CARGOCONNECT-AUGUST 2025 - Flipbook - Page 34
COVER STORY : NEW URBAN EQUATION
JYOTHIS JAGAJEEVE
Head– E-commerce Logistics,
Decathlon Sports India
ANUBHAV AGNIHOTRI
Head– Instock and Inventory,
Clicktech Retail
Each micro-fulfilment centre
should be treated as its own
P&L unit. If you're placing
the centre in the right area,
attracting sufficient order
volume, and achieving a
healthy average basket
size, you’ll likely cover key
operational costs—rent,
staffing, rider payouts, and
inventory holding—making
it sustainable. Without this
disciplined approach, there's
a real risk of scaling up
too quickly—opening many
fulfilment centres without
ensuring each one is truly
contributing to the business.
The goal isn’t just more
fulfilment centres, it’s more
successful ones.
Micro-fulfilment centres can’t
stock everything like a large
warehouse. They typically
carry a limited amount of
stock—around five days’ worth
for sub-same-day deliveries
and only half a day to one
day’s worth for Q-com. This
makes frequent replenishment
and SKU precision essential.
Customers in different cities
want different products. A
customer in Mumbai may
prefer a different selection
than someone in Kolkata or
Chandigarh. So, companies
need good data to understand
what products to stock at
each location and adjust their
inventory accordingly.
34 | CARGOCONNECT AUGUST 2025
delivery promise you aim to ful昀椀l,” he notes. While setting
up in-city or micro-fulfilment centres might appear
complex, Jyothis points out that most organisations
already possess the required data. “It’s more a question
of how e昀昀ectively we analyse and apply it,” he adds.
He also argues for a disciplined 昀椀nancial lens to assess
ful昀椀lment centre performance. “Each micro-ful昀椀lment
centre should be treated as its own P&L unit. While the
broader goal is achieving ROI over 2–3 years, running
these centres with independent 昀椀nancial accountability
helps assess performance and viability early on,” he
explains. This approach helps businesses avoid the pitfalls
of premature scaling. “If you're placing the centre in
the right area, attracting su昀케cient order volume, and
achieving a healthy average basket size, you’ll likely cover
key operational costs—rent, sta昀케ng, rider payouts, and
inventory holding—making it sustainable,” Jyothis says,
and adds, “Without this disciplined approach, there's
a real risk of scaling up too quickly—opening many
ful昀椀lment centres without ensuring each one is truly
contributing to the business.”
“The goal isn’t just more ful昀椀lment centres, it’s more
successful ones,” he observes.
Anubhav Agnihotri, Head– Instock and Inventory at
Clicktech Retail, reinforces the operational importance of
micro-ful昀椀lment centres in meeting customer expectations
around speed, selection, and localisation. “Speed is the top
priority,” he says, explaining that centres placed within
2–5 km of the delivery area enable ful昀椀lment within 10
to 20 minutes or a few hours, depending on the service
promise. He notes that this model, though popularised
by newer players like Zepto, has been used by companies
like Amazon for years, and is now live in 52 cities.
Sharma adds that Zepto’s success in this model
comes not just from proximity, but from matching the
right inventory to the right cluster. “To boost last-mile
e昀케ciency, the right mix of locations and inventory is
essential,” he explains. However, this must be weighed
against cost. “That’s why we invest in detailed analysis
and research at both city and neighbourhood levels,”
Sharma says. This helps determine whether rent and
storage costs are justified by the improved delivery
performance.
Agnihotri adds that selection and stock depth must
be aligned with the centre’s delivery model. “These
centres can’t stock everything like a large warehouse.
They typically carry a limited amount of stock—around
昀椀ve days’ worth for sub-same-day deliveries and only
half a day to one day’s worth for Q-com,” Anubhav
explains. This makes frequent replenishment and SKU
precision essential.
Anubhav also underlines the importance of hyperlocal inventory planning. “Customers in di昀昀erent cities
want di昀昀erent products. A customer in Mumbai may
prefer a di昀昀erent selection than someone in Kolkata or
Chandigarh. So, companies need good data to understand
what products to stock at each location and adjust their
inventory accordingly.”
When it comes to infrastructure planning, Anubhav
points to population density and demand volume as
key siting factors, particularly in the Indian context.
However, he cautions that long-term success depends on
