In a telling sign of how Flipkart has dropped the logistics ball, the company’s fashion marketplace Myntra is turning to Shadowfax and Delhivery instead of the company-owned Ekart for quick commerce deliveries.

Myntra’s MNow plans hinge on third-party logistics players, especially in high-demand metro cities, where Ekart has limited hyperlocal expertise.

Despite investing billions into Ekart over the years, Flipkart seems to be chasing the market when it comes to quick deliveries. While Ekart has complete dominance on Flipkart and Myntra’s ecommerce marketplaces, Myntra’s MNow in particular is being seen as a big growth vertical.

This means putting Ekart to the side in high demand markets. In a way, Myntra is now partnering with Flipkart-owned Ekart’s competitors to meet its scale and operational needs.

While this is a credit to the logistics players that are meeting quick commerce needs, it’s also a clear indication that a lot needs to change at Ekart. The logistics arm has been unable to meet the demands of speed, scalability, and hyperlocal responsiveness that quick commerce demands.

So, is it time for Flipkart to revamp Ekart for its own platform at the very least, especially given how significant logistics costs are in terms of the unit economics in quick commerce?

The Ekart Road So Far

Ekart was acquired by Flipkart in 2015 and spun off as a separate entity in 2016 to support the fulfilment services not only for Flipkart and Myntra but also for D2C brands, online sellers and retailers.

As Flipkart and Myntra grew rapidly, so did Ekart. The company spent millions of dollars investing in warehouses and fulfilment centres across India. As of today, the company has 90% coverage of Indian postal codes.

But there was a brief moment after 2020 when Ekart seemed to have lost some of the business continuity. In 2021, amid a leadership churn, retail veteran Hemant Badri was named as head of Ekart. Fellow Flipkart senior exec Amitesh Jha was heading the logistics firm briefly, but Badri was tasked with leading the business after Jha, who has since moved on to become the CEO of Swiggy Instamart.

Despite decades of presence and the backing of Flipkart, Ekart has remained a drag on Flipkart’s overall financial performance. Losses ballooned by 5X YoY to INR 1,718.4 Cr in FY24 from INR 324.6 Cr. Revenue declined to INR 12,115.3 Cr compared to INR 12,787.4 Cr in FY23.

Changing The DNA

One thing is clear: Ekart was developed in parallel to Flipkart and to work for Flipkart’s needs. Given that Flipkart never really took quick commerce seriously till late 2024, it’s no surprise that Ekart didn’t have the operational capability for 10-minute deliveries. It built systems optimised for two or three-day fulfilment.

“Quick commerce has reshaped the logistics industry like never before. There are players like Delhivery, Shadowfax and Xpressbees now sharpening their focus on........

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