mn | Yes | - |
| Paperfly | January 13, 2021 | $11.8 mn | Yes | Corporate Round |
Ecom Express—Awards
2017
- Excellent Position Under E-commerce Logistics – CII Scale Awards
- Best E-commerce Logistics Partner – ISCM LSP Awards
- Most Disruptive Startup Logistics Idea, Supply Chain Disruptor of the year – The 11th Express Logistics and Supply Chain Leadership Awards
- BW Disruptors Awards
- SCM and Logistics – Entrepreneur India Awards
- Best Cloud Implementation – BW CIO Imperatives
- Women Supply Chain Icon of the year – The Global Logistics Excellence Awards
- The Enterprise IT World Awards
- Transport and Logistics Icon – 3rd Edition of the CIO Power List
- Appreciation for Expert Panel Evaluation – BML Munjal Awards
- Innovative CIOS Awards
2018
- Exemplary Women Leadership Award – The 12thExpress Logistics and Supply Chain Leadership Awards.
- Ecommerce Logistics - CII Scale Awards
- Fastest Setting up of Delivery centers in India by a logistics company – LIMCA Book of Records.
- SCM and Logistics - Entrepreneur India Awards
- Last Mile Partner of the year, Supply Chain CIO of the year- The Global Logistics Excellence Awards
2019
- Strategic Finance Transformation Icon – CFO Power List
- CIO 500 Award
- Fastest Growing Logistics Company of the year – Indian Oil Logistics Excellence Awards
Rishabh Rathi
Ecom Express—Competitors
The top competitors of Ecom Express are:
- Ekart Logistics
- Delhivery
- Xpressbees
- Shadowfax
Ecom Express—Growth and Revenue
Ecom Express started its operations in 35 cities with 42 delivery centers with around 300 employees. The company eventually saw its expansion to Kashmir because of the traction it achieved by July 2013, and gradually it again saw quite a customer demand in Mumbai, Delhi, and Surat and rapidly extended its operations primarily to these cities and then to the others. Now, it has 36000+ employees, 2500 delivery branches in 2400 different cities with 8,00,000 shipments/day.
Starting in 2012, Ecom Express has certainly achieved numerous milestones in growth. Some of the major growth highlights of the brand are:
- Ecom Express currently extends its logistics services to over 2650 towns
- The company is presently servicing 27,000+ pin codes
- Ecom Express boasts of employing over 36000+ people
- The Krishnan-led company has over 2930 facility centers
The company’s annual revenue is estimated to be $167.48 million in FY20. Ecom Express' revenue increased from INR 579 Cr in the fiscal year 2017-2018 to INR 1018 Cr in 2018-2019, which is a 76% increase. The net loss had also reduced from INR 526 Cr to INR 129 Cr during the same period, thus 2018-2019 is a virtuous year of revenue accomplishment for Ecom Express.
Ecom Express—Challenges
One of the main challenges that Ecom Express faced since it was founded is of raising funds. The problem was later solved with Mohit from Oliphans, who pumped in the money, which was then followed by the founders, who also contributed to the overall funding of the company from their personal funds. Ecom Express finally managed to raise funds from its Series A funding round, when Peepul Capital led a funding round worth Rs 100 crore. The other challenges of Ecom Express include managing a healthy network of delivery partners and clients, monitoring its overall performance, and lifting it up!
Ecom Express—Future Plans
Ecom Express plans to hire around 15,000 employees in the next two years. With its presence not limited to just big cities and towns, but to many tier II, III, and IV cities and also hinterlands, Ecom Express aims to be the best benefactor and solutions provider for logistics services in the e-commerce industry. With collective values of Integrity, Commitment, Openness, Respect, and Passion, the Ecom Express' mission is to be paramount in the industry.
Ecom Express has already converted into a public entity in January when the board has approved a fundraise of about $648 million (Rs 4,860 crore) via a public issue of shares.
Rishabh Rathi
Conclusion
The leading logistics solutions provider that provides end-to-end with a focus on speed, safe, and reliable nationwide express delivery services to the e-commerce industry. Ecom Express has been operational since its inception and the company has not made IPO claims till now. The company is fully functional without any obstacles and is leading the delivery market with flying colors. The company is planning to upscale its business by opening new branches in new towns and cities.
FAQs
How long does ECOM Express take to deliver?
Ecom Express offers timely cash-on-delivery (COD) remittances and guaranteed last-mile delivery of the orders in India within 24 to 72 hours, all around the year, including Sundays/Holidays.
How do I track my ECOM parcel?
You can simply open Ecom Express official site and paste your Ecom Express airway bill number or the Ecom Express tracking order number and click on “TRACK MY ORDER”. Then, you can enter the Ecom Express tracking number and click “track” on top of this page to track your order and Ecom Express delivery, shipping, and shipway.
How does ECOM Express work?
Ecom Express uses its cutting-edge technology and automation solutions to enable first-mile pickup, processing, network optimization, and last-mile delivery. Ecom Express has its presence in all 29 states of the country and operates in over 2400 towns across 25,000+ PIN codes in India.
Who is the owner of Ecom Express?
The Ecom service is owned or founded by T.A. Krishnan, K. Satyanarayana, Manju Dhawan, and Late Sanjeev Saxena.
T.A. Krishnan is the CEO of Ecom Express Private Limited. He is a recognized leader in the Indian express and logistics industry.
How do I return an item to ECOM Express?
You can follow these easy steps if you want to return an item to Ecom Express:
- Go to the 'Orders' tab in the left menu.
- Now, click on 'All Orders'
- For all shipments that have been marked as 'Delivered', you will automatically find a 'Create Return' option.
- Click on 'Create Return'
- A new page with prefilled details about your order will open.
How do I complain to ECOM Express?
Ecom Express customer support has been notified about the posted complaint. Request you to kindly provide the 9 or 10-digit AWB / tracking number for us to assist you on the same.
