Paytm Mall to pump in $35 million in logistics

The Dollar Business Bureau

Paytm Mall, the unit of e-commerce player Paytm said on Tuesday that it is planning to invest $35 million (around Rs.225 crore) to expand its logistics business.

The company also plans to cut short the delivery time and is investing in technology and infrastructure for enhancing its logistics support by meeting the demand of customers intending to service deliveries on the same-day and the next-day.

Paytm Mall that partners with offline traders for selling products, will start providing one-day and two-day deliveries for appliances and electronics products across 25 cities all over India in the first phase.

The delivery service will soon be increased to over 100 cities and additional product categories.

Currently, the company is working with three courier firms - Delhivery, Xpressbees and Bluedart, delivering packages to over 17,000 pin codes. Besides, it has partnered with specialised local delivery couriers such as Book a Wheel and Shadowfax to boost expansion in the next phase.

“We aim to build a trusted and highly efficient logistics network to enable our partnered retailers to offer same-day and next-day deliveries. This will help local shopkeepers offer a more convenient shopping experience to their customers and enable brands to save up to 50% on logistics, as they will be able to bypass inter-city logistics costs,” Paytm Mall Chief Operating Officer (COO) Amit Sinha said in a statement.

“In the coming months, we will rapidly increase the number of items and pin-codes where customers can receive their orders same-day or next-day,” he added.

Paytm Mall had last week announced that it will invest about $5 million in a 'Retailer Inclusion Programme' that is aimed at attracting merchants on the company's online platform.

Paytm Mall, which is designed after China's B2C plaform Tmall, is eyeing partnerships with local traders for selling products online rather than to incur huge costs for shipping the products all over the country.

As its merchants’ base expands, Paytm Mall will start to have more traders closer to its consumers that makes it easier to provide speedy deliveries.