Ace Turtle - One of the Leading Omni-Channel Solution Provider to Several International and National Brands
With the proliferation of digital commerce, retail strategy for brands are no longer restricted to one channel as consumers are more and more looking for fulfillment of their demands through multiple channels - offline, online and through various touch points. This change propels huge opportunity for brands and retailers to change their approach and adopt omni-channel approach to deliver unified and consistent experience to their customers. Ace Turtle’s proprietary product Rubicon, is a technology platform which can seamlessly integrates to Sales channel (like website, marketplaces, apps, kiosks etc.), fulfillment stock points (like stores, warehouses) and brand’s technology eco system and delivers an enriched single view of Order, Inventory, Price and Catalogue. The platform correlates tons of incoming data to make real time intelligent decisions to offer seamless omni-channel solutions.
The company works with some of the leading domestic and global brands such as Ray-Ban, Puma, Max, Arrow, Flying Machine, Ed Hardy, US Polo and more. Backed by top investors such a Singapore based Vertex Ventures and C31 Ventures, Ace Turtle is expanding its footprint to overseas market starting with Singapore and Malaysia.
In an interaction with BW Disrupt, Nitin Chhabra (CEO, Ace Turtle) shared his entrepreneurial journey and details about his venture.
Idea Generation
Both Berry Singh (COO, Ace Turtle) and me, have been associated with the retail industry for quite a few years. In my last corporate role with one of India’s largest retailer, my responsibility was to identify international brands relevant for India to launch them in India through a joint venture or a long-term franchise contract. While interacting with CXOs from various international brands we often though how we can build technology that can be used to make Indian retail more efficient. In course of my discussion with Berry who has been my colleague and friend, we identify the need to bridge the gap between offline and online retail. This is especially true with the existing infrastructural challenges given the large geography and young consumer base who prefers to connect with the brand through various platforms.
Hence, we started Ace Turtle in 2013, which with its proprietary platform, integrates online and offline retail channels, automating and optimising omni-channel fulfilment. Ace Turtle’s solutions are currently used by brands such as Ray-Ban, Puma, Max, Arrow, Flying Machine, Ed Hardy, US Polo, Fossil and more.
Description
Ace Turtle’s proprietary product Rubicon, is a technology platform which can seamlessly integrates to Sales channel (like website, marketplaces, apps, kiosks etc.), fulfilment stock points (like stores, warehouses) and brand’s technology eco system and delivers an enriched single view of Order, Inventory, Price and Catalogue. The platform correlates tons of incoming data to make real time intelligent decisions to offer seamless omni-channel solutions.
The four CORE MODULES of Rubicon are Order Management System, Inventory Management System (IMS), Catalogue Management System (CMS) and Logistics Management System (LMS).
Order Management System (OMS)
Rubicon’s distributed OMS provides the capability to manage orders received over integration from any digital channel like .COM, marketplaces, customer care and supports channel like kiosks, digital magazines etc. The system hosts a real-time engine which allocates the order to the most preferable fulfilment point by evaluating various parameters like availability of inventory, proximity to customer, serviceability of logistics, SLA adherence etc. If the order is not processed in a specified time frame (configurable), the system automatically de-allocates the order and allocates the to the next best stock point. The system then allocates the best logistics partner to fulfill the order based various parameters like cost, SLA, serviceability, performance etc.
The store representatives can use the Rubicon web Panel or through integration can leverage their own POS system to process the order. Similarly, warehouses can use Rubicon panel or their WMS system over integration.
Inventory Management System (IMS)
Rubicon hosts a Global inventory management system which provides a single view inventory to manage and publish inventory across all channels. The global inventory helps Brand’s to target more potential sales. The system publishes and updates inventory for each sales happening from any channel to keep other channels in sync in the real time.
Catalogue Management System (CMS)
It enables the users to create catalogue for the products to be sold across channel with the relevant set of attributes and helps in managing digital assets like product images videos, 360-degree product videos, etc.
Logistics Management System (LMS)
It hosts a pre-integrated ecosystem of various last mile logistics partners to leverage a last mile partner for delivery depending on the goals the brands want to achieve. The system provides end to end tracking of the order from allocation to customer delivery through real time status exchanges.
Revenue Generation
The company makes money by charging a monthly subscription fees to brands and gets a small revenue share from the business we generate for them. Currently we are processing more than three million USD of Commerce on our platform and scaling at a MoM growth of 25 percent.
Funding
We have recently got our series A funding from Singapore-based Vertex Ventures and C31 Ventures (the venture capital arm of CapitaLand). Previously we raised USD 300,000 in our seed round.
Initial Challenges
The main challenge was to build the platform as there was no model to refer to. We had to build ground up based on the need of the brands to integrate multiple touch points for customers and enable a seamless experience.
Expansion Plans
Our expansion would be two-pronged-one in terms of technological development and the other in terms of geographical reach.
Apart from constantly updating our proprietary platform, Rubicon, we are also developing our data platform to build deeper insights about customer buying habits and preferences. Geographically, we are expanding to Singapore and Malaysia by this year and look to consolidate our presence in South East Asia shortly.
Market Size
By 2020, the e-commerce market is expected to reach $74 billion. Moreover, online buyers in India is expected to increase by 167 million. The total organized retail market will be $1 trillion, out of which $74 billion will be pure play e-commerce and twice of this will be omni-channel retail. Hence, the market opportunity is huge given that close to 50% of today’s retailers are looking to invest in omni-channel fulfilment technology to bring in more innovations to customer experience.
