Mantis to venture into online logistics mgmt business

After launching its online bus ticketing portal, travelyaari.com, Ahmedabad-based Mantis Technologies is now venturing into logistics management business. The company, supported of Centre of Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is developing online logistics management services for private bus and cargo operators in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

"The online logistics management services will help bus and cargo operators in terms of tracking consignments, location, route, vehicle number and delivery of consignment. The online services will help them collate lot of important data which was cumbersome so far like calculating how much revenue has been generated from each route and from which vehicle, among other things," said Aurvind Lama, co-founder and director of Mantis Technologies.

Through travelyaari.com, the company has been one of the first to implement software as a service (SAAS) model in online ticketing platform for bus industry in India. By providing online logistics management services, Mantis is targeting the growing bus operators-run cargo businesses. "Bus operators-run cargo is one of the cheapest logistics options available to users. It is also one of the fastest growing businesses and we are aiming at catering this sector on a B2B basis," added Lama.

While initially Mantis will offer its logistics management services to the 40-odd bus operators currently benefitting through travelyaari.com, the company will lateron target other commercial cargo operators.

Currently, in the online bus ticketing segment, Mantis holds a 60 per cent of the Rs 200 crore Gujarat market, 30 per cent of the Rs 150 crore Rajasthan market and 15 per cent of the Rs 300 crore Maharashtra market. According to Lama, the private bus operators market in India is worth Rs 4,500 crore per annum.

Mantis Technologies carries a daily inventory of around 20,000 tickets on over 1,000 routes in 300 and more destinations in the three states. With the help of the new portal, Mantis is projecting a turnover of anywhere between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore for the financial year 2008-09. The company is also in process of expanding its bus operator network in states like Karnataka, Chennai and other southern and western states.