MaxWholesale: Giving kirana stores a digital makeover through enhanced supply chain management

By Riya Sethi

MaxWholesale, an online B2B platform, is seeking to bring about a change in the micro supply chain and make kirana stores comfortable with technology. “We are trying to digitalise the wholesale distribution of FMCG goods with the use of technology and data by helping kirana stores source inventory online and discover prices and schemes on various FMCG brands,” says Samarth Agrawal, co-founder & CEO, MaxWholesale.

The firm has built a technology-enabled platform through which brands can distribute their products to MSMEs and retailers directly by listing products online. “Finding stock to sell and maintaining variety is a core problem for a kirana store,” says Agrawal. FMCG companies are now using MaxWholesale to help retailers discover product availability and current prices, thus ensuring a better reach and distribution. “From driving customer engagement, payments, and promotion to digital marketing, communication and inventory management, modern technology can do it all for a store,” he explains.

Founded in 2016 by Agrawal and Rohit Narang, MaxWholesale is trying to solve the fundamental issue of a dependable supply chain and is ensuring greater transparency for both retailers and FMCG brands. With warehouse facility of 20,000 sq. ft area spread across eight locations in Delhi NCR and a fleet of 60 vehicles to fulfil the needs of over 13,000 retailers across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad, the platform promises fulfilment of an order within 24 hours of its placement.

“MaxWholesale manages all picking and packing operations in its warehouses, along with its own logistics for last-mile delivery. Orders placed on the app are packed within two hours of placing. The packed boxes are then sorted within the hub for dispatch to smaller spokes which are closer to the market with the help of computer algorithms that generate dynamic beats based on GPS locations of its customers. Once at the spoke, packed boxes are dispatched in smaller vehicles on the delivery beats where a delivery associate uses the logistics app for tracking and updating of delivery,” he adds.

Recently, the company launched a customer relationship management tool that connects retailers and kirana stores to the customers. Through the app ‘Radius’, any kirana store can be turned into an online store in less than 5 minutes where customers can come and access the live catalog of the store and place orders and make payments.