Logistics and commerce unicorn ElasticRun operates 900 warehouses, supporting brands, D2C businesses, marketplaces, and quick commerce players across storage, order processing, and last-mile delivery. Over the last year, the firm’s focus has shifted towards meeting rising expectations around faster delivery. A significant part of the network is now geared towards two-hour delivery, allowing brands to offer faster service while maintaining consistency and reliability as they scale, Sandeep Deshmukh, co-founder and CEO of ElasticRun, tells S Shanthi. Excerpts:
Tell us about the key initiatives you have taken to cater to quick commerce.
As quick commerce scales, brands are increasingly looking for faster delivery while retaining control over their customer relationships, margins, and operations. We have introduced a plug-and-play, AI-driven, multi-speed last-mile delivery and fulfilment solution called SwiftER, which enables two-hour, same-day, and next-day delivery for D2C brands, e-commerce players, and quick commerce companies. SwiftER allows brands to deliver swiftly through their own channels. It operates as a white-label quick commerce platform, where brands continue to sell on their own websites or apps, own the customer relationship, and maintain full visibility into inventory and performance.
What problems does this integrated model solve for brands?
SwiftER addresses three structural challenges brands face as delivery expectations continue to rise. The first is cost pressure. By enabling multi-speed fulfilment on a shared national network, brands can scale faster deliveries without having to build or manage their own infrastructure. This helps keep fulfilment costs efficient even as volumes and speed commitments increase. The second challenge is loss of control. SwiftER allows brands to deliver faster while retaining ownership of inventory, customer relationships, and margins, instead of routing demand through third-party platforms. The third is operational complexity. A single fulfilment framework brings together storage, dispatch, last-mile delivery, and returns, reducing fragmentation and making operations easier to manage.
What are your growth plans for the next 12 months?
Over the next year, growth is expected to come largely from expanding into more cities, especially beyond Tier 1 markets. The focus is on building additional shared, multi-brand fulfilment capacity and onboarding more brands onto the platform as demand for faster delivery continues to grow. Overall fulfilment volumes and customer traction are tracking ahead of previous years, and the growth of quick commerce has added further momentum.
How many new cities do you plan to expand into this year?
ElasticRun already operates across more than 500 cities and towns in India, so the focus this year is less on adding new geographies and more on deepening capabilities in existing ones. SwiftER is well established in Tier 1 markets and is now steadily expanding into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The immediate goal is to extend same-day and next-day delivery to the top 100 cities.
What are your long-term product capability plans?
Going forward, our focus is on deepening what we already do well rather than launching entirely new lines of business. We will continue to expand SwiftER into more cities and use cases, especially beyond large metros, as demand for faster and more reliable fulfilment grows. At the same time, we are strengthening our integrated fulfilment offering by adding more flexibility around delivery speeds, returns, and inventory placement.
You last raised funding in February 2022—a $330 million round led by SoftBank, Prosus Ventures, and Goldman Sachs. How is the capital being deployed?
The capital has been invested in expanding fulfilment infrastructure, building faster delivery capabilities, and deepening system-led execution across the network. At the same time, there has been a clear emphasis on improving unit economics and operating efficiency. The objective has been to build a resilient, scalable platform with strong long-term fundamentals.
Which financial year do you target for profitability?
We reported revenue of Rs 2,653 crore in FY25. Our focus is on building a sustainably profitable business rather than optimising for a specific financial year. Over the past year, we have made meaningful progress on unit economics and operating efficiency, and that trajectory continues. Profitability will be a natural outcome of disciplined growth and execution rather than a standalone milestone we are chasing.
What’s your target year for an IPO debut?
An IPO is a long-term aspiration for us, but it is not an immediate priority. Right now, our focus is on strengthening financial performance, deepening operating maturity, and building a resilient business with strong fundamentals. We are well capitalised and do not have a pressing need to raise funds. An IPO will be evaluated once we are confident that we have met our internal financial and governance benchmarks.
Lastly, how do you view the competition in the segment?
The logistics and fulfilment space in India is highly competitive, with different players addressing different parts of the value chain. Some focus on scale and reach, others on last-mile speed, and many are now trying to balance both as delivery expectations rise. For us, competition reinforces the importance of building an integrated, scalable fulfilment model that allows brands to grow faster while maintaining predictability and control as delivery timelines compress.