IPO-Bound Shiprocket Takes Its Same-Day Delivery To Bengaluru

With instant delivery gaining pace in India, driven by increasing consumer demand for faster shipping and the competitive pressures on ecommerce firms to offer such services, logistics unicorn shiprocket has now expanded its same-day delivery service into Bengaluru.

Currently, the company’s same day delivery service is available in cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

With this move, Shiprocket aims to facilitate quick deliveries to micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs). The service will help MSMEs to stay competitive against ecommerce brands, which enjoy higher customer retention due to quick deliveries, the company said in a statement.

“This initiative is a crucial step towards our vision of democratising ecommerce tech for every seller in India while contributing to the broader digital transformation of the economy,” said Shiprocket managing director and chief executive Saahil Goel.

Under this service, orders picked between 12 PM and 1 PM from a merchant’s location will be delivered the same day. Besides, orders picked by 3 PM from the seller’s location will also be delivered on the same day with Bengaluru-based Pico Xpress as the courier partner, the statement added.

Founded by Goel, Vishesh Khurana, Akshay Gulati, and Gautam Kapoor in 2017, Shiprocket is an ecommerce enablement platform facilitating retailers with end-to-end logistic solutions including shipping, fulfillment, customer communication, among others. The startup claims to be serving in more than 24,000 pin codes across India and 220 countries worldwide.

Shiprocket’s Expansion Move Amid IPO Talks: The recent development comes when Shiprocket is looking to tap into the offline delivery market. Last year, the company rolled out a WhatsApp storefront bot for small businesses and direct sellers to expand its services beyond online retail marketplaces. 

Currently valued at $1.2 Bn, the startup is also raising INR 219 Cr (around $26 Mn) in a fresh funding round to be led by KDT Ventures.

Besides, Shiprocket is also eyeing an IPO in the upcoming fiscal year. In January, the startup turned into a public company, changing its name to “Shiprocket Limited”.

Last year, the company also piloted its D2C marketplace Zop, which claims to host around 200-300 brands across eight categories including fashion, beauty, electronics, among others. 

Meanwhile, the startup is helping Centre in setting up pilot ecommerce export hubs (EEHs). These hubs will have quality and certifying agencies to fasten customs and security clearances at the airports.

An Overview Of India’s Faster Delivery Race: With the intentionally created quick-delivery need among the Indian users, the quick commerce segment is thriving in the country. While startups including Zepto, Zomato and Swiggy led the quick commerce race, ecommerce giants followed the trend.

Amid this battle between quick commerce and ecommerce for faster deliveries, several logistics startups are stepping up their services. For instance, same-day delivery platform for omnichannel sellers Blitz recently bagged INR 40 Cr (around $4.7 Mn) to boost its 60-minute delivery infrastructure.

Similarly, Zippee also provides same-day delivery window for D2C brands. The startup operates dark stores in Tier I cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai.

Shiprocket’s competitor Delhivery also has a rapid commerce business,which offers two-hour deliveries in three cities – Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. The startup is also planning to launch multi-tenant dark stores for “rapid in city delivery” for ecommerce companies.

As per a recent statement by the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI), quick commerce and ecommerce are driving private consumption in the country.

On the financial front, Shiprocket’s operating revenue surged 20.8% to INR 1,316 Cr in FY24,  from INR 1,089 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, its net loss also widened 74.4% to  INR 595 Cr  in the year under review from  INR 341 Cr in FY23.