Road Runnr running to meet last mile delivery for ecommerce

The logistics industry is witnessing a boom in demand in the ecommerce sector. Among the upcoming players in the market is Road Runnr, a recent entrant in hyperlocal delivery. The company focuses on providing the vital last mile service to online businesses. It boasts of big clientele that includes Flipkart and Snapdeal, as well as small businesses.

Road Runnr has managed to raise capital of nearly Rs. 73 crores in its first round of seed funding this April. The company is heavily dependent on technology to ensure a smooth delivery for all its clients. It started as a delivery service for eateries, and later expanded to include ecommerce companies.

A logistics provider for ecommerce

Half of Road Runnr’s current deliveries are in the ecommerce sector, and this is set to go up in the near future. In this situation, the company plans to open sorting centres and warehouses as its operations go up.

Mohit Kumar, one of the co-founders, says, “We started with a very extreme opinion that we’ll not have hubs at all but we’re now contemplating whether we can take a hybrid approach.”

Major ecommerce players are slowly outsourcing their logistics to companies like Road Runnr. Despite having their own in-house logistics departments, companies are finding themselves unable to handle the rising orders.

Current model needs modification

Sridhar Gundaiah, CEO of hybrid retail store StoreKing feels that the last mile delivery model has to evolve in order to grow and sustain itself. He feels that last mile delivery is a very important factor. Due to high rates of attrition, it becomes a very tricky and delicate situation.

“Last mile in India shouldn’t be only about having a fleet of delivery boys. It is not a scalable model because you have to invest in salaries and training.” He says, “If I look at Roadrunnr’s model, it’s a great one- You first try to conquer and get a handle on the low-hanging fruit, with local delivery guys but, fundamentally, their model will have to evolve.”

So the key to building a long term solution is to establish a solid framework that can withstand the problems that plague the logistics sector. Creating a reliable employee base is essential to this.