Celcius Logistics Solutions

Welcome to the world of cold-chain marketplace startups in India, where innovative solutions are revolutionizing the way perishable goods are transported and stored. As the demand for temperature-sensitive logistics grows, these startups are leveraging technology and expertise to connect stakeholders in the cold-chain ecosystem, providing seamless and efficient solutions. Among these cutting-edge startups, Celsius Logistics Solutions stands out as the go-to brand for reliable and comprehensive services in reefer logistics and cold storage warehousing.

Celcius strives to be a trailblazer in digitizing the offline operations of Reefer transportation. Whether it’s connecting Enterprises with transporters or revamping the trucking infrastructure to streamline payments, the goal is to make the process smoother. At Celcius, all of them are dedicated to simplifying load booking and maximizing capacity utilization for millions of transporters. The platform enables Clients to book loads of various sizes, ensuring they have access to the right truck, at the right time, and at the right price – all with just a click. With their extensive network of refrigerated trucks and cutting-edge technology, Celcius delivers reliability, efficiency, and a seamless experience for both Clients and transporters.

To understand what Celcius Logistics Solutions really stands for, what it looks forward to achieving in the years to come, we interviewed Swarup Bose, the Founder and CEO of the company.

How does Celcius operate as a committed cold chain service provider?

Celcius is a pioneering cold-chain marketplace startup that stands as the sole aggregator platform in India, providing innovative solutions for both Reefer logistics and cold storage warehousing. As the first online marketplace for cold-chain logistics and warehousing in India, Celcius offers a comprehensive proprietary tech solution that includes a SaaS marketplace. This cutting-edge platform facilitates end-to-end connectivity among all stakeholders in the cold-chain ecosystem, revolutionizing the industry with its forward-thinking approach.

How does Celcius overcome the challenges faced by the Cold Supply Chain Industry?

The cold supply chain industry in India faces significant challenges, such as inefficient temperature control, lack of tech integration, and fragmented operations. Celcius, through its innovative use of AI, ML, IoT, and data-driven insights on a single platform, aims to create a seamless cold supply chain network that offers complete transparency and real-time tracking. Integration of blockchain technology also enhances transparency and security in managing and tracking inventory as it moves through the supply chain, with smart contracts automating relevant events and improving collaboration among stakeholders.

What are the services offered by Celcius?

Celcius’s web and Android applications offer a seamless experience for shippers to instantly book reefer vehicles or cold storage space across the nation, and monitor their inventory in real-time. The app provides specialized alerts for any variation in temperature maintenance or route deviations, allowing shippers to proactively manage their perishable products and ensure their quality is maintained throughout the supply chain.

In addition, Celcius empowers transporters with a Transport Management System (TMS) that enables them to analyze how their vehicles are performing. Even the smallest of transporters can maximize the utilization of their assets by leveraging the power of data and insights provided by the TMS, which incorporates machine learning and predictive analysis. This allows Celcius to map requirements and deploy unused inventory at the right time and place, optimizing the logistics process and reducing wastage.

As India focuses on reducing logistics costs and adopting sustainable practices in its logistics and supply chain infrastructure development, Celcius’s real-time tracking and monitoring capabilities play a crucial role. The tech-enabled platform allows for effective monitoring of temperature, tracking, and tracing the movement of cargo across the last mile delivery routes in real-time. This enables timely intervention in case of any deviations, ensuring that perishable products are delivered in the best possible condition.

Furthermore, Celcius’s platform facilitates smarter inventory management by providing data-driven insights about the quality aspects of perishable products, both on-site and in transit. This helps shippers make informed decisions about storage facilities and optimize their inventory, reducing losses due to spoilage and improving overall efficiency.

The tech-driven solutions offered by Celcius also contribute to reducing errors and accidents, resulting in higher revenue for logistic service providers. By optimizing last mile deliveries and improving operational efficiencies, logistic service providers can increase their profit margins while also reducing liabilities and penalties associated with errors and accidents, making the entire process economically rewarding.

Celcius’s innovative approach to integrating technology into the cold supply chain ecosystem in India aims to drive efficiency, reduce wastage, and contribute to the country’s sustainable logistics and supply chain practices.

How Technologically-advanced is Celcius?

Celcius’s last-mile platform utilizes predictive algorithms to monitor and analyze distribution gaps, reduce bottlenecks, and provide shippers with end-to-end visibility of their products. Their optimized IoT devices, integrated with their in-house TMS and WMS systems and SaaS platform, enable real-time tracking of products, from small units like milk and chocolate to temperature-controlled medicines and other products. This tech-enabled ecosystem not only optimizes the last mile but also addresses issues related to timely delivery and minimizes losses due to wastage, thereby maximizing profitability and enhancing food security.

Celcius has also introduced hyper-local temperature-controlled delivery services for food and pharma orders, making them the partner of choice for Zomato for inter-city orders in various cities. Overall, Celcius is leveraging technology to revolutionize the cold supply chain industry in India, offering comprehensive solutions for efficient, transparent, and secure operations, with a vision to expand and serve diverse sectors in the long run.

Please talk about the pandemic-phase

“I envision Celcius as the nation’s biggest network of cold chain vehicles and warehouses that can cater to the smallest businesses in the remotest cities”, shares – Swarup Bose. Adding to his statement, he continued – “My vision for Celcius took shape during the nationwide lockdown in March 2020. When the systemic gaps became more pronounced and the unavailability of staff and coordination errors between the shippers and transporters created chaos in transporting essential commodities across the country”.

As I was already in the cold chain business so me and my team came together to create a paradigm shift with Celcius and building a value proposition for all our stakeholders by adopting technology to solve challenges in inefficiency, transparency, discovery, and provide quality assurance in the cold-chain logistics market while aggregating fragmented demand and supply across regions, Swarup added.

Plans going down the lane?

In the future, Celcius aims to expand its services to cater to fruits and vegetable suppliers, direct-to-home services, pharma products and intermediary distributors, vaccine distributors, cloud kitchens, canned food companies, dairy and meat distributors, among others, offering temperature-controlled deliveries for different quantities of consignments.

Celcius is on a mission to bridge the systemic gaps in the cold supply chain industry and create an unparalleled tech ecosystem. Within just two years, Celcius has experienced remarkable growth, expanding its operations from 5 to 350 cities, with a 20-fold increase. With the awareness of tons of food and vaccines being wasted annually, Celcius is committed to addressing this issue by creating a precise and unbroken cold chain, which is a critical need for the country.

Through its platform, Celcius aims to connect various stakeholders in the cold supply chain and deploy cutting-edge tech solutions to reduce in-transit wastage of perishable goods caused by cold chain malpractices and inefficiencies. By leveraging technology, Celcius strives to optimize the cold supply chain operations and minimize wastage, ensuring that food and vaccines reach their destinations in optimal condition, contributing to the reduction of food and vaccine wastage in the country.

Swarup Bose – Founder & CEO

With over 16 years of experience in the field, Swarup is passionate about creating a nationwide network of cold chain vehicles and warehouses to serve businesses in remote areas. Swarup’s vision for Celcius was born during the nationwide lockdown in March 2020, when he saw the challenges of transporting essential goods due to staff shortages and coordination issues. Swarup’s efforts have been recognized by leading media and industry platforms, including being mentioned as an ‘ET aspiring Indian’ for Innovation in Technology Logistics supply chain, and being named among the Economic Times Promising Entrepreneurs of India 2021. Under his leadership, Celcius has achieved significant milestones, including recording an ARR of INR 50 CR and securing USD 7.5 MN in funding rounds within just two years of its inception. With a Master’s degree in Computer Application and extensive experience in the logistics and supply chain sector, Swarup aims to bridge gaps and address challenges in the industry through effective technology adoption to create a seamless cold supply chain network.