Latest news with #MeherPatel
Mint
29-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Wondrlab bets ₹30 crore on SaaS platform Hector to cut e-commerce chaos
MUMBAI : In a digital economy increasingly defined by high-velocity clicks and algorithmic shelves, brands are grappling with the chaos of managing e-commerce and quick commerce campaigns across multiple platforms. Marketing technology (martech) company Wondrlab is attempting to bring clarity with the launch of Hector, a proprietary SaaS (software as a service) platform built by its performance marketing arm Neon Digital. After two years of product development and a ₹30 crore investment, the platform is being positioned as a full-stack operating system for digital commerce, already being used by over 100 clients. At its core, Hector brings together advertising and performance data from Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, Blinkit, Instamart, Zepto and BigBasket, offering brands a unified dashboard to view, analyse and act on insights that were previously scattered across siloed platforms. The tool doesn't just visualise campaign data; it enables businesses to optimise spends, monitor competitor activity, and respond in real time to inventory, pricing and traffic shifts, all within a single interface. Also Read: Third time's the charm for this startup looking to ride India's gaming frenzy Unlike many martech products that are designed as reporting dashboards for marketers, Hector was built from the ground up by people who have lived the campaign trenches. 'We didn't start with a tech idea. We started with a problem," said Meher Patel, founder of Neon Digital. 'Every commerce platform has its own ad engine, its own language and its own reporting format. The knowledge is unstructured, and the learning curve is steep. Hector takes all of that and makes it intuitive." How Hector helps brands win The platform standardises performance metrics like ROAS (Return On Advertising Spend) and ACoS (Advertising cost of sales) across platforms, and consolidates advertising and organic revenue at the stock keeping unit (SKU) level. It enables users to track product-wise sales, ad attribution, regional performance and predictive inventory needs. For business leaders, it offers a top-down view of what's working and what's not, while also allowing deeper analysis for media managers. Saurabh Varma, founder and CEO of Wondrlab Network, sees Hector as a bet on India's growing digital commerce maturity. 'This is not just about efficiency. It's about giving brands control. The market has outgrown spreadsheets and patchwork dashboards. Hector is what a modern commerce control room looks like," he said. Also Read: Rooter picks up exclusive digital rights for esports tournament BGMI Masters Series One of Hector's standout features is its deep integration with Amazon Marketing Cloud, which enables brands to build audience cohorts based on every level of engagement, from those who simply saw an ad to those who added a product to cart but didn't complete the transaction. This kind of precision targeting, currently used by less than 1% of Amazon advertisers globally, has already helped Wondrlab clients reassess their media strategies. In one instance, a D2C mattress brand found that 65% of its Shopify and retail store buyers had interacted with its Amazon ads, prompting a rebalance of its YouTube and marketplace ad spends. But Hector doesn't stop at audience insights. It also facilitates campaign-level automation, including hourly performance analysis (dayparting), predictive alerts when top-selling SKUs are close to running out, and optimisation tools to tweak bids, placements or keywords in real time. The system also allows brands to build custom taxonomies, categorising products by size, gender, or material instead of relying on standard platform-defined hierarchies. The team is working towards a future where campaigns can be launched and managed across all marketplaces from one interface. A platform for future of commerce Hector is not licensed to other agencies and is only available via three engagement models: SaaS-only for in-house teams, full-service through Neon, or a hybrid approach. 'This is our moat," Varma said. 'We're not selling software. We're enabling commerce. If you're serious about scaling in this space, you'll need a platform like this." Also Read: From DRDO to Dinosaurs: India's listed 3D printing firm makes consumer pivot Wondrlab says the platform currently manages over ₹50 crore in monthly commerce and expects that figure to grow tenfold as it scales Hector to 500 clients over the next year. With increasing pressure on brands to demonstrate digital ROI (return on investment), especially on high-velocity platforms like quick commerce and marketplaces, Hector is being positioned as more than just a tool—it's a new way of doing business. 'In a market that's only getting noisier, you either have clarity or you're flying blind," said Patel. 'Hector gives you that clarity."
Express Tribune
01-04-2025
- Express Tribune
17 killed in Gujarat fireworks factory blast, rescue operations continue
Listen to article A devastating explosion at a fireworks factory in the Indian state of Gujarat has claimed the lives of 17 workers. The incident occurred in the town of Disa, where the factory and warehouse caught fire following a blast. Local authorities reported that the fire quickly spread, leading to widespread chaos. According to District Collector Meher Patel, the explosion occurred at Deepak Traders, a fireworks facility. The blast was so intense that parts of the building collapsed, hindering rescue operations. Local fire teams from the Disa Municipality, alongside 108 ambulance units, rushed to the site to carry out the rescue effort. Initial reports suggested that six people had died, but the death toll tragically increased as firefighters were able to control the blaze and search through the rubble. The fire was believed to have been caused by a boiler explosion, with the intensity of the blast and subsequent fire damaging the structure of the building severely. Authorities confirmed that the fire has been brought under control, but cooling operations are still ongoing as rescue teams continue to search for any survivors beneath the debris. The investigation into the cause of the explosion is underway, with authorities working to ensure the safety of workers in such high-risk environments.
