How These Entrepreneurs Built India's Largest Automation Startup Robotics company GreyOrange launched by Kohli and Akash Gupta in 2012 has pioneered that approach to lead the transformational change logistics, warehousing, and supply chain are going through

SAMAY KOHLI (31), GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GREYORANGE

Relation between technology and supply chain, if we look at its core, is sort of non-existent other than information technology which also isn't well penetrated. While there have been few technology innovations around warehousing and logistics so far but there has not been a product approach to warehousing solution. Robotics company GreyOrange launched by Kohli and Akash Gupta in 2012 has pioneered that approach to lead the transformational change logistics, warehousing, and supply chain are going through. "What excites us is that this change will impact everyone in his/her daily life. That's because we manage to store, sort and package orders faster with very little technology enablement," says Kohli. For near future, he bets on the connected products. "It will really change how logistics function. Hence people's experience with retail is meant for a change."

Currently GreyOrange offers two products – first, a high-speed advanced sortation system that automates outbound profiling and sortation processes in fulfilment and distribution centers called Linear Sorter. Second, Butler which improves inventory management and accelerate order fulfilment, while enabling warehouse managers to reduce stock losses and pilferage. It has also launched two new products - Butler XL for factory warehouses, omnichannel fulfilment centers and large distribution hubs and Butler PickPal for better efficiency in the order picking process.

The company last year expanded to Europe which Kohli feels is the biggest achievement for 2017. "We managed to set up five-six people team and acquire two big customers within nine months." However, when GreyOrange started, bar codes weren't used in warehousing even as automating it was out of question. Kohli asserts that through robotics, the company brought great change in warehousing. "I was quoted China's example where bar codes are not used and so it was another 10 years away. However because all our sorters needs bar codes, we basically fast forwarded India to adopt bar coding in around two years. That for me at the grass root level was a big disruption."

Kohli's long term goal is to build fully autonomous warehouses while growing existing base and setting up more than 500 robots at every site.

SORTING SUPPLY CHAIN

LAUNCH: 2012 in Singapore and Gurugram

HEADCOUNT: 450

TOTAL INVESTMENT: $35m

NO. OF PATENTS: 54 applications