Delhivery and Xpressbees are considering entering the fast trading market

Logistics startups Delhi Xpressbees is reported to be expanding beyond handling e-commerce orders to meet the growing demand in the fast commerce space as players such as Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy and Instamart are driving this shift.

Citing multiple sources, ET reported, Gurugram-based Delhivery has started managing larger Swiggy Instamart warehouses that supply small dark stores or fulfillment centers in urban pockets.

The report further indicated that Xpressbees is also in talks with a number of players to enter the fast trading segment.

Inc42 reached out to both the founders of Delhivery and Xpressbees for their thoughts on the development. The story will be updated based on responses.

Founded in 2011 by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, Bhavesh Manglani, Suraj Saharan and Kapil Bharati, Delhivery is a transportation, supply chain and logistics company. It competes with the likes of Xpressbees and Blue Dart, as well as Flipkart’s Ekart Logistics and Amazon’s Amazon Shipping.

Meanwhile, Xpressbees, founded in 2015 after its spin-off from e-commerce giant FirstCry, delivers to over 20,000 pin codes in the country. The startup entered the coveted unicorn club in January 2022 after raising $300 million from Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth, among others.

It offers supply chain solutions including B2B, B2C express delivery services, cross-border logistics and warehousing services for e-commerce players. It earns most of its revenue from logistics services.

“As high-speed commerce becomes larger and busier, logistics players sense an opportunity, while platforms also need logistics infrastructure and expertise,” the source said in the report.

“Delhivery is currently working closely with Swiggy Instamart and the idea is to expand the partnership further. This would also help Instamart handle the movement of different types of stock keeping units (SKUs) as top players diversify to expand their offerings,” he added.

In May, Delhivery said yes establishment of a wholly owned subsidiary called Delhiver Robotics India to produce drones and provide air cargo services.

In a stock exchange filing, the company said its board of directors has approved the proposal to set up a subsidiary with an authorized share capital of Rs 5 cr.

The re-entry into the fast trading segment comes at a time when other market players are expanding their product catalog in the face of increasing demand for instant delivery services.

It was last month reported that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd was planning to enter the fast trading segment to take on the likes of Blinkit, BigBasket, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto.

Owner of Zomato Blinkit has launched a new category offering sports and fitness products from top brands such as Adidas, Boldfit and boAt, among others.

Blinkit’s competitors Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are also stepping up their fast trading game via providing packaged food and beverages.

Competition in this market is expected to intensify even more for the Walmart-owned chain Flipkart ready to launch quick trade offers via Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Earlier, the e-commerce giant also held talks acquire a majority stake in Zeptobut the talks ended in failure.

Meanwhile, Tata Digital-owned BBnow is also considering a major investment in the fast trading space.

The gross merchandise value of India’s fast-trading industry increased by 77% year-on-year to $2.8 billion in 2023, according to the report.