Two Delhi based engineers Rohit Kumar and Uttam Yadav recently launched GARRUD, an aggregator app for commercial vehicles which enables customers to directly get in touch with transporters for their logistic needs; in turn servicing both ends of the spectrum, the truck drivers who are in need of business, and the small business owners who need to transport material.
Truck drivers generally go to designated areas or nakas and wait for business owners needing to transport materials to hire them. But during the pandemic a lot of businesses themselves were badly hit, in turn rendering the truck drivers jobless. For some businesses that did thrive, it was difficult to find transport. Identifying the need to bridge this gap, and passionately believing in the ‘Vocal for Local’ mantra, Rohit and Uttam soon gave up their corporate jobs and got down to developing GARRUD.
The app in its first phase was launched for intracity movement in Delhi NCR. Developed in the lockdown period, it attempts to address the woos faced by the transporters as well as the small business houses, by bringing the highly unorganized transport sector in India under the digital India umbrella.
From bikes to 22-ft trailers who sign-up, GARRUD aims to make all single motor maliks (drivers who owned as well as drove their own vehicles) atmanirbhar. Via a single interface, the app allows anyone who owns or operates commercial vehicles to join the platform; and individuals and businesses who are in need of transport services to hire them through it. Within a fortnight of being launched, the app already has 5000+ downloads from both ends of the spectrum.
After the Indian Government decided to ban Chinese origin apps, riding the anti-China sentiment, this 100% Indian company set out to make truck drivers ‘atmanirbhar’. Backed by a strong team of around 25 people from a transport background, GARRUD has already onboarded over 2500 truck drivers by convincing them to be a part of digital India.
Their portfolio now consists of 200+Bikes, 850+ Tata Ace vehicles, 250+Pickups, 500+3-wheelers, 150+Eco Vans,50+14 ft trailers and is still counting.
With a single click of this next generation logistics GARRUD app, all of the above options are available to anyone wanting to hire commercial vehicles for a premier same-day, last mile delivery. From bikes to tempos to 22-feet trailers, the app that has over 50 AI features also allows users to track rides they have hired in real-time. In its next leg, this bootstrapped start-up has plans to bridge the gap between demand and supply, through media promotions and marketing initiatives to attract B2C (Retail), by targetting approximately 60 lakh families across Delhi and NCR.
Rohit Kumar says about their vision, “India is growing by leaps and bounds and we at GARRUD want to be protagonists in this transition to sustainable, fast, economic growth of our country by supporting the government in ease of doing business.” He also ardently feels for the cause of the truck drivers and adds, “A single truck driver is helpless, but when the sign up on a digital platform like ours, they are not alone, and a force of 10,000 would be definitely one to reckon with.”
Uttam adds, “At GARRUD we manifold the productivity in logistics with collaboration of available resources, vast market-place and exponential growing technology by creating a smart junction.”
Currently operational only in the Delhi NCR region, in the coming year GARRUD is expected to spread its wings pan-India. Only a week old GARRUD has already completed over 1000 trips within the first fortnight of its launch.
