Group Assignment 2
Submitted to: Professor Sujo Thomas
Date: 25th August, 2025
GROUP 10
Name Enrollment no. Email ID
Tanisha Shah AU2210065 tanisha.s1@ahduni.edu.in
Tanmay Shah AU2410346 tanmay.s1@ahduni.edu.in
Heer Patel AU2210079 heer.p@ahduni.edu.in
Ashutosh Oza AU2310188 ashutosh.o@ahduni.edu.in
Khushi Prajapati AU2210420 khushi.p9@ahduni.edu.in
Palak Bangar AU2220205 palak.b2@ahduni.edu.in
Hriday Khanna AU2410058 hriday.k@ahduni.edu.in
Tvesa Gandhi AU2300036 tvesa.g@ahduni.edu.in
Q1) In the online pharmacy segment, initially, “Amazon Pharmacy” started online in
Bangalore, and later, Reliance bought up “Netmeds” for 620 crores. Why?
Industry background :
The Indian online pharmacy segment is considered to be highly promising yet structurally complex
in nature due to thin margins, fragmented supply chains and lack of trust demonstrated by the
Indian consumers in retailing pharmaceutical products online. The industry was valued at USD 1.2
billion in the financial year of 2020 and was projected to grow to USD 16 billion by the financial
year 2025 (Financial Express, 2020). Despite possessing such immense potential, several start-ups
failed to make a place for themselves in the market, eventually consolidating or taking an exit.
Amazon’s entry :
In the year 2020, Amazon’s subsidiary online pharmacy retailing company, “Amazon Pharmacy”,
was established in Bengaluru. The company, in one of its peculiar retail management strategies,
offered operational delivery services from 6 AM in the morning till midnight to cater to the Indian
households who prefer to plan and order the required essentials a day in advance. The company
leveraged the logistics and extensive distribution network operated by Amazon Prime.
Q2) Reliance started Jiomart in Mumbai and later expanded to more than 200 cities.
Similarly, Flipkart explored B2B markets in the Delhi NCR region for six months
before coming up with Flipkart Wholesale. Are these retailers tied to destinations in
any way? What do you think?
● In retail, location choice has always been pivotal in determining business success. For
brick-and-mortar players in the traditional model, being fixed in certain destinations with
high foot traffic was crucial. But with e-commerce, physical grocery online models, the
reliance on physical locations has come down, even though launch cities continue to remain
strategically relevant (Times of India, 2020).
● I don't believe retailers such as Reliance JioMart or Flipkart are inextricably linked with
locations in the same manner as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. Their model is first
online, so they're not reliant on a single physical location to generate traffic. That being
said, I do believe the selection of launch cities is highly strategic. JioMart began in Mumbai
because it's Reliance's home ground, the market is densely populated, and it provided them
with a secure platform to experiment with their logistics before expanding to 200+ cities
(Times of India, 2020). Flipkart similarly experimented with its wholesale B2B model in
Delhi NCR because that area has a robust supplier ecosystem, a combination of modern and
traditional stores, as well as high demand (Inc42, 2020).
● So in my opinion, these destinations are not so much testing grounds or launchpads but
secondary to their overall identity. Once they've validated the model in such high-demand
destinations, it's a lot easier for them to scale nationally. In a way, they're not associated
with destinations, but they certainly leverage them as springboards for expansion.
Q3) Flipkart and Amazon seem to have undertaken a warehousing approach, where
they hold the inventory and provide supplies, while Reliance has undertaken a
distribution approach, wherein it networks with a large number of small retail shops
or Kirana stores and Reliance Smart Point stores being the latest addition. Comment
on the reasons for the same alongside justifications.
● With rapid evolution in the Indian online retail sector, major players are adopting different
supply chain strategies to meet consumers’ expectations. Whilst Flipkart and Amazon rely
majorly on an inventory-led model and warehousing, Reliance has opted for a distribution-
led approach where they partner with Kirana stores and establish smart point outlets to
make their last-mile connectivity and network strong. This difference in strategies shows
the structural realities of Indian retail.
● The warehousing model adopted by Flipkart and Amazon ensures that there is control over
product quality, inventory and the timelines of delivery. This is consistent with the logistics
in e-commerce globally, and this practice allows sophisticated warehouse automation and
economies of scale. According to Unger and Hollander (1971), it reflects a retail trade-off
model where service consistency and efficiency are prioritised over flexibility. However, as
seen in other cases like BigBasket by Thomas et al. (2017), we know that such models
demand heavy investment in capital for infrastructure and are more suitable for non-
perishable items with predictable demand.(Flavián et al., 2019)
The distribution-led approach integrated with India’s vast network of kirana stores has
been the focus of Reliance. Through JioMart and smart point stores, it partners with
kiranas, reducing last-mile costs, enabling hyperlocal delivery and establishing consumers’
trust directly. According to Prahalad and Fruehauf (2004), this strategy is called the “ Base-
of-the-Pyramid retail model”, which focuses on collaboration with retail networks in
emerging markets which are informal. In contrast to Amazon, Reliance leverages its
ecosystem to integrate digital ordering with local fulfilment and manages to bypass the
capital intensity of warehouse models.
But apart from business models, the difference also stems from their positioning in the
market, as Amazon and Flipkart have always targeted digitally savvy and urban segments,
whereas Reliance aims for smaller towns as well as metro cities, where Kiranas often
dominate. Reliance has a competitive edge with this positioning and can scale rapidly and
penetrate markets where warehouse-heavy brands struggle to reach. Therefore, creating a
win-win relationship where kiranas gain digital tools and supply consistency and Reliance
benefits from deep distribution networks.
● Conclusion
The divergence in the two not only reflects the companies’ individual strengths but India’s
unique retail ecosystem. Whilst the warehousing-led model ensures efficiency for Amazon
and Flipkart, but Distribution-led kirana partnership model might give Reliance a
competitive advantage in smaller towns and rural areas. Both strategies are valid, but a
retailer must understand India’s retail structure and consumer behaviour to select what
aligns with their goals but the co-existence of these two models shows how multi-format
nature of retail in India.
Q4) BB Supersaver stocks 20000 SKUs and BB Now stocks 6000 SKUs. Q-commerce
now generates 30% of orders for BigBasket. Tata-owned company has reduced the
dispatch time for the BB Supersaver platform from next-day delivery to two-hour
delivery. Comment on the paradigm shift.
● Industry Context:
BigBasket decided to cut down on the BB Super Saver delivery from next day to two hours
while also focusing on its quick-commerce BB Now service that already generates 30% of
its orders, signifying a paradigm shift from slotted delivery to a quick-commerce-first
model. Aditi Shrivstava (2024). According to CEO Hari Menon (The Arc, 2024) “We
didn’t foresee such a drastic shift in consumer preferences. Now, we see a clear distinction
between our two customer bases; the core audience and new GenZ users”, this pivot,
driven by the evolving consumer preferences for intense and serious competition, opts for
operational overhaul, optimized use of inventory and warehouse infrastructure
reconsideration. Sharmila Das (2025).
1. Slotted to Instant Gratification:
Customers are not going to wait overnight to get the next-day slots. The two-hour
Supersaver delivery is a direct response to the instant-gratification model established by Q-
commerce players (The Core, 2024; YourStory, 2024).
2. Dominance in Quick Commerce:
BigBasket’s Q-commerce arm, BB Now, already contributes around 30% of all orders,
showing how central quick delivery has become to its growth strategy (JM Financial, 2024;
The ArcWeb, 2024).
3. Operational Realignment:
According to BigBasket, operations have been redesigned so that faster deliveries are
possible:
● Dark Stores: BB Now operates approximately. 350 dark stores so that the delivery routes
are not long.
● Inventory: BB Now holds 6,000 SKUs, while Supersaver manages 20,000 SKUs with rapid
fulfillment (Economic Times, 2024; JM Financial, 2024).
● Logistics Transformation: Replenishing and picking procedures are redone to be quicker.
4. Strategic Competitive Threat
The shift comes into direct competition with rivals like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy
Instamart which have set the benchmark of their target within 10-15 minutes delivery
(Economic Times, 2024; Mint, 2024).
5. Multi-Category Expansion
With Tata backing, BigBasket is broadening Q-commerce into non-grocery items such as
electronics, medicines, and lifestyle products, diversifying its offering (Financial Express,
2024; Mint, 2024; Reuters, 2025).
6. Implications
● Customer Experience: Greater choice, with speedier delivery - a 10-minute basket like BB
Now, with a two-hour large-catalogue like Supersaver.
● Market Share: Shields BigBasket against market slide in the face of Q-commerce-first
players.
● Profitability: Though quick commerce strains margins, consumer adoption and market
scale make it unavoidable (Reuters, 2025; Financial Express, 2024).
● Conclusion
The paradigm shift of BigBasket facilitates its major chunk of customers transforming into
rapid conceivers, for which the instant Q-commerce-driven transformation is represented,
along with reshaping its supply chain and strategy to compete in India’s evolving digital
retail market and ecosystem.
REFERENCES
● Thomas, S., Abhishek, S., Vataywala, S., & Sinha, P. (2017). BigBasket.com: Redefining
the business model. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526487513
● Flavián, C., Gurrea, R., & Orús, C. (2019). Combining channels to make smart
purchases: The role of webrooming and showrooming. Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, 52, 101923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.101923
● Prahalad, C., & Fruehauf, H. (2004). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid.
https://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~brewer/ict4b/Fortune-BoP.pdf
● Shrivastava, A. (2024). BigBasket speeds up as quick Commerce drives 30% of orders.
The Arc. https://www.thearcweb.com/article/bigbasket-speeds-up-as-quick-commerce-
drives-30-of-orders-skeRj38IM6SDgJop
● Das, S. (2025, August 22). BigBasket Targets 30% Festive Sales Boost, Banks on Q-
Commerce, Fresh Assortments, and Cultural Intelligence. FE Retail.
https://retail.financialexpressb2b.com/features/bigbasket-targets-30-festive-sales-boost-
banks-on-q-commerce-fresh-assortments-and-cultural-intelligence
● Mishra, D., & Mukul, P. (n.d.). Exclusive: BigBasket set to fully pivot to quick
commerce amid rising competition. The Economic Times.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/bigbasket-set-to-fully-play-in-
quick-commerce-league/articleshow/112816099.cms?from=mdr
● Shanthi, S. (2025, February 21). Hari Menon: 80% of our orders now come from quick
commerce. Financial Express. https://www.financialexpress.com/business/sme/hari-
menon-80-of-our-orders-now-come-from-quick-commerce/3756728/
● Ramasubrmanian, S. (2024, January 18). Tata-backed bigbasket rebrands slotted grocery
delivery service to “supersaver.” yourstory.com.
https://yourstory.com/2024/01/bigbasket-tata-digital-grocery-delivery-supersaver-bbnow-
quick-commerce
● nc42. (2020, February 21). Flipkart supplying goods to kiranas in Delhi NCR in B2B
wholesale pilot. Inc42. https://inc42.com/buzz/flipkart-supplying-goods-to-kiranas-in-
delhi-ncr-in-b2b-wholesale-pilot/
● Times of India. (2020, May 26). Reliance launches JioMart across 200 cities; analysts
say co eyeing spike in online grocery orders. The Times of India.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/reliance-launches-jiomart-
across-200-cities-analysts-say-co-eyeing-spike-in-online-grocery-orders/articleshow/
76001729.cms
