Ecommerce players get ready to handle the festive rush

Last year was very hectic for online players, who found it difficult to manage delivery of orders placed by consumers for the festive season. However, this year, they are already readying themselves to handle the rush, much in advance.

Lead players are expecting the festive orders this year to be twice the amount of sales in GMV from mid-October and to fulfill them, companies are partnering a strong surface-transport network through road and rail. For instance, Ecom Express, which delivered almost 80,000 orders per day, last year, is looking forward to at least three to four lakh a day. Even Flipkart, which reported Rs 600 crores in sales in 10 hours last Diwali has invested in third-party logistics players for linehaul services.

Flipkart ships more than 80 percent of its overall volumes by Ekart and 50 percent of the national load using surface transport. However, during the festive season, 70 to 75 percent of its orders are sent through Ekart. Amazon India is also investing in extending the network covered by its logistics arm, Amazon Transportation Services (ATS) to expedite the shipping process.