RAMP is creating a disruption in automotive aftermarket services by creating an ecosystem

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Rakesh Biswal, Co-Founder & COO of Ramp Global

1. What is Ramp and What are the products that Ramp has offered to the market?

RAMP is an innovative cloud-based ecosystem specifically designed for automotive aftermarket businesses, aimed at transforming the traditional difficult task of managing automotive operations into a seamlessly digitized process.

This advanced technology enhances all aspects of work and life, providing state-of-the-art solutions for stakeholders in the automotive industry. By integrating complex operations into a holistic, optimized, and cloud-based ecosystem, RAMP has revolutionized the industry, creating a platform where all stakeholders can manage their business processes.

The RAMP is committed to reducing waste through proper business process management, efficient purchases, lower acquisition costs- review, and increased customer retention. In 2017, RAMP began as a team of 5 creating software for vehicle workshop service. They identified industry gaps and challenges and improved the software to solve them. RAMP aims to optimize the auto service process by digitizing business processes for better control transparency, and accountability.

Products of RAMP –

• Retail Products & Enterprise Offerings –

RAMP provides a range of products that offer connected feature experiences to clients. They also offer customized enterprise solutions to meet specific client requirements, enabling them to optimize operations and tackle business challenges with ease. For clients who do not require customization, RAMP offers retail subscriptions.

• RAMP GMS (Garage Management Solution) –

GMS is designed to optimize business processes for multi-brand workshops by digitally connecting them with customers, vendors, employees, and compliance agencies.

Suitable for both single and multi-brand workshop operations, GMS enables workshops to manage various aspects of their business, including customer registrations, job card preparation, estimations, CRM, billing and invoicing, inventory management, store management, payments and daily accounts management, vendors and purchases management, business reports, analytics, useful insights, counter sales, insurance claims invoicing, and more.

• RAMP LMS (Leasing Management Solution)-

RAMP’s leasing ERP provides fleet leasing business owners with a comprehensive solution to manage and monitor their entire fleet business, including operations and maintenance activities.

RAMP’s leasing ERP addresses all these aspects, offering a transparent process and mechanism for clients who wish to adopt new-age technology for managing fleet leasing and maintenance operations with a single solution. It enables clients to gain a better understanding of their business, operations, costing, and real-time profitability.

• RAMP PFMS (Preventive Fleet Maintenance Solution) –

PFMS is a one-stop solution for fleet owners to manage and monitor their entire fleet operations and maintenance. It’s ideal for companies that own and operate their own fleet of vehicles. Vehicle maintenance typically constitutes 12% of overall business expenses, with fuel and tire expenses making up 30-40%. PFMS helps reduce costs and risks by providing features such as tire management, fuel and lubricant management, battery management, inventory management, maintenance management, and many more. It helps reduce fleet idling, fuel wastage and theft, maintenance theft, and improves overall control on ROI.

• FUPO (Fleet Utilization, productivity & Optimization) –

RAMP’s FUPO solution is designed to help companies in the construction and mining industries to manage their equipment fleet by providing solutions for fleet planning, allocation, engagement, productivity, and tracking management.

FUPO offers a 360-degree overview of the total composition of fleet held by a company, departments, or teams, and it allows authorized individuals to allot fleet to various locations, sites, departments, or teams. The solution helps users track the overall engagement and productivity statistics of the fleet.

The solution improves the overall centralized visibility of fleet utilization, creates accountability amongst various departments or individuals to effectively and efficiently utilize the allotted fleet.

2.What are the challenges that Ramp has faced from inception, how have you dealt with them? 

There have been several challenges throughout our journey as founders, and they have differed during various phases. Initially, the major challenges we faced were industry and domain knowledge. As none of us had prior experience in this industry, finding the right person to educate and provide us with knowledge was a significant obstacle. To overcome this challenge, we spoke to potential users to understand the industry, their pain points, and their needs, which helped us discuss feasible solutions with them.

The adoption of technology and compliance with GST by workshops were also major challenges. We had to convince our users of the value that technology could bring to their lives while taking their concerns regarding data privacy and misuse seriously. We adopted ethical business practices and secured our products from external attacks to mitigate any risk of data theft or misuse.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought its own set of challenges, resulting in the closure of many SMBs, which impacted our business and resulted in the reduction of our workforce, particularly the field salesforce and support staff. However, the pandemic also provided opportunities to streamline and expand our business, allowing us to optimize our resources and fine-tune our thought processes. As a result, we have now launched globally, operating in around 20 global markets.

Workshops initially saw technology adoption as an expense rather than an investment, but this mindset is slowly changing. Our software showcases the value additions that can be made in their personal and professional lives, helping shift their perspective. The pandemic has also changed users’ mindsets, with many now looking for digital options to receive and fulfill orders. Doing business online is being seen as a viable long-term option. With data standardization, ease of data retrieval, and data analytics, workshops are managing their businesses more effectively and efficiently than ever before.

3. Which is the most used product/service of Ramp used till date.

GMS (Garage Management Software).

• Optimizes business processes for multi-brand workshops, digitally connects them to the customers, vendors, employees & compliance agencies.
• Ideal for workshops operating in single locations or organisations operating multi-location workshop operations

4. How does Ramp keep pace with the tremendous changing Automotive market?

RAMP is dedicated to continuously evolving by engaging with customers and keeping a close eye on technological advancements within the industry. The company has created a culture of continuous learning and knowledge sharing, which has allowed it to stay ahead of its competitors. RAMP also invests significant resources in research and development to ensure it remains future-ready and capable of effectively meeting the ever-changing market needs.

5. How is Ramp different from its competitors?

RAMP was founded by individuals without prior experience in the automotive industry, allowing them to focus their efforts on learning about the industry’s problems and developing effective solutions for end-users. The platform and applications were created after extensive research and listening to feedback from end-users, resulting in a product that is user-friendly and differentiated from competitors.

RAMP is also the world’s first digital platform to integrate multiple stakeholders in the automotive industry, making it a one-stop-shop for all industry needs. This ensures that every requirement is just a click away, making the platform a convenient and efficient solution for the industry.

6. Please share some upcoming expansion/funding plans.

RAMP has the vision to become the backbone of the service industry in India by onboarding most of the stakeholders onto its platform and aims to penetrate 15,000 service stations within the next 3 years. To achieve this goal, RAMP is actively seeking collaborations with like-minded industry players to provide seamless, efficient, and transparent services in the automotive industry.