Bizongo, a digital supply chain system for auto-replenishment of packaging, expects the business environment to remain challenging for the rest of the year due to the uncertainties created by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. “I think the business environment will remain challenging for the rest of this year. A vaccine and its availability by year-end can potentially be a game-changer, giving more hope for the last quarter. Meanwhile, we will focus on sticking to the fundamentals, doing the basics right, conserving cash, and improving efficiencies to squeeze maximum benefit,” says Ankit Tomar, co-founder, and chief technology officer of Bizongo.
For the company, the initial part of the lockdown had an adverse impact though packaging was considered an essential product. As per Tomar, this was due to different interpretations of the lockdown rules by local authorities, which created confusion leading to a supply chain and logistics breakdowns.
“Our packaging partners saw their output fall due to workforce shortage; warehouse operations suffered, and transportation became an issue. We have been focusing on solving the challenges as they come,” Tomar adds.
Mumbai-based Bizongo caters to businesses across sectors such as eCommerce, food delivery, FMCG, dairy, and pharma. Commenting on the impact of lockdown on these sectors, Tomar says that restriction in movement resulted in an uptake in specific segments like eCommerce and food delivery services.
“Even though lockdown protocols are eased to varying degrees in the country, most people do not venture out unless necessary. So, online orders for grocery, perishable products like vegetables and meat products have also increased,” he says. “People are also concerned about the safety and hygiene of products they interact with; hence packaged goods are preferred. The ‘work-from-home’ shift has seen a considerable blurring of lines between work and home, leading to more online orders for food deliveries to save time and effort. Other sectors like lifestyle, apparel, cosmetic products have seen a decline.”
New features for Artwork Flow
Recently, Bizongo announced a range of new features to its packaging artwork management platform, Artwork Flow. The added features include Adobe and Google Drive extensions, a Spanish website, and translation services.
Tomar says the new features enhance all the existing functionalities of Artwork Flow. “For example, we heard our designers say they did not want to manage the hassle of working on multiple platforms simultaneously and hence the extension. It is as simple as a single click to push a file directly into Artwork Flow from Adobe.”
Similarly, Bizongo also created a Google Drive extension that does the same. Additionally, its long-time users have requested multiple power features that would help in compliance with local laws and translate artworks easily.
“All these features help in improving the ‘Go to Market’ time for any brand. The response to the new tools has been positive. We are understanding the variations in the local and international market as we continue to build more features on top of Artwork Flow,” Tomar adds.
More new offerings
After launching a range of new features for Artwork Flow, Bizongo will release several more products in the coming months. The most important is the Bizongo Platform. This platform is the collection of all the tools that Bizongo uses internally for its operations, packaged so that everyone can leverage the process and technologies within their organizations.
Tomar says that with regards to Artwork Flow, the company is seeing a lot of interest from international clients, especially its subscription-based model. “Our focus over the next few months is to build a complementary set of product features that will seamlessly integrate with our platform, while also allowing a user to use the full power of Artwork Flow independently,” he concludes.
