Gaurav Bhushan, Founder, Equip9
Gaurav Bhushan, Founder, explains how EQUIP9™ - the first global start-up in the heavy equipment and material handling industry - will connect every entity in this industry by end-2023 and thereby simplify the complex construction business with its app-based digital solutions.

What services does EQUIP9™ provide to the construction equipment industry in general and to rental in particular? What is the USP of your app and what sectors can it cater to?
EQUIP9™ currently provides a digital app-based solution for easy search of operators and maintenance partners, quick rent connection, simplified buy and sell process. The current sale of new equipment will rise from 80k to approx 250k by the 2030 year-end. To manage a 4-billion-dollar industry, we will need a digital solution on which every industry player can promote their equipment business and track the ROI from individual equipment.

The EQUIP9™ app focuses on the Man - Equipment - Material - Project model. Currently, the EQUIP9™ app provides Digital Services such as equipment listing, operator, and maintenance search. Our Digital Store will help rental companies to digitize their business, and our AI-based marketplace for easy rent and sale will reduce the dependency on brokers. By 2023, we will have digital solutions such as demand analysis of rent across the country, a virtual-reality-based sell platform, rent recovery from companies, identification of the right company to rent equipment, connecting with the right financiers, etc.

At present, the EQUIP9™ app can connect equipment owners with rental owners, sellers, operators, and maintenance partners. We vision to onboard Financers, Original Equipment Manufacturers, Spare Parts Manufacturers, IoT providers, and Equipment Dealers in the upcoming release.

With Telematics and IoT making their way into the Construction Equipment material handling industry, how do you see its adoption in the market?
It is great to see the acceptance and adoption of IoT in the Industry. Our country is rapidly growing in infrastructure. For rental players, it is essential to track the daily usage of equipment deployed on multiple projects. But look at the other side of the coin - each OEM has an individual system and its tracking app. It will become difficult for business owners to track their equipment purchased from different OEMs.

EQUIP9™ visualizes an open API for the heavy equipment industry so that all equipment owners can see any equipment from any OEM on our digital app. An aggregated telematics will help the industry in a better way. The task is mammoth, but we are sure it is possible.

EQUIP9 - the first global start-up in the heavy equipment and material handling industry

How does EQUIP9™ help in building a data base of skilled operators?
Any crisis that we see today is an outcome of ignorance in the past. Due to the ambitious policies on infrastructure by the current government, the heavy equipment industry is going through a surge. To manage the new equipment, the industry needs 25 lakh trained operators by 2030. The biggest challenge comes in the documentation of the workforce, search for trained operators across the country, training institutes, and license requirements.

On EQUIP9™ we currently have 11000+ operators. We are working on automating document verification processes such as Adhar cards, pan cards, and driving licenses. Our app provides a digital platform for our operator and maintenance partners to showcase their certifications and learning videos. We are trying to connect with the Infrastructure Equipment Skill Council, Institute of Driving Training and Research Society, and National Skill Development Council to onboard all trained and certified operators on our app. It will benefit government agencies to achieve a goal of employment post-training of operators and will help business owners to find trusted operators and drivers across the country.

How will EQUIP9 help the construction industry business owners to get genuine spare parts?

Demand and supply of spare parts involve the most complexity in the construction industry. Every business owner in the industry faces problems such as finding genuine spare parts sellers or identifying the authentic product or pricing. Community validation or rating is an easy solution that most digital platforms use to recognize fake sellers or buyers. In the current version of our app, there is a provision for a rating system.

A business owner after connection can rate other business owners. The rating process in the future will help identify genuine sellers, buyers, or brokers. Our digital store can help business owners to connect with validated manufacturers. The D2C model of spare parts will also help in reducing the cost. We are developing a blockchain-based solution that will help to stop the fake spare parts in transit. Once we have our digital capabilities fully matured, I am sure we will be able to deliver genuine spare parts to business owners.

Please share a case study where EQUIP9 has helped to bring synergy between various stakeholders of the Construction Equipment industry?
In the MVP phase, which started from Jan 2021 - to June 2021, we have served 45+ clients. One of our clients based in Chandigarh had received a BRO Project in the northeast region. They were searching for 200+ operators and drivers for their project on Facebook. Social media hiring sounds cheap and easy but comes with a lot of overheads.

During our digital promotions of the app, we connected with the client and shared our services. At that time, we had around 1000+ operators on our app. Agreement went well, and we were able to connect 350 operators within 45 days to our client.

Similarly, we helped one of our Pune-based clients, who was awarded a highway project, connecting 20 excavators and dump trucks, in Manipur. With EQUIP9's workforce and equipment database, searching for service providers in remote areas of our country becomes very easy.

The recent pandemic was an eye-opener for every industry around the globe. I feel the heavy equipment industry must come up in support of peripheral technology such as EQUIP9™ for simplifying digital business.
Is India’s Logistics Future Ready?
The National Logistics Policy (NLP) aims to build a tech-led logistics ecosystem in India and create data-driven tools that help create a better logistics environment. The logistics sector in the country is largely unorganized and fragmented, resulting

Read more ...

Outlook for Road Logistics Sector Remains Stable: ICRA
Favourable demand sentiments continue to drive growth momentum for the road logistics sector. Following a healthy growth in FY2022, the accelerated pace of business activities is expected to continue to support the Indian road logistics sector’s growth

Read more ...

2023 to be the Year of Democratisation of Warehousing in India
As we look forward to 2023, the warehousing sector is poised to follow a steep growth curve, attracting significant investments from across the globe, and democratising the sector by increasing the involvement of small developers, landowners, and expansion

Read more ...

Sheroes of the Logistics Industry
Navigating the Road to Gender Diversity and Inclusion. The logistics industry is experiencing a change towards increased representation of women, as technology and societal changes open up new opportunities for them. Advances in technology have made

Read more ...

Shantha Martin, CEO - Global Freight Forwarding NTC Logistics India (P) Limited
The logistics and supply chain industry, which is embracing gender diversity, offers diverse professional and technological opportunities for women, with government initiatives aimed at providing equal opportunities and empowering women in

Read more ...

Chaitaly Mehta, Director - EKF GLOBAL Logistics  Pvt Ltd
The logistics industry is evolving with new technologies, market trends, and customer demands, and is becoming more inclusive and welcoming to diverse perspectives and skill sets, particularly in the participation and representation of women. According to

Read more ...

Kruti Jobanputra, Director - JW Ventures
The Indian government has taken significant steps to improve the working conditions for women in the logistics industry, with a focus on sanitation and safety. We hope that this effort will also change the discriminatory mindset at the grassroot level

Read more ...

Mahima Agarwal, President HR - CJ Darcl Logistics
At CJ Darcl, we have implemented various initiatives to promote a safe and inclusive environment for women in the logistics industry, including Code of Conduct training and POSH awareness program. We are also committed to expanding job opportunities for

Read more ...

Shweta Singh, Regional Head - Freight Wings
I firmly believe that our mindset plays a crucial role in achieving success. The idea that "believe in yourself" holds true, as gender-based equation never becomes a roadblock for a go-getter. As I traveled and worked in various countries in the APAC

Read more ...

Sanjna Vardhan, GM, International Business - Procam Group
The logistics industry is becoming more inclusive, with automation, e-commerce and technological advancements breaking barriers and creating opportunities for women, while organizations are working towards generating awareness and empowering women

Read more ...

Ruchita Apte, Head of Finance - KSH Logistics
Increased police patrolling in warehousing and industrial areas, and an increased presence of female staff in police stations can help create a more secure and welcoming environment for women in the industry. The logistics and supply chain industry has

Read more ...

Zaiba Sarang, co-Founder - iThink Logistics
At iThink Logistics, we are committed to making the logistics industry more inclusive for women. We understand that female employees may face unique challenges in the workplace, and so we have implemented policies like menstrual leave policy and full-body

Read more ...

Trends that will Reshape: Logistics Industry
The logistics industry is expanding due to the tech-savvy customers and their demand for faster deliveries. Businesses will now have to focus on growing their operations and ensuring cost-effective delivery services, enhance their supply chain management

Read more ...

Industrial and Warehousing Demand in 2022 up by 8%: Colliers
The year 2022 saw 24.5 million sqft of industrial and warehousing demand, up by 8% on a YoY basis, across the top 5 cities of India. Average quarterly leasing during 2022 remained strong at 6.1 mn sqft from 5.7 mn sqft in 2021. Third-party logistics players

Read more ...

National Logistics Policy - A Guide and Driving Force for India’s New Phase of Growth
In a visionary move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the National Logistics Policy to improve the competitiveness of Indian goods, enhance economic growth and development of infrastructure, and increase

Read more ...

Favourable demand sentiments support growth momentum for road logistics sector; outlook remains stable: ICRA
The domestic road logistics sector is expected to continue its growth momentum in FY2023 supported by the accelerated pace of business activities, following a healthy growth in FY2022. Ratings agency, ICRA maintains

Read more ...

Strong demand drives industrial and warehousing leasing by 9% YoY: Colliers
During Jan-Sep 2022, Industrial & Warehousing demand witnessed a 9% rise on a YoY basis with a total gross absorption of 17.5 mn sqft across the top 5 cities in India. Demand remained resilient during the third

Read more ...

World premiere of Goldhofer FT Series
With the presentation of Goldhofer’s latest world first in the form of the »FT-SERIES« at bauma Munich 2022, we have definitely hit the bull’s eye and introduced a vehicle that will change the transportation market for years

Read more ...

Faymonville Group showcases three product brands: MAX Trailer, Faymonville, and Cometto at bauma Munich
The new BladeMAX1000 from Cometto made its world premiere at bauma Munich. With a lifting capacity of 1000 mT, this blade lifter is by far the strongest of its kind on the market. Such a special vehicle is used to safely transport the latest

Read more ...

Innovative, economical, and practical transport solutions from TII
Transport and manoeuvring solutions from TII offer unlimited application possibilities. At bauma 2022, TII brands, TII SCHEUERLE and TII KAMAG expanded their range of transport solutions and value-added services for the construction and energy

Read more ...