Team-ups and partnerships are effective, but to monetize these is another thing, but leveled up. Amazon is reportedly monetizing their vast logistics network with Flipkart, India’s eCommerce store that compares with Lazada of China.
Amazon and Flipkart are monetizing their wide logistics system by serving external brands and businesses, enterprises, and marketplaces beyond their eCommerce platforms.
In a deal called the Delhivery-eCom Express Deal that couldn’t get as witty as that, this creates a market gap in remote regions, paving the way for Amazon Shipping and Ekart to emerge as potential alternatives. Ekart is a leading supply chain and delivery company in India.
Through this, logistics is evolving from a cost center into a growth business, with Amazon offering end-to-end services with Ekart, spanning freight, warehousing, fulfillment, and last-mile deliveries.
However, what is Flipkart doing here? Officially, Flipkart is among the leading eCommerce marketplaces of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. Founded in 2007, interestingly enough, but former Amazon employees, the platform operates as a big digital storefront with hundreds of millions of products across various categories. Today, it is owned by Walmart, a retail giant in the USA.
According to the official website of Flipkart, the categories of products they sell are:
- Fashion
- Mobile
- Beauty
- Electronics
- Appliances
- Toys
- Food
- Cars
- Books
- Furniture, and so much more
“Essentially eCom Express was servicing some of the remotest centres and pin codes of the country and its market included D2C brands and vertical marketplaces. After the acquisition by Delhivery, the operations were either scaled down in non-demand centres or the consolidated entity’s pricing went so high that Amazon and Flipkart were seen as viable alternatives – they were already present in these markets,” stated Raju Sinha, the chief business officer at logistics aggregator FShip, a key player in these dealings as well.
Industry experts are also saying that this is a “primary moat” driving both Amazon and Flipkart to tie up with competitor marketplaces, except for D2C brands and retail brands beyond the reach due to pricing.
The result? A strategic shift shaking up things here in this $300 billion and up logistics market. Ekart, owned by Flipkart, together with Amazon, are built to serve their own marketplace sellers with a healthy competition involving Delhivery, Blue Dart, Shadowfax, and DTDC for third-party logistics contracts.
“Healthcare companies, automotive manufacturers, retail chains, and consumer goods firms can now move raw materials and finished products through the same network that powers Amazon.com. Procter & Gamble, 3M, and Lands’ End were among the first wave of Amazon Supply Chain Services clients globally,” stated Amazon.
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