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How Zypp is different from others in tech-enabled last-mile delivery?

In India, last-mile delivery is big business. By 2025, India will have 6.1 million delivery executives making last-mile deliveries. However, internal combustion engine vehicles are used for the majority of last-mile deliveries. However, electric mobility is making significant inroads in the industry. Zypp Electric, for example, is on a mission to make all last-mile deliveries electric. The startup, headquartered in Gurugram, was founded in 2017 by husband and wife team Akash Gupta and Rashi Agarwal.

Early days of Zypp

Akash graduated from the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad and has previously worked for Airtel, Snapdeal, and MobiKwik. Rashi earned her MBA from IIPM in 2007 and has worked for companies such as ICICI Bank and S&PCapitalQ.

The company started out as an electric rental mobility company for commuters. The founders discovered that half of all commutes in India are less than 5 kilometres long. In 2019, the founders noticed that last-mile delivery was rapidly growing at a rate of 30 percent year on year, particularly in the ecommerce and e-grocery segments.

While several startups, including Bounce, Vogo Automotive, Yulu, and Rapido Bike Taxi, are solving last-mile mobility, the founders of Zypp saw a similar rush of opportunity with B2B companies looking to go electric to meet India’s sustainability demands.

Solutions for the delivery issue

All Zypp electric vehicles are equipped with IoT technology, which allows the vehicles and delivery executives to be tracked in real time. The technology monitors batteries that can be replaced at Zypp swapping stations located at key touch-points. In order to maximise efficiency, the startup also monitors vehicle utilisation. In short, the founders believe that “moving vehicles make money, while stationary vehicles do not.”

Businesses interested in Zypp Hyperlocal service can also list their stores on the Zypp Merchant Panel to gain more business from Zypp dedicated riders who handle all of their deliveries. “Orders are delivered to customers’ doorsteps using Zypp delivery. Zypp offers free marketing promotions with attractive offers to B2B businesses to increase traction and boost sales,” says Akash.

Having your own delivery people can add up in terms of costs, such as taking care of the bikes, the rider, the fuel expense, and their absenteeism. Zypp provides businesses with an electric fleet, trained riders, customised pricing with technology, and API integration.

The startup faced numerous challenges, including partnering with the right OEMs, acquiring the right batteries, establishing necessary swapping stations for the infrastructure layer, and leasing EVs. Zypp addresses growth in the “home delivery” market, which includes hyperlocal offline stores. To accomplish this, Zypp onboards their own riders, employs technology (AI, IoT, computer vision), and cross-utilizes it throughout the day.

Features of Zypp Electric 

ZYPP operates on a business-to-business last-mile delivery model. It has delivery partnerships with a variety of ecommerce, e-grocery, and hyperlocal businesses. Zomato was their first commercial client, and they began by assisting all of their delivery executives who wanted to go electric.

“After a few months, big clients like Amazon and Bigbasket came forward and wanted to embrace EVs as well. This presented a new challenge because they required not only the vehicle but also the delivery executive. That’s when we began onboarding our trained pilots, and today we have over 300 B2B customers working with Zypp, including the largest ecommerce, food delivery, e-grocery, bike taxi, and offline chains, as well as hundreds of dark-stores, with over 1,000 Zypp pilots delivering good and services.” Says Akash 

Amazon, Big Basket, Grofers, Spencer’s, Rapido, Flipkart, Myntra, Modern Bazaar, Easyday, and many more are among Zypp’s notable clients, as are over 300 small local stores and businesses.

Zypp effectiveness towards last mile delivery 

Zypp provides last-mile delivery for three types of customers: pan-India ecommerce, hyperlocal offline stores, and bike taxis. It uses a mix of revenue models, including dedicated riders (fixed monthly revenue), pay-per-delivery with a minimum commitment, and pay-per-use on demand.

“The use of EVs is an addition to the above core. This provides Zypp with higher margins due to lower vehicle operating costs as well as fully connected vehicles thanks to BMS/IoT. Because of the pull factor of EV fleets, it is also getting us inroads into large customers,” says Akash.

The startup also manages vehicle leasing (to keep the model asset-light) and provides battery swapping and charging points in convenient locations. The company’s founders have invested Rs 1.5 crore.

In late 2019, the company received $2 million (Rs 14 crore) in pre-Series A funding from IAN Fund. Prior to that, the founders raised Rs 3 crore in seed and angel rounds from a group of angels and Venture Catalysts. Additionally, angels and individual investors have invested in over 1,000 EVs for them, totaling Rs 6 crore in asset funding. The company is now looking to raise its Series A round in order to expand its reach.

Conclusion

Zypp is already operational in five cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai). It plans to expand its EV fleets from 1,000 to 10,000 vehicles over the next 18 months, with at least 15% of the vehicles led by women, and to cover 10 major cities in India.

Zypp is now investigating how riders can be assisted in owning or renting an EV, as well as facilitating more charging points with the growing EV ecosystem.

Team Zypp Electric
Team Zypp Electric

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