Tracking assets in real time

Managing a business efficiently is an arduous task, especially when assets and resources remain out of sight most of the time.

With GPS tracking and well-integrated software, the job can be optimised and made simpler. And that is what Delhi-based start-up Roadcast has set out to do.

Roadcast is a GPS-based real-time asset tracking, management and monitoring platform that allows businesses, which deal in logistics, transport and home delivery services, to track shipments/vehicles in real-time and tabulates data such as distance, time and routes.

It also caters to people through an app that makes travelling in groups convenient. “Travelling in large groups is never easy and coordination to stay together is difficult. One question that we encounter often is ‘ kahan pahuche (where have you reached)’. This question is asked every day — an employer asks the employee, a woman asks the husband, and friends ask each other. Roadcast helps people stay connected while travelling,” said co-founder Rahul Mehra.

The start-up recently closed a $250,000 Angel round of funding. The company looks to invest in expanding its operations across major cities, with a focus on states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

Founded in 2015 by Mehra, Anshul Jain and Vishal Jain, the company says it is on the cusp of getting profitable. Roadcast follows a subscription-based revenue model.

In the financial year 201718, the company earned a revenue of about ~11 million. It expects the revenue to grow 20 times to ~220 million in FY20.

Mehra claimed Roadcast’s software is more advanced and integrated than other GPS tracking platforms. It integrates workforce tracking, and vehicle tracking and management tools into one software, allowing businesses a complete end-toend supply chain management through one software.

Roadcast sees a huge potential in India’s fast-growing logistics industry, which moved to the 35th place in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index in 2016 from the 54th spot in 2014.

The company will face stiff competition from other major players in GPS and Internet of Things (IoT)-based logistics management platforms.

According to Mehra, “The key is not in developing and selling a technology, but retaining customers by providing an efficient service. As we scale up, we see a challenge in retaining existing and older business engagements.”