E-commerce logistics companies engaged in the business to consumer (B2C) space are, diversifying their offerings due to sluggish growth in this sector, with top e-commerce companies like Flipkart, which recently infused Rs 1,632 crore into Ekart, and Amazon, which is planning to invest in Acko, in-sourcing more than half of their logistical requirements through eKart and Amazon Transportation Services, respectively.

E-commerce Logistics Market in India

The e-commerce logistics market in India, according to a KPMG report is expected to grow to $2.2 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 48%. The B2B logistics market, on the other hand, is currently estimated at $20 billion, making it a much larger opportunity.

Delhivery Experimenting with B2B Logistics

Gurugram-based Delhivery has been exploring different avenues regarding B2B logistics since early a year ago and is encountering a high twofold digit month-on-month development, according to Sandeep Barasia, JMD of Delhivery. “It (B2B) was a natural extension for us and is becoming a substantial part of our fast-growing business,” said Barasia.

Dabbling in B2B Logistics Services

Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holdings is in talks with XpressBees to pick up a significant minority stake. Even relatively smaller players like Matrix Partners which is backing Loadshare and Eight Roads Ventures which is backing on-demand delivery service Shadowfax have started dabbling in B2B logistics services.

“There’s not much going in ecommerce logistics, while there’s a lot going on in the B2B space, which is one generation behind. This is why we want to take the ecommerce sophistication and apply it to B2B conventional logistics,” said Raghu Talluri, chief executive of Loadshare.