Latest news with #Barua
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Ecommerce's in-house delivery turn flips third-party logistics biz script
The largest Indian ecommerce firms have moved deliveries in-house, hurting third-party logistics (3PL) players and leading to a consolidation in the sector. Amazon , Flipkart and Meesho now account for about 82% of India's ecommerce parcel volumes, according to a report by ICICI Securities. This has forced pure-play logistics operators to draw up new ways to stay relevant. As Meesho's parcel volumes are increasingly handled by its logistics arm Valmo, improving yields has become more important than chasing market share for 3PL companies, executives and analysts said. The Bengaluru-based online retailer, which caters to smaller towns and value-conscious shoppers, had historically worked with logistics providers including Delhivery , Ecom Express, Shadowfax and Xpressbees. Now, Valmo functions as an aggregator and allows sellers to choose a transporter to fulfil orders. 'Our channel checks indicate Meesho was routing around 70% of shipments through its captive arm Valmo in March 2025 compared to around 30% in March 2024, and 5% in March 2023. This indicates the growing control of horizontal platforms over logistics operations,' ICICI Securities said. Delhivery CEO Sahil Barua said at the company's recent earnings call that more than 100% of the logistics industry's profit pool currently resides with Delhivery, underscoring how many rivals remain loss-making. He said further consolidation is likely after the Rs 1,407 crore Ecom Express acquisition in April. 'Despite Delhivery handling a large share of Meesho volumes, the impact on others may be more significant. Delhivery has already begun focusing on yields and exploring segments like rapid commerce and hyperlocal delivery,' said a senior executive at a logistics firm. Delhivery's acquisition of Ecom Express strengthens its position in the 3PL space, with the two companies having 100% customer overlap and 95% revenue overlap. For Ecom Express, key clients include Meesho, Amazon, Shiprocket and Nykaa. Delhivery's strategy Analysts said Meesho was unlikely to shift all parcel volumes to its own network, which could give Delhivery some pricing power. 'Delhivery's muted growth in ecommerce shipments in FY25 was driven by competitors undercutting on price. But with consolidation playing out, it may regain pricing leverage,' said a Mumbai-based internet analyst. The company's express parcel revenue and volumes rose 5% and 2% year-on-year, respectively, in FY25. Barua acknowledged pricing pressure from rivals but said it should ease. 'Historically, Delhivery has led pricing in this industry. Last year was an exception,' he said. 'Competitors made pricing decisions to gain short-term share, which we believed were unsustainable as they implied negative gross margins.' JM Financial analysts said headwinds for Delhivery may subside in the coming quarters as Meesho has limited scope for further shifting volumes and quick commerce firms are slowing down expansion. 'Management expects growth to return in FY26 with the Ecom Express acquisition, retaining over 30% of volumes. Positive impact was already visible in April and May,' the report noted.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Logistics firms under pressure; The race to deliver style
Logistics firms under pressure; The race to deliver style Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox? Also in the letter: Ecommerce's in-house delivery turn flips third-party logistics biz script Driving the news: In March 2025, Valmo handled over two-thirds of Meesho's shipments, up from 30% a year earlier and just 5% in previous years, according to an ICICI Securities report. The Bengaluru-based online retailer once relied heavily on third-party players, including Delhivery, Ecom Express, Shadowfax, and Xpressbees. Now, Valmo acts as an aggregator, letting sellers choose their preferred transporter. Ecom Express, now part of Delhivery, still counts Amazon, Meesho, Shiprocket and Nykaa among key clients. Yes, but: Growth muted: Also Read: Rapid delivery's in fashion at ecommerce, new-age apparel companies Here's the catch: VC rush: The data play: Way ahead: Also Read: IT's growth search takes them to doors of mid-market firms New avenues: But, why: Number-wise: Also Read: Flipkart exits Blackbuck, Aditya Birla Fashion in block deals worth over Rs 1,250 crore ABFRL exit: Blackbuck stake sale: Other Top Stories By Our Reporters Swiggy may recover quick commerce share despite widening losses: Morgan Stanley | LTTS bags deal to set up offshore development centre for US firm Tennant: Global Picks We Are Reading Happy Thursday! With Indian ecommerce firms insourcing deliveries, the third-party logistics sector is likely to witness consolidation. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.■ India IT shifts focus■ Flipkart cashes out■ Morgan Stanley on SwiggyAs Indian ecommerce companies bring deliveries in-house, pure-play logistics companies are scrambling to stay relevant , a shift that is likely to accelerate consolidation in the Flipkart and Meesho account for 82% of India's ecommerce parcel volumes. Meesho, for instance, increasingly relies on its logistics arm, Valmo Analysts believe Meesho won't fully internalise logistics. Still, third-party operators remain in an earnings call, Delhivery CEO Sahil Barua said the company cornered more than 100% of the industry's profit pool , calling out rivals for ongoing losses. After acquiring Ecom Express for Rs 1,407 crore in April, Barua said further consolidation is its bullish stance, Delhivery posted subdued ecommerce numbers in FY25. Express parcel revenue rose 5% year-on-year, while volumes edged up just 2%.New-age brands like Newme, Slikk, and Blipp, along with ecommerce players Myntra, Ajio, and Nykaa, are embracing the ultra-fast fashion delivery trend. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch, which last week kicked off a pilot for its quick delivery service in the is it worth the hype?Some industry insiders regard this as yet another shiny take on the quick commerce narrative. Unlike groceries, fashion is an experiential category. Moreover, supply chains (or logistics) are more complex, and high return rates render ultra-fast delivery a challenging model to are piling in. Slikk, which promises delivery in under 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch secured $40 million from 360 One Asset to fund offline expansion and a deeper push into quick stay ahead of fast-moving trends, brands are leaning on proprietary AI tools and in-house data science teams. These systems sift through social media chatter, search patterns, and shopping behaviour to forecast demand, sometimes even before the customer knows what they buzz is real, but so are the hurdles. Brands still need to sustain consumer excitement, manage inventory risk, and tackle return rates. Quick fashion may be gaining ground, but the jury's still out on whether speed alone will win the a challenging year, India's IT industry is targeting growth beyond the Fortune Global 2,000 and Fortune 5,000, focusing on an underpenetrated segment: smaller and mid-sized enterprises with annual revenues of $1-5 large clients slow to deliver revenue, the natural pivot has been towards smaller companies, typically late adopters of technology, are now ramping up investments in cloud, cybersecurity, and digital transformation, driven by the rise of AI and accelerated digitisation. This shift presents a new opportunity for Indian IT cite several reasons these clients could prove lucrative, including quicker decision-making, a lower barrier to entry, and a broader scope for delivering tech many large enterprises are establishing global capability centres (GCCs) in lower-cost locations, such as India, and insourcing much of their tech work. This has pushed Indian IT majors to look beyond their traditional client opportunity is real, but still early. Mid-market clients (with $100 million to $5 billion in revenue) contribute only 20-30% of total revenue for the top five Indian IT firms – TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra. Large enterprises continue to account for 60-70% of their has fully exited its stakes in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) and Zinka Logistics, the parent company of trucking platform Blackbuck, offloading shares worth several hundred crores this Wednesday, Walmart-owned Flipkart Investments sold its entire 6% stake in ABFRL through a block deal worth Rs 587.7 crore. The transaction involved 73.17 million ABFRL shares changing hands at Rs 80.32 per share, a 6.6% discount to the previous closing price.A day earlier, Quickroutes International, another Flipkart subsidiary, offloaded its entire 9% stake in Blackbuck, according to exchange data. The shares were sold in the Rs 420.06–420.25 range, valuing the deal at Rs 671.76 house Morgan Stanley believes that online food and grocery delivery company Swiggy's quick commerce business has a bright future. Although quick commerce has helped drive Swiggy's revenue growth, the company's expenditure on the sector continues to drag its bottom line part of this collaboration, LTTS will establish a dedicated engineering centre in India to support Tennant's new product development, lifecycle management, and other core operations.■ Google DeepMind's CEO thinks AI will make humans less selfish ( Wired ■ Snap's Spiegel: Company is on 'cusp' of computing transformation ( The Information ■ Frugal tech: The start-ups working on cheap innovation ( BBC
Economic Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Ecommerce's in-house delivery turn flips third-party logistics biz script
The largest Indian ecommerce firms have moved deliveries in-house, hurting third-party logistics (3PL) players and leading to a consolidation in the sector. Amazon, Flipkart and Meesho now account for about 82% of India's ecommerce parcel volumes, according to a report by ICICI Securities. This has forced pure-play logistics operators to draw up new ways to stay relevant. As Meesho's parcel volumes are increasingly handled by its logistics arm Valmo, improving yields has become more important than chasing market share for 3PL companies, executives and analysts said. The Bengaluru-based online retailer, which caters to smaller towns and value-conscious shoppers, had historically worked with logistics providers including Delhivery, Ecom Express, Shadowfax and Xpressbees. Now, Valmo functions as an aggregator and allows sellers to choose a transporter to fulfil orders. 'Our channel checks indicate Meesho was routing around 70% of shipments through its captive arm Valmo in March 2025 compared to around 30% in March 2024, and 5% in March 2023. This indicates the growing control of horizontal platforms over logistics operations,' ICICI Securities CEO Sahil Barua said at the company's recent earnings call that more than 100% of the logistics industry's profit pool currently resides with Delhivery, underscoring how many rivals remain loss-making. He said further consolidation is likely after the Rs 1,407 crore Ecom Express acquisition in April. 'Despite Delhivery handling a large share of Meesho volumes, the impact on others may be more significant. Delhivery has already begun focusing on yields and exploring segments like rapid commerce and hyperlocal delivery,' said a senior executive at a logistics firm. Delhivery's acquisition of Ecom Express strengthens its position in the 3PL space, with the two companies having 100% customer overlap and 95% revenue overlap. For Ecom Express, key clients include Meesho, Amazon, Shiprocket and Nykaa. Also Read: Delhivery rolls out intracity services for customers in Bengaluru Delhivery's strategy Analysts said Meesho was unlikely to shift all parcel volumes to its own network, which could give Delhivery some pricing power. 'Delhivery's muted growth in ecommerce shipments in FY25 was driven by competitors undercutting on price. But with consolidation playing out, it may regain pricing leverage,' said a Mumbai-based internet analyst. The company's express parcel revenue and volumes rose 5% and 2% year-on-year, respectively, in FY25. Barua acknowledged pricing pressure from rivals but said it should ease. 'Historically, Delhivery has led pricing in this industry. Last year was an exception,' he said. 'Competitors made pricing decisions to gain short-term share, which we believed were unsustainable as they implied negative gross margins.'JM Financial analysts said headwinds for Delhivery may subside in the coming quarters as Meesho has limited scope for further shifting volumes and quick commerce firms are slowing down expansion.'Management expects growth to return in FY26 with the Ecom Express acquisition, retaining over 30% of volumes. Positive impact was already visible in April and May,' the report noted.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Ecommerce's in-house delivery turn flips third-party logistics biz script
Delhivery CEO Sahil Barua said during the company's recent earnings call that further consolidation in the industry is likely after the sale of Ecom Express to Delhivery for Rs1,407 crore in April. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The largest Indian ecommerce firms have moved deliveries in-house, hurting third-party logistics (3PL) players and leading to a consolidation in the sector. Amazon , Flipkart and Meesho now account for about 82% of India's ecommerce parcel volumes, according to a report by ICICI Securities. This has forced pure-play logistics operators to draw up new ways to stay Meesho's parcel volumes are increasingly handled by its logistics arm Valmo , improving yields has become more important than chasing market share for 3PL companies, executives and analysts said. The Bengaluru-based online retailer, which caters to smaller towns and value-conscious shoppers, had historically worked with logistics providers including Delhivery , Ecom Express, Shadowfax and Xpressbees. Now, Valmo functions as an aggregator and allows sellers to choose a transporter to fulfil orders.'Our channel checks indicate Meesho was routing around 70% of shipments through its captive arm Valmo in March 2025 compared to around 30% in March 2024, and 5% in March 2023. This indicates the growing control of horizontal platforms over logistics operations,' ICICI Securities CEO Sahil Barua said at the company's recent earnings call that more than 100% of the logistics industry's profit pool currently resides with Delhivery, underscoring how many rivals remain loss-making. He said further consolidation is likely after the Rs 1,407 crore Ecom Express acquisition in April.'Despite Delhivery handling a large share of Meesho volumes, the impact on others may be more significant. Delhivery has already begun focusing on yields and exploring segments like rapid commerce and hyperlocal delivery,' said a senior executive at a logistics firm. Delhivery's acquisition of Ecom Express strengthens its position in the 3PL space, with the two companies having 100% customer overlap and 95% revenue overlap. For Ecom Express, key clients include Meesho, Amazon, Shiprocket and said Meesho was unlikely to shift all parcel volumes to its own network, which could give Delhivery some pricing power. 'Delhivery's muted growth in ecommerce shipments in FY25 was driven by competitors undercutting on price. But with consolidation playing out, it may regain pricing leverage,' said a Mumbai-based internet company's express parcel revenue and volumes rose 5% and 2% year-on-year, respectively, in FY25 Barua acknowledged pricing pressure from rivals but said it should ease. 'Historically, Delhivery has led pricing in this industry. Last year was an exception,' he said. 'Competitors made pricing decisions to gain short-term share, which we believed were unsustainable as they implied negative gross margins.'JM Financial analysts said headwinds for Delhivery may subside in the coming quarters as Meesho has limited scope for further shifting volumes and quick commerce firms are slowing down expansion.'Management expects growth to return in FY26 with the Ecom Express acquisition, retaining over 30% of volumes. Positive impact was already visible in April and May,' the report noted.
Miami Herald
28-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Are Latina workers lagging behind in the use of AI?
According to a recent report by Latinas in Tech, 92% of Hispanic women consider it crucial to master artificial intelligence, or AI, but only 53% feel confident using it. More than half have never received on-the-job training. Among those who did receive training (31.4%), many found it too generic to be helpful. Additionally, 41% said they did not receive training despite believing they needed it. Nikki Barua, interim executive director of Latinas in Tech—which represents more than 44,000 industry professionals—said the lack of access represents a missed opportunity. 'Latinas have a 69% labor force participation rate, which positions them as a fundamental pillar of economic growth in the United States,' she said. Women adopt AI tools at a rate 25% slower than men, which could leave them behind, the report noted. The International Monetary Fund analyzed the potential impact of AI on the labor market and found that nearly 40% of global employment is exposed to the technology. Historically, automation and information technology have affected routine tasks. But one of the characteristics that differentiates AI is its impact on highly skilled jobs. 'AI therefore poses greater risks to advanced economies compared to emerging and developing markets, but it also presents more opportunities to exploit its benefits,' the IMF reported. The IMF reported that in advanced economies, about 60% of jobs could be affected by AI. Approximately half of those jobs may benefit from AI integration by improving productivity. For the other half, AI applications could take over tasks currently performed by humans, potentially reducing labor demand, wages and hiring. In extreme cases, some jobs could disappear. The Latinas in Tech report found that 55.9% of respondents said they were excited about AI's use in their careers; 25% were cautious; and 13.3% were concerned about being left behind in the field. When asked about the main barrier to accessing training, 39.9% cited lack of time, 27.7% pointed to limited financial resources, 17.6% mentioned insufficient employer support, and 14.9% said they faced no obstacles. Barua emphasized that AI is becoming a core skill across all industries. Ignoring it, she said, risks losing access to a critical portion of the talent pool—just when agility, diversity and innovation are most needed. 'This goes beyond professional development; it's a strategic issue. Companies that invest in training their diverse talent to master artificial intelligence will be better prepared to compete and adapt to the future,' she said. She added that the existing gap is a wasted opportunity—not due to a lack of interest or motivation, but rather a lack of access, investment and targeted training. To help close the gap, Latinas in Tech will host the Latinas in Tech Summit in San Francisco from May 28–30. The summit, expected to draw more than 1,500 attendees, will offer practical tools and foster connections and visibility to accelerate Latinas' leadership in technology. 'The event will serve as a platform to close gaps, empower communities, and build a more inclusive future,' Barua said.
