The E-commerce boom is a phenomenon occurring on the global stage now and this has led to a wave of growing entrepreneurship everywhere. When it comes to India, we have become the 2nd highest startup ecosystem in the world with leading unicorns making it to the top of the list.
While the increasing digitalisation and internet have made it easy for traditional retailers to take their business online and experiment in the e-commerce world, the challenge of finding a reliable and affordable courier partner for handling logistics and shipping has gone big.
Outsourcing eCommerce shipping in India is often considered an expensive and money-draining decision, and therefore small-scale businesses often find it overwhelming to choose a 3PL for order fulfilment. However, some of the best courier companies in India are not only known for their premium shipping solutions but also for affordable shipping rates.
So let’s dig deeper into eCommerce shipping and explore some of the cheapest courier services in India for your online business. Stay tuned!
Factors To Consider While Choosing A Reliable Courier Service For Your E-commerce Business
Here are some of the essential pointers to consider while shortlisting a reliable courier partner for your business:
- Network Coverage
While starting a new business, you need to ensure that you don’t face any limitations or geographic barriers while catering to a wide audience base because that would decide the fate of your business consumer base. Ensure that the courier partner you choose offers you a Pan-India delivery network with good serviceability.
- Delivery Timelines
With express delivery making a dominant space in eCommerce shipping, there is no chance you should risk your business with slow delivery timelines. In the age of fast consumerism, fast delivery timelines are the condition for achieving superior customer satisfaction. So your priority must be evaluating the speed of delivery service offered by your chosen courier partner. Analyse the reviews of their previous clients online and carefully examine their delivery commitment.
- Shipping Charges
Don’t let yourself get conned by the hidden charges apart from the shipping fee, which is often brought upon by multiple e-commerce couriers. Initially, your focus should be on getting a reasonable shipping rate from your chosen courier partner. As a small online business owner, draining too much money into shipping would increase your overall burden, further hampering profit margins.
- RTO
In e-commerce shipping, high RTO rates come as the worst nightmare for your profit margins and customer success. Therefore, carefully consider the efficiency of the order fulfilment process of your chosen courier partner. Timely deliveries will result in less RTO and fewer customer queries for your business.
Here Are The Top Cheapest Courier Service In India For Your Business
- NimbusPost
Being India’s 2nd largest tech-enabled shipping aggregator, NimbusPost is a preferred shipping partner in India and abroad for its smart shipping solutions and services. One of the major factors of their popularity is the economical shipping rates they offer for both domestic and international shipping. Their coverage across 29,000+ pin codes, fastest COD remittance, AI-fraud detection tool, and global coverage of 196+ countries, are some of the features which make them a reliable choice for e-commerce businesses of all sizes.
- Blue Dart
One of the leading integrated transportation and distribution firms in South Asia, Blue Dart provides reliable consignment delivery to more than 55,400 locations across India. As a part of the DHL Group’s eCommerce division, Blue Dart has access to the world’s largest express and logistics network, which spans over 220 countries and territories. It provides a broad spectrum of distribution services, such as air express, freight forwarding, supply chain solutions, customs clearance, etc, at economical rates.
- Ecom Express
In India’s retail and e-commerce sectors, Ecom Express Limited is an established provider of comprehensive logistics solutions. With coverage in more than 2,700 cities and towns and catering to more than 27,000 pin codes nationwide, Ecom Express leverages state-of-the-art technology and automated solutions to offer end-to-end logistics and supply chain solutions across the country.
Under its main offering, Ecom Express Services (EXS), the company offers first-mile pickup, processing, network operation, last-mile delivery, reverse logistics, and returns management.
- DTDC
DTDC is India’s noteworthy express logistics and e-commerce shipping provider, operating across one of the largest network coverage in the country. Bringing a comprehensive suite of tech-enabled logistics solutions to a wide array of industries, their solutions range from traditional pick-up and delivery to smart warehousing and order fulfilment solutions.
DTDC covers 14,000 customer access points, catering to about 14,000 pin codes in India and 220 countries abroad via their global delivery partners.
- Delhivery
Delhivery is India’s prominent logistics and eCommerce shipping service provider whose wide array of services includes last-mile delivery, third-party and transit warehousing, reverse logistics, vendor-to-warehouse, vendor-to-customer shipping, etc.
Delhivery is among the biggest providers of B2B, B2C, and C2C logistics courier services in India. The company’s most well-known attribute is the low delivery costs it charges for its services.
- XpressBees
Being one of the well-known logistics and supply chain management providers, XpressBees provides a range of logistics services both nationally and internationally. Their services include fulfilment services, cross-border logistics, express cargo, and eCommerce logistics. Their reverse logistics combined with affordable, state-of-the-art technology enable them to deliver products on schedule and meet client expectations.
- FedEx
FedEx is a prominent U.S.-based multinational transportation and supply chain leader present in about 220+ countries and territories. Founded in 1973 with nearly 50 years of invaluable experience in the processing and delivery of various goods, it provides door-to-door pickup and delivery along with shipping services both domestically and internationally. Because of its dedication to quality, FedEx is a reputable logistics partner for top global eCommerce businesses.
To Conclude
While the market has many competitive players in eCommerce shipping, few would rightly align with the current needs and expectations of your online business. Hence,
carefully consider the various factors while selecting a courier service provider and most importantly, negotiate for better courier rates to ensure the maximum productivity and growth of your business.
