Technology makes life easier and better for all of us. This includes less fortunate communities in the world, such as farmers in India. They are struggling to get their products out and communicate with businesses.
The new technologies have come to the rescue once again. This time it is in the form of NinjaCart, India’s leading agricultural technology platform. The platform’s goal is to solve some of the most difficult supply chain problems Indian farmers face on a daily basis. These include information asymmetry and distribution inefficiency in the supply chain.
Specifically, it uses tech and data to connect produce-farmers directly with retailers who sell their fruit and vegetables. On one end, this allows the farmers to get better prices and secure a consistent demand.
On the other end, the platform helps businesses source fresh produce at competitive prices directly from the farmers. NinjaCart’s innovative RFID-powered technology enables users to track the produce from farms to stores, every step of the way. This provides more transparency to the entire food value chain.
How exactly does NinjaCart operate?
Farmers bring in their produce to one of the Collection Centers (CC) in their respective villages (there are more than 60 CCs in India). There, the items go through grading, weighing, and batching, before being dispatched to Fulfillment Centers (FC). NinjaCart’s algorithms create optimal route plans, set a dispatch schedule, and fix arrival slots.
With the trucks on their way to the FCs, the preparations for the next phase begin. This phase involves delivering the produce from the FCs to the Distribution Centers (DC). It also includes the produce quality inspection in each vehicle, followed by queuing and then dispatching the items from the DCs to their destination, according to customers’ requirements.
NinjaCart has already gathered attention and considerable funding. Namely, in 2017, it raised $5.5 million in series A funding. This was followed by Rs. 250 crores series B funding round from Accel US, Syngenta Ventures, Neoplux, Jo Hirao, HR Capital, and Trifecta Capital in December 2018.
In the latest round, in late April 2019, NinjaCart raised $100 million in funding from Tiger Global. The company currently sources fruits and vegetables from farmers across more than 20 Indian states and delivers to over 17,000+ local kiranas and restaurants in seven major Indian cities every day.
YouTube: NinjaCart – A Brief Overview
Photo credit: The feature image has been done by Hash Whole Studios.
Source: NinjaCart website and blog
