In the high-velocity world of Indian logistics, Roadcast stands as a true industry titan. Managing a massive fleet of over 150,000 vehicles and 40,000 drivers across 300+ enterprises, they are the backbone for some of the biggest names in commerce. Backed by industry heavyweights like Jubilant FoodWorks, and operating across 7 countries including India, UAE, and the UK, their business relies on one critical action: notifying millions of customers of their package’s whereabouts in real-time. For years, this was simple. But with the introduction of stringent SMS regulations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the simple act of sending a tracking link became a complex compliance hurdle.

This is the story of how Roadcast leveraged Yu3’s URL Shortener API—specifically our unique “Prefix” support—to seamlessly adapt to new regulations, cut infrastructure costs, and strengthen their brand identity.

🚨 The Challenge: The October 1st Regulatory Shift

On October 1, 2024, TRAI mandated strict “Whitelisting” directives for all URLs sent via SMS in India. The goal was to curb spam and fraud, but for legitimate businesses, it created a technical blockade.

Official TRAI Circular

The new rule required that the static part of any URL be whitelisted. Generic short links (like bit.ly/xyz or tinyurl.com/abc) were no longer viable for high-volume enterprise SMS because:

  1. They are shared domains: You cannot whitelist a domain you don’t own.
  2. No Static Headers: Dynamic short links typically look like domain.com/randomString, lacking the fixed structure TRAI algorithms require for approval.

Roadcast needed a system that could generate unique tracking URLs for thousands of shipments daily, yet still adhere to a strict, static pattern for telecom operator approval. Building this in-house would mean diverting valuable engineering hours to build, host, and maintain a link redirection service.

✅ The Solution: Yu3’s API & Custom “Prefix” Support

Roadcast turned to Yu3, utilizing our high-performance API to integrate shortening directly into their logistics platform. The game-changer was Yu3’s Prefix Support.

How It Works

Instead of generating a random string immediately after the domain, Yu3 allowed Roadcast to insert a custom, static “Prefix” (or folder/header) into every URL.

Before Yu3 (Non-Compliant):

https://track.roadcast.in/a8j3k2 Telecom operators struggle to whitelist this as the path is purely random.

With Yu3 (TRAI Compliant):

https://track.roadcast.in/order/a8j3k2 The /order/ segment serves as the “Static Header” that can be whitelisted once, allowing millions of unique tracking IDs to follow it.

By utilizing Custom Domains (track.roadcast.in) combined with Prefixes, Roadcast achieved three critical wins:

  1. 100% Compliance: The URL structure met the strict whitelisting criteria of Indian telecom operators.
  2. Brand Trust: Customers saw roadcast.in in the text message, not a suspicious third-party link, increasing click-through rates.
  3. Automation: The Yu3 API automatically handles the creation of these complex, compliant URLs in milliseconds as soon as a shipment is created.

🎉 The Operational Win: Enterprise Grade at Startup Costs

For a logistics company, “Build vs. Buy” is a constant debate. Building a proprietary URL shortener requires servers, SSL certificate management, 99.99% uptime guarantees, and constant maintenance.

Roadcast bypassed this entirely.

  • Cost Efficiency: For just $40/month, they replaced what would have been hundreds of dollars in monthly cloud infrastructure and DevOps time.
  • Reliability: Yu3’s API-only plans are engineered for transactional messaging, offering 99.99% reliability. When a truck is out for delivery, the link must work. Yu3 ensures it does.
  • Ease of Integration: The developer-friendly API meant Roadcast’s engineering team was up and running in hours, not weeks.

Why Yu3? The Feature Edge

Roadcast chose Yu3 not just for compliance, but for a feature set that outpaces competitors charging 10x the price.

1. Organized Management with Folders

Unlike flat-lists in other tools, Yu3 supports Folders. This allows businesses to categorize links (e.g., “SMS Campaigns,” “In-App Links,” “Social Media”) and QR codes in an organized manner, making audit and management effortless.

2. Unbeatable Value

While competitors cap links or charge hundreds of dollars for enterprise volumes, Yu3 offers unlimited links and QR codes starting at just $20/month (often discounted to $15).

3. Dual-Purpose API

Yu3 provides robust APIs for both URL Shortening and QR Code Generation, allowing one subscription to power both digital SMS links and physical shipping label QRs.

4. Smart Links for App Downloads

Roadcast can utilize Smart Links—a single URL that detects the user’s device (iOS vs. Android) and automatically redirects them to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. This is crucial for driving app adoption from SMS notifications.

5. Track-It Links (Master Analytics)

For multi-channel campaigns, Yu3’s Track-It Links feature allows generating multiple child links under one master link. This gives marketing teams segregated analytics for every channel while rolling up data into a single view.

6. Dynamic QR Codes

Mistakes happen. With Dynamic QR Codes, the destination data can be changed at any time without reprinting the physical QR code—a lifesaver for logistics labels and marketing materials.

Conclusion

In the logistics sector, a broken link or a blocked SMS isn’t just a technical error; it’s a failed delivery and a lost customer. Roadcast’s adoption of Yu3 demonstrates how the right tool can turn a regulatory headache into a branding opportunity. By securing TRAI compliance through Yu3’s Prefix feature and Custom Domains, Roadcast ensures that when they say “Out for Delivery,” the message is always received.