Flipkart Ramps Up Logistics; Partners With Mumbai's Dabbawalas

NEW DELHI: Tapping on the country’s renowned supply chain, online marketplace Flipkart said it has tied-up with the ‘Dabbawalas’ of Mumbai to ensure last mile delivery to consumers.

It is also experimenting with a crowd-sourced delivery model that will connect local sellers and buyers with the help of voluntary delivery personnel, reducing delivery time.

The move comes amidst growing competition among e-commerce firms such as Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon, who are ramping up their logistics and delivery network to build a sound last mile delivery channel to beat rivals in gaining a dedicated customer base.

“Dabbawalas have been in the profession of transporting lunch boxes with absolute precision for more than 120 years. They are a huge inspiration on how to conduct business without any paper or administrative back-up to keep the costs down,” the Bangalore-based firm said in a statement.

The firm has partnered with one union of the dabbawalas.

As a partner to eKart, the unique community of Dabbawalas will initially collect Flipkart marketplace shipments from the delivery hubs and deliver it to customers, while picking their dabbas, it added.

At present, the person who will be part of this pilot will be involved in the last mile delivery and will not communicate with seller or merchant.

“The first batch of Dabbawalas have undergone training at Flipkart’s delivery centres. At this stage, they will be using a paper-based tracking system with the idea being to gradually train them on the usage of apps and other wearable tech,” it added.

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