Logistics aggregator Turant Delivery buys peer Zippon

Turant Delivery, an on-demand logistics aggregator for relocation services, has acquired smaller peer Zippon for an undisclosed amount.

Turant, which presently operates in Delhi and Mumbai, would expand its network to Bengaluru following the acquisition, as per a press statement.

Venkatesh CL, co-founder and CEO of Zippon, will join the team at Turant, which is run by Always Turant Delivery Pvt Ltd.

"Zippon and Turant Delivery have a lot of synergies. Both place a strong faith in the fact that innovation and technology play a strategic role in optimising operations. Zippon gives utmost importance to high quality of service and believes in forging effective and long-term relations with customers. We at Turant have the same philosophy—customer satisfaction through quality service is our first and foremost priority," said Siddharth Arora, co-founder of Turant.

Turant was co-founded by ISB alumni, Satish Gupta, Ankur Majumder and Arora. It claims to employ a zone-based pricing algorithm, providing SME customers with rates that are at least 15 per cent lower than market rates. It also helps truck owners manage inventory.

Zippon, an online booking platform for relocation and trucking services, was started by Venkatesh, Shakir Basha and Sachin Shet in January this year. It has partnerships with 15 packers and movers in Bengaluru.

A bunch of tech startups have joined the business of connecting logistics services providers with customers for intra-city transport and relocation services in the recent past. These ventures are asset light and do not own the vehicles themselves and comes across as a booking platform similar to taxi hailing apps Ola and Uber. Indeed several have also raised angel or VC funding.

Pickingo, a B2B on-demand hyperlocal logistics startup, raised $1.3 million from Rehan Yar Khan of Orios Venture Partners along with Zishaan Hayath in August.

In July, there were two investments in this space. While on-demand booking platform for mini-trucks Moovo.in raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from cricketer Yuvraj Singh's venture investment fund YouWeCan and others, Bangalore-based theKarrier raised Rs 1.5 crore ($240,000) in a seed round of funding led by Sol Primero.

In April, Mumbai-based Resfeber Labs Pvt Ltd, which runs online logistics marketplace The Porter to book mini-trucks and tempos for intra-city pick-up and deliveries, raised Rs 3 crore (just under $500,000) from Kae Capital. It is now raising a larger Series A funding round.

Last November, Blowhorn raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from impact investor Unitus Seed Fund, with participation from Tim Draper, founder and managing partner of Draper Associates.

Full service logistics providers are also attracting money. Private equity firm Warburg Pincus committed to invest over Rs 850 crore ($133 million) in Delhi-based e-commerce focused logistics solutions provider Ecom Express Pvt Ltd. This is the biggest ever PE funding in rupee terms in India in the logistics sector and the second largest in dollar terms. In 2011, a fund under Franklin Park Management bought Bangalore based Vikram Logistic and Maritime Services Pvt Ltd for $152.57 million, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle.

According to market research firm Research and Markets, the Indian logistics industry is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12-17 per cent by 2020, driven by the growth in the manufacturing, retail, FMCG and e-commerce sectors.