How An IIT-Bombay Startup is Leveraging An Innovative Distribution Channel To Sell Its Products

Atomberg Technologies, a multi-award winning startup launched by IIT-Bombay alumni, has created an innovative distribution channel to distribute their flagship fans in Mumbai. These fans, which go by the name “Gorilla Fans” are based on the state-of-the-art Brushless DC technology that is more energy efficient than even the five-star ceiling fans available in the market. The Gorilla Fans consume just 28 watts of energy, even when operated at their highest speed.

Atomberg started manufacturing these fans back in November 2015, and within six months, their sales reached 1,000 fans per month and currently, the company is selling 12,000 fans per month, with a capacity to produce 30,000 fans per month. The Gorilla Fans are one of the highest rated and reviewed products on e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart with online sales of around 2,000 fans per month. The total sales of these Gorilla Fans through e-commerce has been around 20,000 fans.

Recently, Atomberg innovated a new distribution channel wherein they tied-up with Tata Power to provide the Gorilla Fans to the customers in Mumbai at a subsidized price under the Demand-Side Management (DSM) scheme. Tata Power has initiated many programmes to promote energy efficiency at consumer premises and this scheme is approved by Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC). The main objective of this programme is to reduce energy consumption by providing energy-efficient products to people at subsidized rates.

“Under Tata Power Demand-Side Management [DSM] programme, we motivate customers to give up energy-guzzling appliances. Gorilla fans provide huge energy savings,” says Shekhar Khadilkar, head DSM & power management, Tata Power, Mumbai distribution.

Commenting on the initiative, and acknowledging Gorilla Fans, Mr. Ashok Sethi, COO and Executive Director, Tata Power, said, "Energy management and conservation are more important today than ever before, and innovative technologies like the BLDC technology can be a game changer for it.”

Ever since the tie-up, Atomberg has sold more than 7,000 fans through the Demand-Side Management programme in Mumbai, thereby winning the trust of B2C clients as well. These fans have a smart remote control, which has speed control, sleep, and timer mode. If you’re a residential consumer, you’ll be eligible to procure four fans for just Rs. 1,750, against Rs. 3,500, which is the market price, as the additional cost will be supported by the DSM scheme.

The products will be home delivered to the consumers who register for the program. The consumers would also get a three-year warranty on these Gorilla Fans delivered through the DSM scheme. Other than TATA, Atomberg has also tied-up with Reliance under a similar scheme to distribute efficient fans at an effective price in Mumbai.

To be a part of this programme and avail the benefits of this scheme, consumers can register themselves at the online portal or call at the 24X7 call center of their utility - Reliance or TATA. Once you register yourself with either of the utilities, they send a list of registered customers along with your details to Atomberg. Atomberg then arranges for the home delivery of your fans at rates, which are more cost-effective than market rates.

Atomberg has racked up many more national and international accolades, including winning the Global Cleantech Innovation Program at San Francisco organized by United Nations Industrial Development Organization in association with CleanTech Open. Atomberg was also awarded the WWF - India’s Climate Solver award back in 2017. This award recognizes organizations that use innovative clean technologies and contribute to reducing emissions and enhancing energy access. The founders, Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das, were nominated to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2018 and also won the National Entrepreneurship Award in 2017.

The startup, which raised close to $1 million from Parampara Capr in 2016, has a strong relationship with corporate clients like Infosys, Tata Group, ITC, Hyatt Hotels, Raymond, Madura Coats, Hindware, Bharat Electronics, Roca, SRF, etc, and even institutions like IIT Bombay, and IIT Hyderabad, among others.

Top Image - Sibabrata Das and Manoj Meena at the Atomberg production plant in Mhape. [Photo by IndianExpress.com]

How An IIT-Bombay Startup is Leveraging An Innovative Distribution Channel To Sell Its Products

Atomberg Technologies, a multi-award winning startup launched by IIT-Bombay alumni, has created an innovative distribution channel to distribute their flagship fans in Mumbai. These fans, which go by the name “Gorilla Fans” are based on the state-of-the-art Brushless DC technology that is more energy efficient than even the five-star ceiling fans available in the market. The Gorilla Fans consume just 28 watts of energy, even when operated at their highest speed.

Atomberg started manufacturing these fans back in November 2015, and within six months, their sales reached 1,000 fans per month and currently, the company is selling 12,000 fans per month, with a capacity to produce 30,000 fans per month. The Gorilla Fans are one of the highest rated and reviewed products on e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart with online sales of around 2,000 fans per month. The total sales of these Gorilla Fans through e-commerce has been around 20,000 fans.

Recently, Atomberg innovated a new distribution channel wherein they tied-up with Tata Power to provide the Gorilla Fans to the customers in Mumbai at a subsidized price under the Demand-Side Management (DSM) scheme. Tata Power has initiated many programmes to promote energy efficiency at consumer premises and this scheme is approved by Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC). The main objective of this programme is to reduce energy consumption by providing energy-efficient products to people at subsidized rates.

“Under Tata Power Demand-Side Management [DSM] programme, we motivate customers to give up energy-guzzling appliances. Gorilla fans provide huge energy savings,” says Shekhar Khadilkar, head DSM & power management, Tata Power, Mumbai distribution.

Commenting on the initiative, and acknowledging Gorilla Fans, Mr. Ashok Sethi, COO and Executive Director, Tata Power, said, "Energy management and conservation are more important today than ever before, and innovative technologies like the BLDC technology can be a game changer for it.”

Ever since the tie-up, Atomberg has sold more than 7,000 fans through the Demand-Side Management programme in Mumbai, thereby winning the trust of B2C clients as well. These fans have a smart remote control, which has speed control, sleep, and timer mode. If you’re a residential consumer, you’ll be eligible to procure four fans for just Rs. 1,750, against Rs. 3,500, which is the market price, as the additional cost will be supported by the DSM scheme.

The products will be home delivered to the consumers who register for the program. The consumers would also get a three-year warranty on these Gorilla Fans delivered through the DSM scheme. Other than TATA, Atomberg has also tied-up with Reliance under a similar scheme to distribute efficient fans at an effective price in Mumbai.

To be a part of this programme and avail the benefits of this scheme, consumers can register themselves at the online portal or call at the 24X7 call center of their utility - Reliance or TATA. Once you register yourself with either of the utilities, they send a list of registered customers along with your details to Atomberg. Atomberg then arranges for the home delivery of your fans at rates, which are more cost-effective than market rates.

Atomberg has racked up many more national and international accolades, including winning the Global Cleantech Innovation Program at San Francisco organized by United Nations Industrial Development Organization in association with CleanTech Open. Atomberg was also awarded the WWF - India’s Climate Solver award back in 2017. This award recognizes organizations that use innovative clean technologies and contribute to reducing emissions and enhancing energy access. The founders, Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das, were nominated to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for 2018 and also won the National Entrepreneurship Award in 2017.

The startup, which raised close to $1 million from Parampara Capr in 2016, has a strong relationship with corporate clients like Infosys, Tata Group, ITC, Hyatt Hotels, Raymond, Madura Coats, Hindware, Bharat Electronics, Roca, SRF, etc, and even institutions like IIT Bombay, and IIT Hyderabad, among others.

Top Image - Sibabrata Das and Manoj Meena at the Atomberg production plant in Mhape. [Photo by IndianExpress.com]

UpGrad & IIIT-B Partner to Bring Onboard SocialCops for Their Data Analytics Program

UpGrad, the online education platform for working professionals and IIIT-B have tied up with SocialCops for their Data Analytics program. SocialCops is a data intelligence company that leverages data and technology to bring the entire decision making process to one place — from collecting and merging to visualizing data. As a part of this tie up, UpGrad will leverage their knowledge and case studies to train students to be able to use the power of technology, mobile and community to improve decision making using data sourced from grassroots.

One of the case studies shared will include SocialCops’s study on small and marginal farmers' data where they identified areas in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha where farmers needed support in training and nutrition.

Speaking about the partnership, Prukalpa Sankar, Co-Founder SocialCops said, "At SocialCops, we are big believers in the power of data in driving critical decisions. We are constantly looking for ways to educate people on how to make data work for them. Our partnership with UpGrad is a significant step in this direction. We are excited to share learnings from some of the most complex problems we have worked on with UpGrad's community of professionals looking to accelerate their career in data analytics. We hope to build many more such meaningful conversations with UpGrad."

Adding on Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder & MD, UpGrad said, “SocialCops is playing an instrumental role in revolutionizing decision-making and governance at all levels — right from the national to village-level — by leveraging data and its technology-based platform. We are excited to collaborate with them and will add another aspect to our program.”

The 12 month academically rigorous and industry relevant Data Analytics program, co-developed by IIIT-Bangalore and UpGrad also features mentors, case studies and guest lecturers from Uber, Genpact, Cognizant Technologies, Gramener among others. According to experts, Data Analytics industry in India alone is expected to face a shortage of at least 2 lac data scientists. This program, which was curated for working professionals to acquire industry know-how, grow their professional network, and accelerate their career in data analytics, now aims at bridging this gap by readying professionals for this foreseen demand of the industry. As a part of this partnership, SocialCops will also look at recruiting quality analytics talent from this program for their Data Analytics teams.

The program will have industry leaders such as Sameer Dhanrajani (Business Leader, Analytics & Data Sciences, Cognizant Technology Solutions), Ujjyaini Mitra (Associate Director, Analytics, Flipkart), Kalpana Subbaramappa (Ex-AVP, Genpact), Vinit Vishal (Head-Analytics, Arvind Brands) among many others as individual contributors for the program.

With this program, IIIT-Bangalore and UpGrad aim to train over 10,000 professionals in the field of data analytics. The curriculum covers the depth and breadth of the subject in the form of interactive lectures, live sessions and a 3-month capstone project mentored by industry professionals.