'Quick' Moves To Make Flipkart Minutes Scalable

With a presence in 30-plus cities, covering close to 3,000 pincodes, Flipkart Minutes is now seen as a go-to-market channel by the Flipkart Group leadership.

Flipkart Minutes was launched in August 2024, starting with select areas in Bengaluru before expanding to Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and other cities, offering quick 10 minute deliveries for groceries and essentials by leveraging Flipkart's logistics.

Fast forward, the quick commerce arm plays a crucial role in the overall group business, "We are optimistic about the progress at Flipkart Minutes and the business model is scalable. We are making sustainable choices and are prepared for the next phase of growth" said Hemant Badri, senior vice president and head of supply chain, customer experience & re-commerce, Flipkart Group.

About 45 per cent of the Minutes' portfolio is in the daily essentials category. The farm to fork concept within 24 hours is still an unsolved problem in India: the tech giant has built an end-to-end network from the farmer, through the cold chain, to deliver such essentials, while maintaining freshness.

Almost 80 percent of the units sold on Flipkart Minute are in categories where the group did not have traditional presence such as dairy, chocolates, ice cream, fruits and vegetables, bread and eggs.

"These kinds of daily essentials have been a key differentiator. We're also seeing a sizable level of retention rates and in some cases better than the industry. Currently we have 500-plus dark stores across 30 cities and in the next three to four months we will scale to 1,000 stores and close to 80 cities. Growth is accelerating in Tier II, III towns and have far exceeded our expectations" Badri added, explaining the expansion metrics.

Furthermore, Flipkart also has same-day/next-day delivery options in categories such as electronics, mobiles and large appliances, often within hours or by the next day. Badri calls this segment a 'delight'.

"When customers are making larger purchases, even if the standard delivery window is day one or day two, the ability to get instant gratification without having to wait a full day really helps. So, whether it's Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III cities, being able to deliver these high-value purchases faster, at a Flipkart price point and with the Flipkart proposition is a strong delighter" Badri explained.

While this may account for around 10 per cent of units it serves a very strong use case for the company. To ensure deliveries on time, this requires a segmented supply chain. It starts with deep reserves sourcing hubs or sort centres and moves into a unique supply chain for specific use cases.

"This is an unapologetically consistent business, you can't miss a beat. The philosophy is simple: can we do better than yesterday?"

For same day delivery, there are close to 23 fulfilment centres covering almost all Tier I metros. The assortment available for same-day and next-day delivery has doubled during the festive season, fundamentally expanding the selection. In a minute fulfilment centre, which is typically around 3,000 square feet, there are 15,000 to 18,000 SKUs. For same-day delivery, fulfillment centres can be 250,000 square feet, or even 300,000 square feet, enabling a selection that is nearly 20 times larger.

"This year we've added 35 million square feet of area. We've built facilities in Malda, expanded in Varanasi, Kochi, Ranchi and Agra, we continue to expand every year. This ensures that even Tier II and Tier III cities start experiencing day-one and day-two deliveries. The business, however, is still at a nascent stage" said Badri.

Leveraging the core Flipkart group platform, strong legacy of technology investments and core business-building capabilities, "We continue to strengthen fulfillment centres, inventory management systems, optimisation techniques and much more. We're taking all of our technology expertise and learning from Walmart into this fascinating new business. Technology plays a critical role in ensuring we forecast accurately, source from the right hubs, and have the right staff and capacity in place" said Bharath Chinamanthur, SVP-Supply Chain Innovation and Seller Experience.

Flipkart utilizes a large gig workforce, primarily for last-mile delivery, through programs like Flipkart Xtra, hiring many temporary workers during festive seasons and partnering with social organizations. For any quick commerce business to pick up, the balance of safety and speed is important.

"None of our payouts are linked to how fast or how slow a delivery is made. We do not encourage anyone to rush. If we believe someone has exceeded a speed limit, we don't want them to continue working in that manner. We intervene through counselling and communication. There are right facilities, adequate breaks and structured working hours for the gig workforce. They can also choose to work across our e-commerce and Minute delivery operations, helping them improve their livelihoods" Badri assured.

To support on time delivery, the design of dark stores or Minute fulfilment centres play a crucial role. Typically, these are located close to housing colonies. "Our philosophy is to structurally build a responsible network. We are far more focused on putting stores in the right locations rather than simply increasing the number of dark stores. Location quality matters more to us than store count and that philosophy guides how we think about expansion" Badri added.

In 2026, the top priorities include speed, which is slowly becoming a business currency, coupled with assortment and relevance.

Expanding assortment of same day or the next day delivery in the top 66 cities, across categories, such as appliances, including televisions, refrigerators, wearables and other products, to remain a key focus area.