How 3PLs can Help in Grocery Order Fulfillment in India

There were two equally strong preferences for grocery shopping in India. One group typically preferred to shop for groceries in person so they can check the products. At the same time, there was another group that would rather buy their groceries online. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, online grocery shopping became more prevalent and the preferred method of grocery shopping as a safety measure.
 

Since then, adoption of online grocery shopping increased manifold in India. e-grocery charted the path of accelerated growth after the disruption caused by the pandemic bringing about changes in consumer behavior. Indians started seeing the advantages of online grocery shopping such as:

• Saving time
• Relief from the effort of traveling to the store
• Running in circles around the endless aisles to search for the products
• Easy product feature comparison
• No more unwanted impulse of luxury buying

The online grocery market in India is expected to reach $24 billion by 2025, which would account for 3% of the total grocery market. Grocery spending amounts to about 66.5% of the retail spending in India.
 

Currently, the e-grocery space in the country is fiercely competitive, where only the prominent players who can deploy capital and scale the business fast have the chance of winning. To scale the business quickly in the e-grocery space, you need to have a highly efficient order fulfillment system. It is interesting to note that all 3PLs are not experts in refrigerated logistics, which is crucial for grocery deliverables. Hence, there is a shortage of experts handling the food supply chain.

 
Let’s look at how an expert 3PL with experience in refrigerated logistics can help you grow your e-grocery business. Here are the three crucial factors that equip a 3PL to handle the unique storage and fulfillment procedures for food and grocery products:

• Facilitate cold storage – Arrangement of cold storage space is one of the most crucial challenges for grocery retailers. Temperature-controlled warehousing is a challenge that only experienced 3PLs can handle and ensure accurate and on-time fulfillment. If you are reaching out to multiple markets across India, ensure that your 3PL can provide cold-storage space in each area to facilitate quick deliveries to your customers.

 

• Scalability – Being experts in logistics, 3PLs have the professional capability to help you adjust to the shift in demand at any given time of the year. They help you change with the peaks and troughs efficiently without you committing to capital when not required.

 

• Regulatory compliance – Logistics providers handling food and grocery products need to comply with some food and grocery-related stringent rules and regulations of the country. Some guidelines laid down for refrigerated fulfillment have to be followed, or your business might face legal issues.

 

• Advanced technology – Online grocery fulfillment requires faster pick-up and delivery capabilities. Consumers are not likely to accept late deliveries in their stride with the fierce competition in the market. An efficient 3PL should be equipped with advanced technology for real-time tracking of inventory and delivery. It’s challenging to operate without sophisticated warehouse management software and smart dashboards for real-time reporting of the entire logistics operations.

Grocery fulfillment is a serious business, with the market growing at an exponential rate. If you are operating in this space, you need to carefully harness your weapons to win the game. Hiring an expert 3PL experienced in food and grocery fulfillment is the first step towards winning the game and growing your business. However, make sure that you carefully evaluate some of the probable 3PL providers and then make a smart choice that might become a long-term solution.

XPDEL is a leading hi-tech provider of fulfillment and logistics services, on a mission to enable growth for eCommerce companies. Our existing customers know that all our activities are geared towards helping them grow. We are futuristic in our vision and constantly work on creating technology that allows us to meet customer expectations for today and tomorrow. We have a widespread network of fulfillment centers that enables us to handle nationwide delivery in India wherever you require it efficiently. Being located closer to the end consumer, we deliver much faster compared to others.