Logistics firm Delhivery on Friday announced the launch of its on-demand intracity shipping service, further intensifying competition in a space dominated by Uber, Porter and Rapido.
The service has been launched in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru, after a pilot in Ahmedabad. The intracity delivery had become popular after the success of quick commerce, with many SMEs, especially bakeries, using it for short-distance orders.
Recently, Uber expanded its services by launching Courier XL in India, allowing users to send large packages using three and four-wheelers. Porter, which is relatively older in the space, is also ramping up its offerings to reach more cities. Swiggy-backed Rapido, on the other hand, is betting on the two-wheeler courier space.
Delhivery has been exploring options to diversify, since its main business – long-haul delivery – is seeing intense competition from in-house logistics arms of e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart.
Its latest offering allows customers to book local deliveries through the Delhivery Direct app with pickup in as little as 15 minutes. The app is available on both the Apple App Store as well as Google Play.
It offers delivery through two-wheelers for smaller parcels of up to 20 kg and three- or four-wheeler vehicles for bulkier shipments weighing up to 750 kg.
The company’s MD & CEO Sahil Barua said that, while the service is available only in two cities, Delhivery will rapidly expand its new service to key metros. “This launch completes the spectrum of offerings to our customers who can now use us for intracity needs as well,” he said.