Snapdeal seems to be on a roll as it has introduced a new service called “Snapdeal Instant” after successfully raising $500-Mn from Alibaba, Softbank and Foxconn. Snapdeal was the last in line to replenish its coffers with fresh funding as Amazon and Flipkart have already managed to raise funds. Snapdeal Instant will deliver the packages to customers within an hour from ordering.
Snapdeal would be starting up with the Instant services in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore and in the second phase the services would be extended to eight other major cities across. It will be banking on its hyperlocal delivery service and will let sellers ship the product directly to the customers through its courier partners or fulfillment centres.
Customers on the other hand have to pay a premium for the service and in all likelihood Snapdeal would launch a premium subscription services for the customers. Snapdeal Vice President Operations Ashish Chitravanshi told PTI that “Snapdeal Instant is aimed at further improving customer experience on our platform by enabling faster deliveries and maintaining product quality at the same time. Customers could get their products delivered as early as within an hour of the order being placed”
The company claims that it has tasted success with the 4 hour delivery and the 90 minutes reverse pickup option. As a matter of fact Amazon has already launched a 1-hour delivery services for its Prime customers across United States and also a handful of other countries.
Inventory management and the timely service will be the quintessential aspect of the services and another concern is the fact that Snapdeal has to maintain the product quality all the while. We also hope that the E-Commerce major will include a wide range of SKUs for the benefit of the customers.
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