There has never been a better time for direct-to-consumer brands. The competition is rising, the market is conducive and consumers are exploring every channel for convenience. Delhivery, India’s largest fully integrated logistics provider, has witnessed the evolution from the early stages of e-commerce since its foundation in 2012. Today, even D2C brands are opening physical stores to reach vast markets, and it is here where the support of the right logistics partner can work wonders.  

Ajith Pai, Chief Operating Officer - Operations, Delhivery stated that D2C segment, as per a KPMG report, was growing at a CAGR of 38%, from a $12 bn GMV in 2021 to a proposed tally of $60 bn GMV by 2027 across several industries such as hygiene, beauty, personal care, healthy snacks and beverages. “Delhivery was born on the back of ecommerce, which was becoming an emerging channel in India in 2011-12, right after Flipkart had raised its first round of capital and there were only 15-20 serious e-com companies. Traditional courier services lacked the processes required for effective delivery and customer loyalty. Delhivery solved every problem with services spanning across B2B, B2C, warehousing, fulfilments, international shipping, and full truck load, making logistics an enabler and not a barrier for scale,” he said. 

In the last one-and-a-half years, a lot of D2C brands have been increasing footprints in specialised forms of physical retail, such as exclusive presence in malls, markets, while physical brands have also ventured into D2C. Narrating the way forward for the entire consumption basket in India from a logistics standpoint, omnichannel is at an interesting point because at some level a D2C brand is doing everything that a physical brand does, while ensuring digital fulfilment. 

The right logistics partner can help brands scale up by leveraging the very expensive top of the funnel online. “Since converting an online customer from visibility to sales comes with a heavy cost, brands must sustain and upsell any and every successful conversion. At Delhivery, we study data before and during transportation of goods to track product journey in detail. In case of transaction breaks, we ensure prompt communication so that the customer, who is absent from his residence during delivery, has all details needed and is not anxious in the least,” Pai said. 

Great logistics partners also solve the persistent problem of misspelled and wrong addresses sent to them. Citing that 1 in every 10 mailing addresses contain some mistakes, Pai added that Delhivery doesn’t rely solely on pin codes to verify consumer’s data. “We use information about locality, sub-locality, points of interest and triangulate those data points to pinpoint the exact address within a 50 m radius. This allows us to convert more orders and reduce transactional friction,” he maintained. 

As omnichannel becomes the norm, international shipping is gaining ground. The systems here are more complex as different countries have different rules. These challenges need to be taken head-on by D2C players if they seek deeper value and lasting goodwill, which Delhivery strives for via channels such as Amazon warehouses.

Additionally, a D2C player has to understand that consumer needs keep evolving, and partnering with a logistics brand that is constantly innovating its processes is worthwhile. As time passes, demand for novelty services such as product replacement and quality check at doorsteps will increase. “Brands must strive for a system that guarantees refund within an hour of a product being picked up from the doorstep for replacement. Such processes increase buyer trust and a progressive logistics partner helps integrate and refine the final service for the end-consumer,” Pai concluded.