The epidemic has rebounded again, and Indian logistics companies have hired tens of thousands of people

As the epidemic has affected traditional sales channels , demand for online shopping has increased and demand for cargo transportation has increased accordingly . Indian logistics companies have hired tens of thousands of people in recent months and plan to hire more in the future.

Against the backdrop of the epidemic, third-party logistics companies such as Ecom Express, Shadowfax, and XpressBees have launched a recruitment spree in recent months.

Praharsh Chandra, co-founder and head of operations at Shadowfax said , “We have seen a surge in business over the last few months , especially on the operations side where we have around 30,000 delivery partners every month. We are also scaling up our operations . The plan is to add 100,000 partners in the coming months .

Another logistics company, Ecom Express, has hired more than 16,000 people this year, while Xpressbees has added 4,000 to 5,000 people in recent months . Shiprocket hired 62 people from January to March, said Saahil Goel, CEO and co-founder of Shiprocket .

Demand drivers

D2C channels in India have gained momentum during the pandemic . “A large part of offline retail has shifted to online, ” said Chandra of Shadowfax . “ While this has brought growth in terms of business , it has also brought new challenges. ”

According to a recent report by consulting firm RedSeer, third-party logistics companies currently account for 850 million of China's total e-commerce shipments (in 2020) and are expected to complete 3 billion by 2024.

Saurabh Deep Singla, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Ecom Express, said that in the second wave of hiring, the company has particularly stepped up its recruitment efforts in tier-III and tier-IV towns.

Saurabh Deep Singla, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, Ecom Express, said the company has stepped up hiring particularly in tier-III and tier-IV towns during the second wave.

E-commerce boost

Well-known e-commerce companies have also been expanding their workforce recently. For example, Flipkart hired 23,000 employees in the last three months , and other companies such as BigBasket and Grofers have also increased hiring in recent months.

As offline channels were affected and restricted , several companies in retail, FMCG, and consumer durables were determined to go the direct-to-consumer route. Companies such as Marico , ITC, Emami, and Shoppers Stop have been promoting D2C channels since the outbreak .

On the back of this trend, e-commerce is set to gain ground in India . The country’s e-commerce shipments are expected to grow fourfold to 12 billion by 2024, according to a RedSeer report.

India

E-commerce

logistics