A brick-and-mortar pharmacy store – An interview with Suresh Satyamurthy, CEO and Co-Founder, Tarnea Technologies Solutions Pvt. Ltd

 

New Delhi, August 22, 2016:

Explain your venture in one statement.

TarneaSmartMile™ is a B2B platform for in-store automation of Retail pharmacies. A brick-and-mortar pharmacy store can get online and start serving customers within 20 minutes. The platform connects the pharmacy to its suppliers in real-time.

A pharmacy will never lose a sale for want of stocks.

How did the idea of the company come about?

The idea of founding Tarnea goes back to the early 90s. One of the founders was working for a com
pany that pioneered the retail distribution of fresh and frozen fruits & vegetables in India. It had one of the best infrastructure setups for material handling, logistics and a state-of-the-art ERP.

However, not having visibility into the stock levels and sales at the retail end was the single biggest problem for the company. There were extremes – loss of sales due to stock-outs and product losses (due to their perishable nature). As a result, sales were erratic and retailer morale was low. At that time, there existed no solution for the problem.

In 2011, India had become a case study for the adoption and rapid proliferation of several new technologies – mobile penetration crossed over 100 million, banking industry changed dramatically (through the proliferation of ATMs) and India became the world’s largest DTH market. Mobile phones became the mainstay of support for the livelihood of millions of drivers, carpenters, housemaids and workers across the country.

In spite of these sweeping changes, these decades-old problems (of retailers lacking appropriate technology to run their businesses or the visibility of the “last mile of business”) had not been solved. On the other hand, the issue of visibility had only got more complex and bigger. Any company that you can think of was affected adversely, not being able to see till the end of their supply chain, especially on a real time basis.

It is now a $750 billion problem. India is already the 5th largest retail economy in the world. As it grows to become one of the 3 largest retail economies, it becomes critical that some of these problems need to be solved for its industry.

Solving this problem was seen as a great business opportunity by the founders, who joined up towards that vision – to provide automation to retailers who have none and to connect up the entire supply chain onto a single platform.

We did an extensive first-hand research of the Indian market by traveling across India – especially rural areas in markets like UP, Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka &Tamilnadu . We determined that the purchasing power of the Indian retailer had multiplied manifold over the last two decades. However, the usage of technology to run their operations was minimal.

At the same time, we also saw that mobile phone usage & penetration was high. Users were, therefore, not averse to using/adopting technology if it delivered clear value and if adoption hurdles were minimised. We decided to focus not just on Technology but design as well. This became our credo – to “be the User” before design and development.

Who are the key people driving it forward?

Mission Tarnea has become a movement of sorts. Apart from the Founders, a bunch of very passionate people from different walks of life have come together to drive this mission,

● Academics from one of the leading B-schools

● Our mentor-cum-coach : PG Ponnapa

● CXOs of companies which have set up sales & distribution networks for some of the largest brands in the world

● Our early stage customers

Why should anyone become your customer?

If you are a SME Retailer,

a) You will get the tools for engaging your customers at par or better than some of the biggest retailers in the world. Being small is not a disadvantage. You can stay engaged and drive even better economies than some of the mega retailers.

b) You will gain unprecedented control over your business,

● Eliminate losses due to stockouts

● Eliminate losses due to expiry

● Automatically manage stock levels

c) Optimize your procurement -get the best deals from your best suppliers

Why should anyone join you as an employee?

Team Tarnea spends much time “out of the building” to deeply connect with the eco-system in which our solutions work. In the recent past we have driven with truckers on highways, worked as store assistants, interviewed customers, farmers, wholesalers etc. before writing the first line of code.

If you are ….

a) A Techie or a Geek …. Not only you get to work at the cutting edge of technology but also fundamentally challenge and rewrite some of the rules of the technology business – especially the way technology products are created and sold. Sounds like you?

b) A Sales & BD person…. You will address a market of over $700 billion, on its way to become one of the top retail markets in the world. It is also the world’s fastest growing market and will accelerate through several levels of technology to become one of the most technologically advanced markets. Does it get bigger than that?

c) If you are a UX Designer and you aspire to work on great designs… the routine and mundane is not worth the bother. You won’t spend rest of your life, producing sketches you don’t care about!

What are your plans to grow the business?

For starters, you will see us in several more cities and towns across India. Somewhere, soon, a retailer will be serving you using a Tarnea powered system.

As a consumer you will be using our rewards program app and making payments through a wallet that connects with Tarnea’s platform.

Large companies and their Distributors will be able to directly connect with Retailers and consumers and offer services in ways it has not been possible so far.

The ecosystem will grow much larger.

Technology will become as intrinsic to the life of a retailer as the stethoscope is to a doctor’s!

Any interesting anecdote that you would like to share?

Feb 2011: Somewhere on the outskirts of Bangalore just off the Tumkur Road, I stopped by at a small kirana store. We were still researching the opportunity space of what would become Tarnea.

I struck a conversation with the owner – “How do you make money in your business?”.

Here is what he said (in my words) – “As a retailer, I don’t determine the price of what I sell. The MRP is fixed by the manufacturer. Idon’t determine the margin either – it’s determined by the distributors and the manufacturer. I don’t have space to keep more products or stocks. I don’t have money to open more shops. The only way I can make money is if I get a customer in, serve him quickly and send him off so that I can serve the next customer. And, if I do that well, they keep coming back! And the same goes for my stocks – get it in quickly and sell it off quickly. It’s that simple ! ”.

Listen to him carefully. He is talking about – Velocity of sales ! Higher utilization of shelf space ! Higher realization per unit time !

The language used by a small retailer on Tumkur Road is exactly the same used by the mega-retailers (e.g. Walmart, Tesco) of the world! It is the same wisdom!

It is just that one is a $485 billion Fortune No. 1 behemoth equipped with the best technologies in the world and the other is running a small mofussil store with no technology whatsoever.

Light bulbs suddenly lit up: What if you equip the small retailer with the same technology features that empower the mega-retailers of the world?

Tarnea’s opportunity space needed no further validation. Tarnea was born that very moment.

Tell us about the addressable market and underlying opportunity you are going after

Our addressable market spans Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, Auto, Hardware and Building Materials and Accessories. Our first market will be India and, subsequently, we plan to extend this to other countries.

Our first Target Market in India is the pharmaceuticals value chain. We address a market of 500,000+ retailers, 40,000+ Distributors, 500+ manufacturers, and close to 100 million consumers. In India alone, it is a $20 billion industry growing at a rate of 13-14% CAGR.

What keeps you excited? What’s the big drive you are going after?

The opportunity to empower millions of retailers and their consumers through our platform, keeps us going. This will be hugely transformative for the entire retail economy not only in India but around the world.

What is your traction when it comes to revenue growth? (numbers)

We are not disclosing our revenue at this stage…

How the startup is funded or is it bootstrapped?

Bootstrapped along with Family and Friends.

Angel round with HNI investors who are CXOs of leading Indian and International companies who are market leaders in their respective space.

Your take on competition?

TarneaSmartMile occupies a unique position in the industry both as a technology solution and as a platform. As a B2B2C platform there are currently no competing platforms in India. However, the biggest source of competition is the status quo of the market at the retail end. It is served by a large number of sub-scale SME software companies whose products continue to run on a standalone basis on outdated technologies. In the Retail segment we are the only SaaS platform, based on an open architecture, and offer this “openness” to other 3rd parties like payment solutions, finance to join the eco-system.

What is your long term vision?

Every retailer is automated and is able to do his business both online and offline with equal ease. He is able to serve his customers and is connected with his entire supply chain in real time. All this happens through an open platform. The platform can be accessed from anywhere using any device.

And, of course, the platform is TarneaSmartMile^TM

What is the difference between a platform and software?

Most retail solutions prevalent in the market today are closed systems, and cannot extend their utility beyond basic billing operations. For instance, a user cannot access information on a desktop system from another location.

TarneaSmartMile is a platform because of 2 key features –

● A retailer’s business partners, such as suppliers and customers, can both work with him on the same system.

● It can be accessed from anywhere. Some of our users access it from their homes, from other cities when they are travelling. Users can access it using any device such as desktop, laptops, tablets and, some features, even on a mobile phone.

How does Tarnea improve customer experience?

Retailers who have adopted the Tarnea platform have consistently reported a 40-50% decline in customer wait time. Tarnea’s solution lets you service your customers faster, which has been shown to boost customer satisfaction.

How does Tarnea platform provide management control?

A retailer using the Tarnea platform stays in complete control of the pharmacy at all times. Retailers receive daily SMS and emails that contain details of all operational areas in the store – sales, purchases, adjustments, inventory etc. Furthermore, Tarnea’s reports can be accessed securely from anywhere by the retailers using an internet connection. Tarnea provides detailed and visually beautiful reports directly to your inbox!

Do I need to also do some manual record keeping for my store if I use the Tarnea platform?

No. The Tarnea platform provides all reports needed, and the retailer does not need to perform any manual bookkeeping. For instance, compliance reports such as Prescription Register can be directly downloaded from within the Tarnea software

Does the Tarnea Platform work even if there is no internet?

Yes! Tarnea’s Retail solutions works both online and offline – you can continue to sell with the software even if there is loss of internet connectivity.

Hardware-related questions

What hardware do I need to start using the Tarnea solution?

To run the Tarnea Solution, the retailer needs: an Android tablet or a desktop, a printer, a wireless router and an internet connection. Tarnea’s Support team can answer all your questions and provide further guidance on hardware-specific queries.

How does the Tarnea platform support printing? Do I need special printers?

Tarnea supports printing on all standard printers prevalent in retail today. If you have a dot-matrix printer, you can continue to use it. If you are a store that is not yet automated, you can choose to install either a dot-matrix printer, or even a next-generation wireless printer

Does the Tarnea Solution support barcoding?

Yes – Tarnea Retail Platform supports both barcode printing and scanning of barcoded items at sale

Setup and Training

How long does it take to onboard a customer to the Tarnea platform?

From the time you give us your data, your store can be live with the Tarnea platform within half a business day. However, it does take us 24 hours to take data from your older system, and migrate it to the Tarnea system. The migration process has zero impact on your pharmacy business – we ensure the change of software happens in the smoothest way possible

What about customer support? Do you have a local support team?

Tarnea’s Local Support team consists of engineers recruited from quality engineering colleges in Andhra Pradesh. The Support team specializes in working with both owners and pharmacists. Their technical skills and fluency in local languages helps them resolve most customers issues expeditiously. Tarnea’s Support Engineers cover Vijayawada, Guntur, Ongole, and other nearby cities.

In addition, Tarnea also provides remote technical support. Additional specialized support is also arranged on request.

What if a pharmacy currently does not have automation?

We specialize in helping stores with no software digitize their inventory. Our expert team of Support engineers provides guidance and tools for a pharmacy to easily take stock of its inventory. Talk to us about how Tarnea can achieve this in your pharmacy

Will my pharmacists be able to learn this software?

The Tarnea Retail Platform is extremely simple to learn – the design of its touch interface makes it user-friendly and intuitive. First-time users can start billing within 15 minutes!

In addition, training is also provided. As part of the on-boarding process, Tarnea conducts product training both for the staff and the owners. Our support team gets you ready to handle all aspects of the software. We also have comprehensive training manuals for the product.

Does the Tarnea platform also include accounting?

Tarnea provides all important accounting reports needed by the retailer, including comprehensive sales, purchase and inventory reports, and also VAT reports. All reports are downloadable in multiple file formats, including Excel and PDF. Data from Tarnea’s system can also be plugged into accounting softwares such as Tally. However, full-fledged accounting is not included in Tarnea

Data

What about data security?

Tarnea meets international data security standards, and maintains your data on military-grade datacenter infrastructure. Tarnea’s infrastructure has passed all third-party security assessment tests with flying colors, wherein no vulnerabilities have been found. With Tarnea, your data is as secure as being in an iron vault in a bank

What happens to the data in the software system currently being used by the retailer?

Tarnea understands that your data is important and precious. Our engineering team takes the data from your older system, analyzes and cleanses it, and then transfers it to the Tarnea system. When a retailer starts billing from the Tarnea software, all his data is pre-loaded on his SmartMile application! One of Tarnea’s key strengths is its ability to migrate data from a wide range of compatible point-of-sale systems.

Can a customer export the data directly from the Tarnea platform?

Yes! Customers can log into the Tarnea secure portal from anywhere using the secret username and Password, and download their data in multiple formats including PDF and Excel.

Cost

How much does the TarneaSmartMile Retail platform cost?

TarneaSmartMile is not only the world’s first pharmacy-focused cloud solution, but also one of the most cost-effective solutions in the market today. TarneaSmartMile’s usage rates are equivalent to cellphone rates.

Do you charge separately for software updates?

No – as part of the monthly subscription, Tarnea provides you with the latest updates, as and when they are released. Tarnea ensures that all latest features are automatically pushed out to you on the cloud

Is there also an AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) fees?

No – the monthly subscription is the only price you pay

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)