Quickshift is in the business of making logistics simple, every day
Quickshift is amongst the foremost tech-led names in the logistics industry, continuously innovating to provide quicker deliveries (same day or 2-day deliveries), reduction in RTOs (return to origins) and has recently introduced features to reduce NDRs (non-delivery reports). The company offers warehousing solutions across India for its B2B and B2C customers including last-mile services. Headquartered in Pune and with its self-owned network of decentralised warehouses across locations in India and data-driven technology, the e-commerce fulfilment company helps brands to streamline their storage, distribution, and fulfilment across retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels. In an interview with Fibre2Fashion, Quickshift CEO and Co-founder Anshul Goenka discusses fashion e-commerce and logistics challenges in India.
How big is the fashion e-commerce market in India?
We are bullish on the fashion e-commerce growth. The fashion e-commerce market in India was estimated to be worth roughly $11 billion in 2020. Post the pandemic, it is anticipated that the size of the online fashion market would reach about $43 billion by 2025. Even in terms of categories, there are trends showing that people are moving from fast fashion to sustainable and eco-friendly sustainable brands, which opens up new avenues altogether.
What according to you would be a smooth online shopping experience?
All brands are single-mindedly focused on providing a great experience now, and more importantly differentiate their experiences as well. It is not just limited to good products and websites but is more than that right from the UI/UX experience, influences driving personalisation, packaging, last mile delivery statistics, live chatbots, trusted customer support and beyond. Quickshift has seen, especially post pandemic, brands going out all the way to make the difference.
What are the challenges that are unique to Indian e-commerce?
While e-commerce is a part of the growth story of India, there remains a lot to be done to close loops in a giant and diverse market. With the internet connectivity and infrastructure being developed at a fast pace by the government, there are smaller patches which need to be addressed like availability of skilled workforce, and sketchy customer who would prefer offline interactions for bigger and important purchases like weddings, etc. Customer adaptation and stickiness is a major challenge for Indian e-commerce as various relevant brands aggressively vie to get a share of their wallet.
Returns and COD (cash on delivery) are also a big challenge, as additional costs are borne by the brand and logistics companies. This is a key focus area for Quickshift to mend as a part of the eco-system.
What kind of services do you offer?
Quickshift is a tech-enabled, 3PL e-commerce fulfilment and logistics company that provides warehousing and last mile delivery across 29,000 pin codes. In order to provide all of its clients with a seamless delivery experience, Quickshift has recently launched the app QS Leap. This unique app covers critical points such as inventory management, order processing, courier allocation, order tracking, payments reconciliation and more.
What kind of technologies do you use?
Quickshift makes use of several technologies integrated to build a customised app to provide seamless experience to our clients. QS Leap is an app launched by Quickshift for a better e-commerce delivery experience. Some important aspects such as Inventory Management, Order Processing, Courier Allocation, Shipping Manifest Generation, Order Tracking, Reverse Order Management, COD Collection, and Reconciliation were key focus areas that were kept in mind while developing the application. The platform has been developed using PHP, HTML/React, and an updated technology stack that includes IONIC, MySQL, and Linux.
Which services are the most sought after by fashion brands or marketplaces?
Fashion has key requirements. Generally, any line has a long assortment given multiple styles, colours and sizes. Thus, to manage inventory at all point of sales is a key requirement to avoid stockouts. However, this means more stocks or higher blocked working capital. Also, there is the risk of additional end of season markdowns. Thus, it is important to have a clear balance between stockouts and markdowns. Quickshift through its tech platform is in a position to provide many tools for brands in fashion segment to maintain this balance. In addition, it is critical for a brand to know what product can sell better in which place, this helps in managing advertisement spends accordingly.
Which are the major fashion brands you work with?
We work across categories of fashion including apparel, shoes, jewellery, cosmetics. Some of the leading brands that Quickshift works with are USPA, Arrow, the Unlimited, Sephora, Neemans, Me&Moms, Inaya Accessories, 7-10, to name a few.
What is the rate of return when it comes to online shopping of fashion items?
Returns percentage is relatively higher when it comes to apparel in the small and large sizes. For medium sizes, it is 20 per cent lower than other categories. As for shoes, obviously the return rates are higher especially in the tier 2 and tier 3 cities, as I believe they are still getting acquainted to ordering such products online. We have minimal returns in fashion jewellery and celebrity collaboration segments for obvious reasons.
We are able to analyse and share such insights effectively, as the QS Leap app captures this information to be used for business purpose with ease. As mentioned earlier, we work with brands as collaborators for them to make effective business decisions and not as service providers.
What kind of challenges, especially related to logistics, do Indian fashion brands and marketplaces face?
The absence of postal address standardisation is only one aspect of India’s logistical difficulty. There are hundreds of communities that are difficult to reach due to the immensity of the country. A fairly extensive logistical infrastructure can be found in metropolitan areas and other significant urban centres. However, as the Indian market’s primary allure rests in its sizable population, the lack of easy access to a sizable chunk of potential buyers is a detractor. The logistics issue is made worse by the fact that COD is India’s preferred method of payment.
What are the long-term plans at Quickshift?
Quickshift is in the business of making logistics simple, every day. We understand that logistics is no more a service arm of a retail or e-commerce business but needs to be integrated with them. With that realisation we are onboarding new and upcoming brands from big brand houses that rule the country’s offline landscape and are ready for an online surge. We are also very excited to partner with new and established e-commerce brands who have reached a peak, and are ready to create centres of excellence, of which logistics and supply chain is one and Quickshift features in their list.
We are also making inroads towards international markets with a strategic approach altogether. Will be able to tell you more on that in a few months’ time.
Published on: 14/10/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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