With the rise of technology, it has become increasingly easy to manage data, secure data and be up to date about all of it. Cloud platforms have surely given the traditional ways of data migration a tough competition, but all in the most efficient and progressive way.
Ankur Gupta, with his expertise in technology and a dedication and passion for betterment and efficient working systems has come up with Channelier, a company helping organizations with connectivity and growth with their tailored solutions.
Ankur Gupta- The Founder, The Leader-
Being an entrepreneur means challenging yourself to do much more than you have been doing. Since you are mostly always doing it in a new domain, you can always expect problems that you will be facing for the first time. The challenges may sometimes be created by circumstances and competitors, but mostly they are created by our desire to grow faster. These are challenges created because we are trying to go beyond what a normal person with our set of skills and resources would go into. There is no point complaining about these difficulties, because our aspirations have led us into them. I have a simple mantra,
“If I want my business to be in the top 0.1%, I would need to do more and better than 99.9% of the people.”
Ankur is a product engineering guy and keenly follows retail and FMCG sector. He along with co-founder Sidharth created Channelier, their flagship Sales and Distribution stack. Channelier is a perfect product as well as one of the most agile frameworks. He has also created some of the most configurable products for Arachnomesh and its clients. His brainchild Channelier FMCG Awards is India’s most popular and world’s biggest FMCG award. In his previous roles, he has advised and helped set up retail chains for large conglomerates, and has also set up and scaled retail operations from the ground up. Ankur is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), BHU and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore.
The Company-
The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market in India faced severe challenges like closure of retail and wholesale markets due to the pandemic that forced manufacturers’ push for online distribution which helped FMCG recovery this time around. Digitization has been an important trend in the Indian FMCG sector during the COVID-19 crisis. Most FMCG brands collaborated with leading e-commerce websites like Flipkart, Big-basket, Groffers, etc., to deliver products to their customers by adhering to the safety protocols. An industry expert states that the sales share of e-commerce in the Indian FMCG sector will increase from 2-3% in the Pre-COVID situation to 4.5% Post-COVID. Also, there is a growing awareness among consumers about hygiene and well-being. Demands for organic products, healthy foods, and goods for self-care hygiene are significantly rising. Leading FMCG companies are embracing these new trends and are leveraging their efforts to create new products in the healthcare domain.
The Products and Services-
The flagship brand, Channelier, is a network platform. It allows all types of businesses to register, set up their business on the platform, and connect with other businesses in their supply ecosystem. It supports manufacturers (brand owners), distribution intermediaries such as C&F, distributors, wholesalers as well as retailers and end consumers. The platform allows manufacturers/brands to list their products & prices, much like any other e-commerce platform. These products can then be used by all downstream connections for the brand to receive and place orders.
The platform features include:
a) Product MDM (Master Data Management): Product data managed centrally by brands can be shared and reused by others. Retailers as well as other intermediaries registering on the system can select relevant products available with them, update inventory and take as well as place orders on e-commerce type catalogs.
b) Order Management: The platform allows buyers to place and track orders using intuitive e-commerce catalogs. These orders are available for upstream sellers instantly for servicing. All ordering & billing is GSTN compliant and can be plugged into the GSTN network on demand.
c) Inventory Management: The platform allows automated inventory update and synchronization. At any given point in time, the platform gives an accurate inventory to the business owner while providing deep insights into demand and consumption patterns.
d) Payment Support: The platform is already integrated with most of the leading payment gateways and can accept all forms of digital payments.
e) Point-of-sale (POS) Support: The platform can be accessed and is being used actively via mobile phone applications. The platform with it’s API based architecture can also connect with existing point of sale devices
f) Delivery/Logistics tracking: The platform can be used to track directly and report all delivery operations using a simple mobile phone application that works on the cheapest of devices
g) Messaging support: Each of the participants in any company’s supply chain network can be communicated with SMS, Email, Web as well as in-app notifications
h) Vernacular language support: The platform supports UTF-8 and allows configuration of the user interface in line with the user’s desired language
The Company Journey-
2014 – We started the company.
2015 – We closed other vocations and got completely into it.
2016 – Struggled with product development and getting market fit.
2017 – Pivoted to a communication platform.
2018 – Returned back to Channelier and created a powerful stack.
2019 – We started working with large enterprise and MNC clients.
2020 – We started Channelier FMCG Awards
2021 – Channelier FMCG Awards is India’s most popular and World’s biggest FMCG awards
Ankur’s Message to the Budding Entrepreneurs-
“To say the least, entrepreneurship is a thrilling experience. It has highs and lows that even the best roller coaster in the world can’t match. While your climb to the top will undoubtedly be remarkable, it will also drain all of your vitality. As a small business owner, you may be required to work longer hours for a modest salary, and the prospect of financial instability will lurk over your head at all times. You need to be prepared to fail fast, learn from your mistakes, and move forward against all odds.”
Headquarter In: Mumbai
Founded in Year: 2014
Employees Headcount: 27
Your Tagline/Quote: One unified business suite to manage the entire distribution network
