My Local Delivery Startup In Bangladesh Reached $30K/Month [In 6 Months]
Note: This business is no longer running. It was started in 2021 and ended in 2023. Reason for closure: Shut down.
Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?
My name is Shaerul H Joarder (Neel), Co-Founder and CEO of Parcelmagic, a delivery service company.
Parcelmagic has been designed to serve as a fully technology-based logistics company that provides end-to-end services such as small to medium business parcel delivery, individual document and parcel couriers, and corporate logistics service solutions.
Our services include P2P (Person-to-Person/Instant Delivery) and Merchant (Online businesses, SMEs, small to medium business owners) delivery services, each with its dedicated panel. Parcelmagic Instant App is available on Android and iOS is only for P2P transactions, whereas the website serves as the merchant panel.
It is indeed a great pleasure that within just 6 months of operation, we have onboarded 100+ merchants, with the monthly transaction being 5000 dollars. Over 10000 parcels are delivered to all 64 districts in Bangladesh each month.
What's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?
When the lockdown began and everyone was in a panic about where to get their timely necessities from, delivery service appeared to be the only superhero to come to our everyday rescue.
We launched the venture on 05 December 2021, amid the pandemic, at the peak of the need for home delivery services, and it is quickly bombarding its way to becoming a well-known name among all the courier service competitions that erupted during the outbreak.
The most well-known traditional courier services in the country are usually physically demanding. Keeping the inconvenience in mind, we devised the concept of a full, technology-based logistics company that requires no physical effort other than just a click of a finger.
COVID-19 has changed how consumers shop for items, accelerating the growth of online shopping and e-commerce deliveries. Covid-19 shutdowns have transformed how we live, including how and what we buy. The outbreak has resulted in an increase in emergency deliveries, which is expected to continue. However, such a situation has led us to come up with an idea like this.
Of course, we had an "aha" moment that provided us with a huge lift in our journey. Due to the shutdown situation, handling so many consumers at a time became a challenge, as shoppers were completely reliant on online shopping sprees. On the other hand, our well-trained delivery agents were extremely helpful in ensuring the maximum level of customer satisfaction by making on-time deliveries. They were able to ensure a seamless delivery by following health and safety guidelines as well.
Even though moving large orders from one location to another was difficult, we managed to keep our promises.
Even at that time, we did not accept COD. This resulted in a significant increase in our company's revenue.
Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.
Our service is our product. We started with the website, which is solely a platform for merchants and has a well-designed, user-friendly merchant panel. Then we proceeded to develop a mobile phone app that only functions as a panel for P2P or instant delivery services.
Through our website, Android, and iOS app, we continue to aspire in providing a smooth and swift delivery service. Users of the app can place and track orders. On the merchant panel, registered merchants can see an overview of their orders and transactions with extensive monitoring. We also have a powerful recipient management tool that will keep track of the recipient information for every successful delivery.
Every second is of infinite value, and that is precisely what we intend to keep in mind while performing our services.
We aim to establish a nationwide fast and smart delivery network that can be instantly accessible via the web and smartphones for instant services. We understand how inconvenient it may be for any organization, whether small, medium, large, or even individual, to send envelopes or packages at a specific time. We are also aware of how time-consuming large-scale orders can be.
Furthermore, ensuring that the delivery is made safely and on time is a significant strain. As a result, our user-friendly dashboard was created with analytics, direct address printing with details on envelopes, bulk sticker printing, smart contact management, auto invoice/bill creation, and other features in mind. This system allows for better resource use, less time spent placing orders, smart parcel/envelope labeling, real-time parcel tracking, and the most efficient manner of delivery inside Dhaka City.
Customer satisfaction is our top priority, thus we make every effort to ensure that each shipment is delivered with the highest care, attention, and dedication. This has been a real game-changer in terms of attracting our clients.
Describe the process of launching the business.
Our journey with Parcelmagic began in late 2021, during the lockdown when the demand for delivery services was at its peak.
There was an official, soft launch held at our Dhaka office in Banani on March 1st, 2022, which was attended by many high-profile guests. The event’s Chief Guest was Engr. Mohammad Badrul Hassan. Other prominent individuals included gracing our event were Mr. Mahbub, CEO of Aristopharma, Mr. Rashed, HSCM of bKash, Mr. Shoroer Morshed Parag, CEO of Pundit, Mr. Taleb, COO of Sure Cash, and Mr. Maruf Shaheb, SVP of One Bank. The day of our launch was jam-packed with activities. We had a cake-cutting ceremony and decorated our office with balloons, festoons, danglers, banners, brochures, and other decorations. We had been working extremely hard to establish this service, so it was a very happy day for all of us. The event went off without a hitch and I am grateful to say that it was a tremendous success.
Our proudest moment came when we received our first order! Everything was delivered correctly, and the recipient was quite pleased with our service. We honestly believed that we were bringing joy to others.
As an entrepreneur, I believe that the most difficult part is always getting started. However, with time and work, it becomes easier. We learn, grow, fail, and become stronger and wiser in the process.
Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?
Learning should be a continuous process throughout the project's lifespan. An entrepreneur should support this strategy from the start. Whether we're using them to prepare for current projects or to identify project management process improvements, we learn from both failures and successes.
As Parcelmagic is a full-fledged delivery service provider company, therefore, most of our targeted customers are scattered nationwide, and anyone who sells physical products that need to be delivered at consumers end. Initially, we targeted F merchants and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh who are managing online-based shops on Facebook and Instagram. To create brand awareness and get potential leads, we ran a few Facebook Ads from the beginning of our journey to educate people about our services and offers. We continuously keep posting engaging content from our Facebook page and run ads to get more leads for the business.
Also, to reach more people through Search Engine and other web platforms, we made Parcelmagic website SEO friendly and optimized the site with some niche keywords like “Parcel Delivery Service in Dhaka” “Delivery Service in Dhaka” “Courier Service Dhaka” and gradually we are coming on top in Google.com.bd. To achieve this, we have plans to publish more articles from our onsite blog, as well as Press releases on popular local news sites and outreach niche guest bloggers. We closely monitor all the website traffic and engagements through Google Analytics, Search Console, and Facebook Pixel. Screenshots for both Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel are given below:
As for traditional branding and offline marketing we sponsored a few events in Dhaka, where most of our targeted customers are located. All these events and activations helped us to get more awareness among our targeted audience, and we got several merchants from these events who are now getting the fastest delivery service in Dhaka! Some of the screenshots of these events are shown below:
How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
Technology is pushing boundaries and transforming the way the world does business today. We've grown accustomed to having everything online and at our fingertips for instant access.
Customers used to book shipments, receive an estimated delivery date, and then be kept in the dark unless they called to inquire. Through our sturdy technology, customers can now access shipping and tracking systems around the clock. This not only improves the user experience but also saves time and money. Our merchant panel is established so that users have complete control over their orders. We offer dashboard visibility, analytics-driven actionable insights, bulk direct address printing on envelopes, bulk sticker printing, smart contact management, auto invoice/bill creation, and more services. The parcelmagic team is always coming up with new technology-driven services to make things easier for you and improve its client experience.
As a logistics company, we have benefited greatly from recent technological advancements and we will continue to thrive as innovations are achieved. For years to come, technological discoveries will continue to push the limits and as a result, we can confidently assert that the future is bright. By the end of 2022, we plan to expand our business and operate throughout Bangladesh.
We take great pleasure in providing unique and customized solutions for all of our customers, and for the past year, we have been outperforming the courier/logistics sector with unrivaled technology and service offers. Our ultimate goal is to become one of Bangladesh's top leading courier service platforms. Everything we do is centered on our customers' demands and strategic goals. We create value for our customers by constantly delivering great end-to-end supply chain solutions that meet even their most complicated needs. At every level of our organization, we seek to engage in a never-ending pursuit of excellence. From operational excellence to environmental performance, as well as interactions with customers, suppliers, and employees, we strive for perfection.
Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
It is not the first time that Parcelmagic has been present in Bangladesh or around the world. Many logistics companies have been providing services for many decades. But there are still many opportunities yet to discover and tap into. The rapid development of technology for human-machine interaction, communication, and the growth of mobile financial services have created many opportunities to extend new value propositions.
Making a startup successful requires an understanding of business processes and technology in-depth about overcoming the gaps in traditional approaches. It obviously can give one a competitive edge in the race but can be challenging to get people to adopt it. Successful disruptive innovation starts with negation but ends in utmost customer satisfaction.
It was challenging to assure a smooth delivery during the lockdown, but our logistical support providers were given a movement pass and training from the head of operations. To provide a hassle-free delivery to our consumers, they maintained hygienic aspects as well as WHO-certified healthcare regulations. As a result of this action, we now think that anything is achievable with relentless efforts.
What platform/tools do you use for your business?
Our website is custom designed on laravel platform, also for our B2B customers we built a full web-based merchant panel from where any business owners can easily register and start sending parcels right away, and also for instant delivery service in Dhaka city, we built fully API based Parcelmagic delivery app, available on both Google Play and iOS store, using these apps a user can easily send any parcels anytime!
As mentioned earlier, for traffic monitoring, remarketing, reporting and conversion goals setup we use Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics. And for Content marketing Quillbot, Frase, for SMM buzzsumo, SEO keywords ranking and competitor’s thorough analysis we use tools like SEMRUSH, Ahrefs, TruRanker etc.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?
Among the most important pieces of advice for entrepreneurs is to understand the investment in terms of stages of growth. A startup must pay more attention to this besides disruptive ideas or an excellent combination of people, processes, and technology to be successful. You should always partner with investors who are aware and familiar with the nature of the innovation, the product and services you would offer, as well as time and growth parameters. Sustainable development relies on timely investment decisions.
Many successful entrepreneurs would agree that no matter what, you must keep going forward and never give up! It is quite easy to give in to failures, but it is much tougher to persist and keep moving forward during difficult times. An entrepreneur's life is never easy; there are always challenges to overcome. From the moment the seed of an idea is planted until he or she reaches the pinnacle of achievement, an entrepreneur undergoes the seven degrees of torment! The true entrepreneur, on the other hand, is a doer who succeeds rain or shine.
Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?
Applicants can submit their CV to [email protected].
Currently, we are hiring a Head of Business Development with 7 to 10 years of experience in the logistics industry.
Where can we go to learn more?
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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