Ola expands quick commerce capability | WARC | The Feed

Ola expands quick commerce capability

Mobility firm, Ola, is expanding out of ridesharing and further into quick commerce by setting up 300 additional dark stores across India.

Why it matters

Ola’s expansion points to the global trend toward ~15 minute deliveries, enabled by owned and operated ‘dark’ stores that help to give the firm visibility and agility over stock levels and trends.

As an Euromonitor strategy paper revealed last year, inefficient deliveries were one of the top consumer challenges. Companies are now rushing to smooth their logistics, given how important the experience of fluidity is to the perception of the service.

What’s happening

• Tech in Asia reports that Ola Dash, the name of the service, is expanding to 20 cities from its current nine.
• The firm offers “store to door” in 10 minutes, and sells fresh produce as well as FMCG staples.
• Indian quick commerce is a particularly hot market at the moment with a lot of VC interest.

Deeper trends

Logistics is big business – just look at Amazon Logistics. But Ola whose trove of data and low acquisition costs are good signs for the venture, plans go further.

In the UK, Ola has just opened an R&D plant to explore electric vehicles, while expanding its ride services in the country where it is now the third largest player in the space.

Effectively, mobility is undergoing massive changes as incumbents race to refit their factories toward the totally different challenge that is building electric vehicles. Upstarts see an opportunity.

Sourced from Tech in Asia, WARC, The Guardian. [Image: Ola]