Delivery Science is bringing much-needed big data to Nigeria's e-commerce and manufacturing sector. It does so by developing and distributing innovative technology solutions to make the delivery, inventory, and transport of goods and products more efficient whilst rooting out transparency-related issues. The company’s innovations have started to disrupt the market, particularly in terms of vehicle tracking and paper-based inventory approaches. As a result, Delivery Science has made it to Nigeria's most innovative tech company list. East Africa Ambassador Daniel Muraga recently spoke to Lead Generation Manager Bolaji Akerele about what the venture is all about and how they have made it. 

“We are a so-called Enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) firm that offers exclusive technology-based solutions to organizations with supply chain frameworks and processes,” Akerele explains. For that purpose, Delivery Science has developed two key solutions: Field Insights and ImpEx.

"Field Insights uses big data to add value to supply chains, and ImpEx makes import and export processes more efficient. The overall aim is to reduce costs and improve lag times.”

The above-mentioned tools and other innovations may be different from one another, they have at least one thing in common: they are easy to implement and cover entire supply chain industry. This is the key reason why Delivery Science stands out from the crowd, Akerele says.

“With our SaaS frameworks, our solutions are as easy to implement as downloading an app on your phone. The tools can be deployed quickly and don't require the client to buy equipment or install hardware,” he explains. “With Field Insights, for example, clients like Flour Mills Nigeria can keep track of their 14,000+ sales points. ImpEx helps large shipping companies reduce demurrage costs by up to 80%.”

All Delivery Science's solutions are also largely designed around the issue of mobility. “Since Supply Chains are largely about mobility, it makes sense that our solutions are mobile, too. This is why we deploy our solutions on customized tablets. This form of deployment offers a solution in a familiar environment where the user can learn and work at his or her pace,” Akerele says.

Delivery Science’s aim is to help companies with supply chain processes to serve their clients better and improve their revenues. “We are the first company in Nigeria and quite possibly in Africa to position itself as a Supply Chain SaaS,” he says. “We offer a fully dedicated standardizes system that is highly customizable. This ensures agility and precision. This is what the competition doesn’t have. Our solutions are also scalable, allowing us to work with many set organizational processes. This will ensure DS takes its solutions and clients to the world stage.”

Delivery Science’s hard work is paying off as the company recently won the Africa Innovation award alongside its client Nestle Nigeria. “The award is an initiative of Nestle global and recognizes top performing teams in various countries or markets they operate in,” Akerele says, adding that expansion is on the cards. “In the short term we look to cover West Africa, then the whole of Africa. Afterwards, we look to expand globally into other frontier markets.”

About the author: Daniel Muraga from Nairobi, Kenya, is Afrinection's East Africa Ambassador. He is an experienced writer and avid social media buff with a passion for Africa, entrepreneurship, IT innovation, and driving the continent forward. 

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