Created by former Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform engineers, Locus, a Californian start-up with a global presence, promises an intelligent logistics automation platform that optimizes logistics for local companies and enterprises in courier, ecommerce, food delivery, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and other verticals.

Since its inception in 2015, Locus has raised a total of $2.75 million in Series A funding, and has won the TiE Lumis Partners Entrepreneurial Excellence Award and the Disruptive Tech of the Year awards in 2016.

CEO Nishith Rastogi, an alumnus from Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani with pending patents in machine learning, explained that “Locus provides complete automation from the point of dispatch till the order reaches the end customers. Locus’ solutions help increase operational efficiency and resource utilization, reduce costs and differentiate our clients’ services with superior delivery performance. Our powerful dashboard also helps clients stay aware of all that is going on with features such as live tracking and intelligent alerts. We don’t just tell where your truck is, we tell you where your truck should be.”

Equipped with a series of proprietary algorithms that solve problems from load balancing, route optimization and planning, to container utilization, Locus increases operational efficiency and resource utilization. The technology suite comprises a proprietary route deviation engine, order dispatch automation, a capacity optimizer for the fleet, a field user app, a dashboard for operations, live tracking for end-customer, configurable alerts from activities on ground, live reporting, and predictive analytics.

Locus’ latest product, a 3D packing engine, generates efficient packing configurations for loading cargo into containers. It creates the best suited loading plan, taking into account stacking and orientation constraints, fragility of the products, and packing arrangements like LIFO. With this engine, clients can achieve 80 percent of vehicle volume utilization within 60 seconds.

A Locus client in the furniture sector reported a 25-percent increase in efficiency and productivity. Another reported a 100-percent jump in orders per vehicle for intra-city deliveries. Healthcare companies experienced 25-percent reductions in fuel costs.