BigBasket Starts Operations Again But Will First Focus On Delayed Orders

Bengaluru-headquartered online grocery delivery company BigBasket said it is now operational in all its cities but is still working to be operational in Kochi, Kerala.

The company in an update said that it is finally operational in all its cities, but due to delayed orders, will first focus on fulfilling existing orders before accepting new orders. BigBasket also said it is focussing on bringing back its on-field workforce including delivery executives, pickers and packers.

The grocery delivery startup has been in the customer spotlight for cancelling the orders and refunding the money to the company’s wallet. Several users on social media have complained saying that they are not able to place new orders as well and hence, the amount is locked with BigBasket. To this, the company’s promoter K. Ganesh, also cofounder of Portea, said in a tweet that BigBasket is working on a feature to refund the payment to source directly instead of the wallet. “Happy to inform, rolling out the feature in next 3-4 days. Normally, not an issue but understand people want cash in hand for other uses,” he added.

Even though ecommerce has been termed as an essential service, delivery executives from various companies have faced harassment by police across the country due to lack of proper communication. Besides, the lockdown has completely disturbed the supply chain in the country. In some instances, delivery-partners of BigBasket and Grofers were stopped and beaten by police, while law enforcement agencies also locked down warehouses in a few cities.

After a lot of back and forth, the state governments came forward to clarify that ecommerce companies that are helping those stuck at home with essential supplies. must be allowed to operate To solve the issues, Delhi and Bengaluru police have started issuing e-passes to delivery executives so that they can operate easily amid the lockdown.

After asking state governments to allow the delivery of essential products from ecommerce channels amid coronavirus outbreak in India, the DPIIT has also established a control room. The control room is monitoring the supply chain of essential commodities in real-time. It is ensuring that the transportation and delivery of essential items don’t face any disruption amid the lockdown to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.