10 Minute delivery / Quick commerce – Pros & cons

Introduction: 
The buzz around 10-minute delivery is so strong that almost all top food delivery startups –
Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Zepto, Blinkit, BigBasket – have now come up with their version of
quick commerce.
Zepto's core idea is the delivery of groceries in 10-minutes. The idea has caught the attention
of bigger rivals like Zomato and Swiggy. Going a step ahead, Zomato has claimed it'll offer
delivery of food items like biryani, momos, instant noodles, bread omelet, etc., in 10 minutes.

Why 10-min delivery/ Quick commerce: In this day and age, customer needs everything
instantly, and they don't want to plan or wait.
Examples: Swiggy has launched Instamart, while BigBasket has come up with BB Now.
Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola also launched its Qcommerce platform called Ola Dash. Blinkit
was among the first to start 10-minute grocery delivery.

Cons and attracted criticism:

 Despite a good customer's viewpoint, this can have a devastating effect due to the immense
pressure on delivery partners who work 10 to 12 hours daily.
 Even though many companies advertised their 10-minute delivery, it took a few months for
them to change their promotion to delivery in minutes.
 Many problems are associated with the Quick commerce delivery model like Delivery
workforce shortage, rising fuel costs, high losses due to aggressive dark store expansion,
operational challenges during surge times, and a lack of investors' appetite for no profitable
economic sight.
 Mahua Moitra, an MP from West Bengal, slammed the 10-minute delivery model, saying,
"no incentive society can be incentivizing delivery executives to break traffic rules and put
own and others' lives at risk." 
 Ultrafast delivery's profitability relies on orders a driver can fulfill per hour. Keeping that
high and low delivery time is a tightrope these companies need to walk. And to become
profitable and bring down costs, they are trying to club multiple orders, adding to the
delivery timelines.
 Risk to existing local players
Pros: 
 Faster delivery time
 24-hour operational/ anytime delivery
 Ease/Reliability
 Order-tracking
 One-stop shop
References:
https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/whats-the-hype-around-10-minute-delivery-
concept-pros-cons/107834#:~:text=The%20company's%20core%20idea%20is,%2C%20etc
%2C%20in%2010%20minutes.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/startups-recalibrate-approach-to-ten-
minute-deliveries-amid-operational-challenges/articleshow/92045165.cms
https://www.emizentech.com/blog/what-is-quick-commerce.html