How are Flipkart, Amazon delivery boys doing?

While Flipkart and Amazon might provide us with the catalogue to browse for our favorite gadgets, fashion accessories of apparels, it is the delivery staff, who rarely get credit for their work, that's the backbone of the flourishing Indian e-commerce industry. But what goes on inside the delivery network? According to a report in The Economic Times, e-commerce companies in India are struggling to retain their delivery executives. Companies are even offering double-digit percentage salary hikes, as the report mentions, to hold on to their delivery staff. As welcoming a deal as that might appear to be, delivery jobs are among some of the most physically taxing ones. The salaries rolled out to these executives are also minimal.

The report mentions that the median salaries increased from Rs 7,500 a month in 2014 to Rs 11,500 a month in 2017, as revealed by staffing agency TeamLease. While this increment rate might be amongst the highest in blue-collar jobs, the attrition rate also jumped correspondingly. From 29% two years ago, the attrition rate amongst delivery executives jumped to 34% in 2017.

Attrition rate has also increased amongst two-wheeler delivery executives as compared to delivery executives with bigger vehicles. The percentage share of delivery executives with two-wheelers dropped to 60% from 80% two years ago.

These stats coincide with the fact that shipments have also increased on an average from about 20 two years ago to 30 a day. In cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, an executive might have to delivery upto 50-60 packages on an average every day. Moreover, the weight of the delivery bags must also be taken into account. After a recent controversy, BigBasket said that the maximum load a delivery executive is assigned is 15 kg. Add to it harsh weather conditions like harsh summers and heavy rains and the attrition rate becomes self-explanatory.

Additionally, their job does not end with only the delivery, these executives have to meet and also keep in mind certain grooming standards as well. In a 2016 report for Business Today, Goutam Das wrote, "These men will need to go through multiple mock tests to polish up these skills, re-skill and up-skill before the rubber of their two-wheelers meet the road. The way they look, what they speak, and how they behave have become increasingly important in making them employable in this crucial last-mile job of India's e-commerce industry. There is no physical touch and feel with the brand, like there is in a bricks-and-mortar store. And there is no e-commerce until the product purchased online is delivered or the cash collected. The delivery boy, in many ways, becomes an extension of the brand, its physical embodiment."

Now, along with improving salaries, companies are doling out incentives like reimbursements, night-shift allowance, hospital and accident insurance to cut down on the attrition. 

In fact, companies like BigBasket are planning to increase their delivery staff. With global entities pumping money in the Indian e-commerce sphere, these companies will expand in the coming months. With this expansion, the delivery network would also need to increase. With a bigger and more demanding network, delivery executives are likely to see better opportunities in the sector. As mentioned in the report, Guruprasad Srinivasan, President of Dependo Logistics, a subsidiary of Quess Corp said that the net take-home value for delivery executives has increased by 25% as compared to previous years.