Third-party logistics firms such as Delhivery and Xpressbees, which have hitherto focused on servicing ecommerce orders, are entering the quick-commerce sector as demand continues to surge on platforms like Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, Zepto and others, multiple people aware of their plans told ET.

Gurgaon-based logistics firm Delhivery — the largest third-party logistics (3PL) firm — has started to manage Swiggy Instamart’s larger warehouses that supply to small dark stores, or fulfilment centers, in city pockets. Similarly, Pune-based Xpressbees is in talks with multiple players to enter the segment, sources added.

“As quick commerce gets bigger and busier, logistics players are sensing an opportunity while platforms also need logistics infrastructure and expertise,” said a person aware of the evolving industry dynamics.

Companies such as Zepto are also redesigning mother warehouses to be able to sell a wider number of products.

“Delhivery is working closely with Swiggy Instamart now and the idea is to expand the partnership further. This would help Instamart also handle movement of different kinds of stock keeping units (SKUs) as the top players diversify to widen offerings,” a person aware of the matter said.

Warehouse ops

Xpressbees, which works with several ecommerce players and direct-to-consumer brands, is also in talks with leading players in the space.

“There is an idea to explore this as the space is sizable now. They (Xpressbees) will also manage some of the heavy lifting in managing warehouses,” another person aware of the matter said.

To be sure, a senior executive in a 3PL firm said that quick commerce players want to continue operating dark stores on their own.

“A lot of new technologies and customisations are happening at dark stores… and that’s what these players are experts at. So, they want to continue operating those,” he said.

Emails sent to Delhivery and Swiggy Instamart went unanswered. A spokesperson for Xpressbees declined to comment on its plans.

“This may also help these platforms maintain processes and stay compliant with the system. The way they are expanding in ecommerce -- that’s super critical,” a senior ecommerce industry executive said.

Evident adjacencies

On May 17, Delhivery cofounder and chief executive, Sahil Barua, had said during the company’s post-earnings analysts call that its supply chain services business already works with one of the largest quick commerce players.

“Our role will really, as I see it, remain sort of similar to what we do right now, which is running the deep reserve kind of warehouses that are supplying the dark stores,” he had said.

Barua also said the company was not looking to get into the 15-minute or 10-minute delivery of groceries but will have a play in the two-hour or four-hour deliveries of certain products, which large ecommerce players will foray into.

One of the executives cited above said that quick commerce platforms presently working with logistics and supply chain operators are using both dedicated warehouses and shared facilities in some cases.

“Whether they are sharing or using a dedicated facility depends on the scale… which varies from location to location,” he said.

“Quick commerce typically has a wide range of SKUs... and they also work on a replenishment model, which is that they restock items once or twice a day as they get sold. As a result, this makes a quick commerce company a high frequency customer for logistics players,” he added.

ET has reported earlier that Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart are entering several new product categories -- ranging from consumer electronics and home appliances to fashion, home decor and sports goods.

Notwithstanding quick commerce companies adding categories typically sold by horizontal ecommerce players, these larger firms such as Amazon and Flipkart are also exploring entry into the quick delivery segment.

“I also anticipate that (in) certain categories within ecommerce… like mobile phones or certain kinds of appliances, the existing players, the large players in ecommerce, will eventually gear up. Flipkart and Amazon, both made public announcements to this effect that they will be expanding their operations for these categories. We will have a role to play there in the overall supply chain,” Barua had said last month.