Last-mile logistics firm Exprs has raised Rs 4.5 crore in seed funding, led by angel investors Sweta Rau and Sandeep Kapoor, along with participation from LetsVenture, AngelList and DFC Advisory.

The Hyderabad-based firm is looking to set up over 500 nano distribution hubs for e-commerce deliveries in large apartment complexes and tech parks across India in the next six months.

Exprs, which works with leading e-commerce and third-party logistics firms, enables last yard deliveries from campus gates to customer doorsteps, helping them improve efficiency and save costs.

The company said it had partnered with a prominent e-commerce marketplace, helping the e-tailer save over 20% on last-mile delivery costs.

“Last mile takes 50% of the overall logistics cost because of multiple inefficiencies. All the deliveries come to kiosks within large gated communities and tech parks and then we micro distribute them. We’ve established 70 such points across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai,” said Srinivas Madhavam, Founder and CEO.

The company said it improves efficiency of package delivery inside large residential and office campuses by collating deliveries from multiple providers, while allowing them to do deliveries in batches and handle smoother returns.

Madhavam said there were around 6,000 locations within residential complexes, tech parks and college campuses where Exprs can potentially open kiosks for deliveries, while it is also looking to set up locations in areas that have a high density of smaller apartment complexes.

The company is also piloting a dark store model, for which it has begun working with a few direct to customer (D2C) brands.

Exprs said demand for its services have gone up during the Covid-19 pandemic when apartment complexes restricted entry of delivery agents. By placing a fixed number of pre-screened delivery agents within campuses, the company was able to deliver orders to customers. The company said it had done 1 million deliveries so far.

“The most complex part of delivery logistics is usually the last-mile delivery. It’s great to see that Exprs is seeking to solve this problem with an innovative approach, using the right smart technologies and driving process improvement strategy,” said Sandeep Kapoor, founder and MD at Algo Legal, an investor in Exprs.