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Retail start-up Maxwholesale, which helps retailers manage their inventory efficiently, is seeing increased adoption from kirana stores as data become cheaper and more accessible.
Maxwholesale is a B2B platform that helps small-scale retailers such as kirana stores improve their inventory and supply chain management through its android app. The app aggregates products such as dry groceries and FMCG products.
The retailer can order in small or bulk quantities via the app, which the MaxWholesale team will deliver. The company partners with FMCG companies and rice mills for the same.
Tie-ups with companies
Samarth Agrawal, Founder and CEO, said, “The number of takers for the product is significant and we already have close to 4,000 retailers on the platform.”
Since the launch in May 2016, it has tied up with 120 companies including Patanjali and Hindustan Unilever that offer close to 4,600 products.
According to Agrawal, smaller retailers are now more inclined than before to adopt technology as data and smartphones are cheaper and more accessible even in smaller towns. Familiarity with technology and the company’s focus on supply chain management are driving the growth for the company.
“Most of the start-ups you find in this space help kirana stores find more consumers. But the challenge for them is not customer acquisition but catering to the customers,” Agrawal said.
For kirana stores, inventory management is not efficient as they either overor under-stock items.
“We also cater to chemists, who sell baby products and doctor recommended skin-care products,” Agrawal said.
Investment
So far, an investment of $1 million has gone into the start-up. With the demand growing, the company is looking to expand its warehouse facility and technology.
The company already owns a 15,000 sq ft warehouse and is now looking at a larger, 1 lakh sq ft, facility.
It is also expanding its delivery network from 25 vehicles to 200 in the next one year.
The start-up will also invest in developing advanced technology to improve the app efficiency and warehouse management.
The services are now available only in Delhi. “We want to strengthen our customer base here before we expand,” Agrawal said.
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