Interviewed by Anisha Saha, MBR Team

MBR: Nuport is a modern solution for distributors and manufacturers. Please tell us how the idea of Nuport has come to your mind and what has triggered you to develop this business concept.

Nuport: My partner Chris and I have been in this space for a significant amount of time. We were previously co-founders of a digital logistics company in Bangladesh called Loop Freight. For the past 3 years, we have had countless meetings with logistics executives in the supply chain departments figuring out their needs to streamline distribution. It was clear that beyond digital logistics, process automation was the sure shot answer to unlock more capacity (and hence more revenue) for these manufacturing and distribution companies. It was only when a few of our existing clients actively asked us for automation tools with additional requests coming from Canada, Pakistan, and India, and we realized the global potential for a solution like Nuport. Bangladesh always had the technical talent and we have the domain expertise. Also, with the right teams, we can deliver value beyond the borders. We immediately knew that we need to move forward with this and move fast.

MBR: Nuport offers route optimization software that automates distribution planning workflow for manufacturers and distributors. Please share with us your managerial strategies to execute this new concept.

Nuport: One thing we strongly believe and that is just technology is not enough if it is not communicated in the most effective manner along with the right implementation. We understood early on that we needed to speak about the problem more than the solution. Building sophisticated technology does not make sense if the audience is not familiar with the problem in the first place. According to my experience, technology adoption almost always fails when it is not delivered in the right language to the right stakeholder. Our approach as follows: Identify & understand the problem first > Set the process right > Engage in effective dialogue with the stakeholders at all times > Build technology and implement it.

In essence, Nuport is more of a ‘process-fixing company’ than just a technology company. Therefore, we are building out a very strong implementation and after-sales support team, in addition to our engineering and product team to build out the support infrastructure for our clients. We are also actively recruiting seasoned professionals to deliver the knowledge in a methodical approach.

MBR: Nuport is a unique idea in Bangladesh that saves time and cost and improves productivity and efficiency. Please share with us how your route optimization software will benefit customers.

Nuport: Bangladesh is a manufacturing and distribution-heavy economy. An average company has over 500 primary distributors and over 1000 secondary distributors. To plan the orders for these 500 distributors every day takes upto 4-5 hours on average (case and company-specific). Not to mention, there is no visibility or live ETA on the goods once they leave the factories. Upon implementation of Nuport’s route optimization and distribution planning platform, companies are able to save time by automating the planning process. Warehouse staff is able to reduce loading times through auto-generation of FILOtemplatized delivery plans. Supply chain managers are able to dynamically monitor the distribution once they leave the factories. At the same time, all the parties within the distribution channel are able to get live ETAs on the product. Reporting on the distribution KPIs is also done automatically so that decision-makers are able to instantly make strategic supply chain decisions. All these steps ensure control and visibility which was previously not possible before Nuport.

MBR: Recently Nuport has received a preseed foreign investment of USD 125,000 from ODX Flexport. Would you like to share with us how you’re planning to expand the business? What are the achievements that Nuport wants to attain in the next five years?

Nuport: The expansion for Nuport will only happen with the right leadership structure within every region and department. Fortunately, through our entry at ODX Flexport, we would have the support network to build on the expansion plans. Additionally, as an internet-first company, we are actively investing in our SEO so that regional companies with bottleneck process can find us easily on the internet. We are building our existing client pipeline to expand to India and the MENA region. Within the next 5 years, we expect to become a major regional industrial automation player (in the supply chain domain) which will be able to contribute to unlock a significant amount of GDP for manufacturing and distribution-heavy economies.

MBR: Nuport is the only player in Bangladesh with the idea of route optimization software. What are the barriers you had to face to create a place in the market and how did you overcome them?

Nuport: Nuport is essentially an enterprise-grade SaaS software. However, we will not be able to achieve our goals of adding value to our enterprise clients, if we just talk about route optimization. That is not enough.

To sustain ourselves in the long run, we have to start by thinking of creating an outcome-based culture. And, we all know that culture is the hardest thing to scale. We have to consistently communicate about outcomes to our customers. It involves instilling a mindset of costminimization that goes beyond low-cost labor.

The outcome for companies in question is lower lead time, faster decision-making leading to more sustained revenue (through happier customers). The key thing is not just talking about route optimization. We have to tie it to order management, inventory, and billing. If systems are operating in silos, then the company is unable to reap the whole benefit. And so, Nuport is building APIs to integrate with every disconnected system that is tied to the supply chain. We believe this will allow us to scale faster and generate more value for our customers.