Leaders

Bigtruck is a promising truck booking platform that allows truck owners to explore unlimited business opportunities and even bid on a variety of cargo transportation business possibilities. Truck owners can now leverage the data to track a vehicle in transit and its availability for the following load. He will be able to significantly lower diesel costs with the aid of route optimization and planning, resulting in an increase in the number of trips and earnings. This would also assist them in paying their EMI payments. This platform has also addressed truck drivers' long-standing issues by providing them with a smart way to drive a cargo-laden truck, complete with route guidance and a wealth of information available through the Bigtruck driver app. It will considerably aid them in improving their service quality, turnaround time, and predictability.

“At Bigtruck, our entire infrastructure has been robustly designed to provide the best quality service to any-sized company. It aims at addressing all stakeholders of the logistics and cargo industry by providing end-to-end solutions via revolutionising the existing trucking industry. We are leveraging cutting-edge technologies to bridge gaps and address deficiencies in the existing legacy trucking industry,” highlights Waheeda Khan, Co-Founder at Bigtruck.

In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur Magazine, Waheeda Khan walks us through her personal and professional journey along with the unique traits of the company.

Take Us Through Your Prior Industry Experience That You Bring To The Table. What Motivated You To Foray Into Co-Founding A Firm That Offers Express Cargo Booking Services, Transportation And Logistics Services In India?

With over 15 years of financial and HR leadership experience, I have worked with various companies including Citigroup, Cholamandalam, and Barclays Bank, among others, in finance, credit, and risk management before launching Rumztech with Khurshid Alam in 2009. Rumztech has been operating successfully since then. I'm a consummate team player that is highly passionate about my work. In my free time, I also enjoy playing basketball and running long distances for fitness.

What Are The Various Roles & Responsibilities That You Currently Shoulder At Bigtruck Technologies? What Are Some Of The Most Challenging Aspects Of Your Role As The Co-Founder? How Do You Overcome Them?

I share the common vision of the company and serve as a right hand for the founder for his brainchild across various arms that includes Finance, Operations, tech, Marketing etc. And probably this is what I have been doing. But from the past 18 months, I have shifted my focus to client acquisition, Finance & Accounts and HR. When it comes to challenges, no matter how fantastic your product concept is, if you don't properly communicate it to the team, they're unlikely to be as enthusiastic about producing it as you are. In this instance, you'll notice a lack of dedication and motivation among your team members. The best way to overcome this obstacle is to ensure clear communication and to collaborate closely with the team during the planning and concept validation stages. As a result, involving your team in the product definition step is critical. Their suggestions and opinions should be appreciated. It is necessary to pique their interest in helping your business flourish. Furthermore, you will be able to maintain a close relationship with them as a result of this. Understanding this, we've been doing it since the beginning of Bigtruck.

How Has Your Past Industrial Experience Helped You In Your Current Role As The Director At Bigtruck Technologies S? What Scope Do You Foresee For Bigtruck Technologies?

I began my career in the banking business and have spent nearly 15 years in the service industry. As a result, comprehending a customer's wants is no longer a difficulty. We're building an ecosystem at Bigtruck to enable 'Truckers in India' to improve their operational efficiency by embracing digitalization and technology. By lowering total logistics costs, it will improve the end-to-end consumer experience and create a more efficient supply chain.

The various processes and support which makes Bigtruck the torch bearer in supply chain management are its Analytics services and Big data. It enables Bigtruck to improve its clients' experiences by adhering to high quality standards when delivering logistical solutions. Our Bigtruck lab is actively working on ground-breaking predictive analytics tools, analytics services, and big data, which will help us to unearth insights and give the most effective end-to-end logistics and supply chain solutions to our customers. The inherent machine learning algorithms are redefining supply chain optimization, and the live tracking function lets us comprehend the trend. In the last three years we have been able to successfully operate in 50+ cities and we have grown 100 percent YOY. We have a plan to expand to 200 locations by end of 2023..

How Can We Encourage More Women To Participate In The Logistics And Supply Chain Domain?

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent," Eleanor Roosevelt famously remarked. We women must trust in ourselves and pursue possibilities. As a community, we must band together to assist one another.

"We aim at addressing all stakeholders of the logistics and cargo industry by providing end-to-end solutions via revolutionising the existing trucking industry"

Despite the fact that logistics is an ever-growing industry with a high interest in business leaders, we still notice a significant gap in women's skill that is underrepresented in the profession. Women have often demonstrated their talent and made their imprint in professions that were long thought to be exclusively male domains, such as supply chain management, logistics, and transportation. To support this, we must develop a market environment that is positive and conducive to women's engagement in the transportation and logistics industry, thereby advocating for equal opportunity to women entrepreneurs.

To attract and encourage more women into this industry, we simply need to educate them, provide opportunities for them in the same ecosystem, and ensure that there are more and more women in senior management positions, so that the need for diversity is constantly recognized. Now is the time to take action to make real progress on our diversity agenda.

Waheeda Khan,  Co-Founder,  Bigtruck

A proactive professional with 16 years of experience spanning from successful employee to successful business. She began her work with major NBFCs and banks. Managed finance, credit, and risk for corporations such as Citigroup, Cholamandalam, and Barclay.