When Speed Isn’t Enough: Inside India’s More Demanding eCommerce Era

Drawing on his experience working closely with D2C brands and online sellers, NimbusPost CEO Irwin Anand shares how logistics is being redefined as eCommerce enters its next phase.

For much of the last decade, India’s eCommerce growth was powered by speed, discounts, and the willingness to absorb operational leakages in pursuit of scale. That era is fading. Today, failed deliveries, delayed responses, and inefficient logistics decisions directly hit margins, cash flow, and customer trust.

At the same time, logistics is being pulled closer to the core of how digital businesses operate. As D2C brands and online sellers expand beyond early adopters into broader consumer segments and non-metro markets, the performance of fulfillment, delivery, and post-order operations has become harder to separate from overall business health. Decisions that were once tactical are increasingly structural.

Platforms that sit closest to daily shipping decisions are often the first to see these shifts take shape. As sellers experiment, adjust, and recalibrate their logistics strategies, patterns emerge around what scales and what quietly breaks. For Irwin Anand, CEO of NimbusPost, this vantage point offers a clear view into how logistics choices increasingly influence business outcomes well beyond the point of delivery.

In this conversation, Anand shares his perspective on how India’s logistics landscape is evolving and what capabilities will matter as eCommerce moves into its next phase.

India’s eCommerce market has entered a more disciplined phase where growth is harder won and margins matter.  From your vantage point, what has changed most in logistics over the past few years?

India’s eCommerce growth has transformed logistics from a cost center into a competitive edge. What has changed the most is that logistics is no longer optimized purely for speed or scale but for efficiency, predictability, and unit economics. 

A few years ago, sellers could absorb leakages in delivery, returns, and customer experience in the pursuit of growth. That cushion no longer exists. Today, every failed attempt, delayed delivery, or unnecessary return directly impacts margins. 

We’ve also seen logistics move closer to the revenue conversation. It influences conversion rates, repeat purchases, and brand trust. For aggregators like us, this means shifting from being a transaction layer to becoming an intelligence layer, helping sellers make better decisions across couriers, locations, payment modes, and delivery commitments. Logistics has become more disciplined because the business environment demands it.

Logistics was once treated as a backend function. Why has it now become a strategic lever for eCommerce and D2C brands?

Logistics has evolved from backend drudgery to a strategic lever because it now directly shapes the end-customer experience. We are operating in an age of impatience, where speed matters, expectations are high, and even small delivery deviations are noticed. For customers, logistics is no longer just about receiving a parcel but about timely delivery, zero surprises, and transparent communication at every step.

In the D2C world, logistics experience determines whether a customer trusts the brand enough to return, order again, pay online next time, or even recommend it to others. This is why, for eCommerce sellers, logistics influences not just cost, but customer lifetime value, working capital cycles, and support overheads. What has changed is visibility; brands can now clearly see how delivery performance impacts business outcomes. When logistics is used deliberately as an experience driver, it becomes a competitive advantage rather than a backend necessity.

NimbusPost works closely with D2C brands and online sellers. What operational blind spots do you see most often when brands start scaling?

When D2C brands scale, one common blind spot is assuming that what worked at an early scale will continue to work as volumes grow. Many brands tend to ignore post-purchase data. Many rely on a limited set of couriers or fixed rules without accounting for variability across geographies, payment modes, or customer behavior. Another blind spot is underestimating post-order operations; NDRs, RTOs, and customer communication are often treated as exceptions rather than systems to be optimized. We also see some brands scaling marketing faster than operations, which leads to delivery bottlenecks and rising support costs. 

As an aggregator, our role is to surface these blind spots early through data before they become expensive problems. We see brands thrive by adopting NimbusPost’s unified dashboard for real-time visibility, turning these gaps into scalable strengths through predictive analytics and multi-courier options.

How important is post-purchase intelligence NDRs, returns, delivery behavior in improving seller outcomes?

Post-purchase intelligence is critical for businesses because this is where most margin leakage occurs. Failed deliveries, delayed responses to NDRs, and unmanaged returns quietly erode profitability and customer trust.

When sellers understand why deliveries fail, how customers behave at the doorstep, and which patterns repeat across regions, they can make structural improvements rather than reactive fixes. For example, improving NDR response workflows or adjusting courier selection for high-risk pin codes can materially reduce RTOs. For D2C brands, this isn’t hygiene; it’s a loyalty engine that turns one-time buyers into subscribers, directly lifting margins in a competitive market. As an aggregator, we view post-purchase data not just as reporting but as a feedback loop that continuously sharpens the system.

Logistics platforms increasingly talk about data and AI. Where do you think technology genuinely adds value today, and where is it oversold?

Technology adds the most value where it reduces complexity and uncertainty for sellers. Areas like smart courier allocation, delivery predictability, fraud detection, and proactive exception handling benefit meaningfully from data and automation, especially when AI works quietly in the background to improve decisions without increasing operational overhead.

At the same time, logistics remains a physical, last-mile business shaped by human and infrastructure constraints. Technology is sometimes oversold when it promises outcomes without addressing execution fundamentals. Innovations that reduce dependence on manual variability, such as automation at hubs or future last-mile models like drones in controlled environments, hold promise, but only with enabling regulation. Clear frameworks for pilots, safety, and permissions can help innovation move from experimentation to real impact.

The real opportunity lies in combining applied technology, strong logistics partnerships, and supportive regulation. At NimbusPost, we focus on applied intelligence, using data to solve repeatable, on-ground problems today, while staying prepared to adopt new innovations when the ecosystem and regulatory environment are ready.

NimbusPost partners with multiple large logistics providers. How do you balance reliance on incumbents while still building differentiation and control?

We partner deeply with incumbents for their vast networks, ensuring nationwide coverage NimbusPost couldn’t replicate alone. Differentiation comes from how we orchestrate these partners through AI-driven allocation, performance benchmarking, and continuous optimization. This gives sellers one dashboard for multi-courier management, custom SLAs, and proprietary data insights. We don’t compete with partners; we amplify them, retaining control through technology while scaling reliably.

Quick commerce has moved from novelty to mainstream in urban India but it’s also under regulatory and cost pressure. How do you view quick commerce today? From a logistics standpoint, what does quick commerce get right and what does it break in traditional delivery systems?

Quick commerce has matured into a mainstream urban staple but faces sustainability tests from regulations and unit economics. It has fundamentally reset consumer expectations around immediacy, and that influence extends beyond groceries or essentials. From a logistics standpoint, what it gets right is proximity, inventory closer to demand, tighter feedback loops, and strong operational discipline. However, it also breaks traditional cost structures. Speed at all costs is difficult to sustain without careful unit economics. 

For the broader ecosystem, the learnings from quick commerce, such as micro-fulfillment, hyperlocal routing, and demand forecasting, are valuable, but they must be adapted thoughtfully. Not every category or geography needs 10-minute delivery. The future lies in offering the right speed at the right cost, rather than defaulting to the fastest possible option.

Over the next 18–24 months, what operational capabilities will matter most for Indian eCommerce brands?

Operational resilience and predictability will matter more than raw speed. Brands will need stronger control over fulfillment, smarter courier selection, and deeper visibility into post-order performance. Cash flow management through faster reconciliations and lower RTOs will be equally important. We’ll also see greater emphasis on regional optimization, as growth increasingly comes from non-metro markets with different logistics dynamics. Technology will play a role, but the winners will be brands that integrate systems end-to-end rather than adding fragmented tools. From an aggregator perspective, our job is to enable these capabilities without increasing the operational burden on sellers.

If founders could fix just one logistics mistake early, what should it be?

They should avoid hard-coding logistics decisions early. Locking into a single courier, static rules, or manual processes may seem efficient initially, but it limits flexibility as the business scales. Founders should design logistics as a system that can learn and adapt across geographies, order profiles, and customer behavior. Building with optionality from day one makes a significant difference later. Logistics mistakes compound quietly, so fixing the foundations early saves disproportionate effort down the line.

You’ll soon enter your second year as the CEO. What will look meaningfully different about NimbusPost compared to the first year?

The first year was about strengthening fundamentals like platform stability, partner reliability, and internal alignment. As we enter the second year, NimbusPost will look more intentional in how we create value for sellers. You’ll see deeper intelligence embedded into workflows, more proactive decision-making, and a stronger focus on outcomes rather than activities. 

We’re also building for scale with discipline, expanding capabilities without losing simplicity. From the outside, NimbusPost will increasingly be seen not just as a logistics layer but as an enabler that helps eCommerce businesses grow sustainably in a demanding market.

As growth slows and competition intensifies, logistics has moved from a background function to a determining factor in business outcomes. Sellers can no longer afford static courier choices, opaque post-purchase operations, or delivery experiences that undermine repeat purchases. Predictability, control, and unit economics are now becoming as important as speed.

This shift is visible not just in market behaviour but also in the broader operating environment. Reflecting on Budget 2026, Irwin Anand, CEO of NimbusPost, points to a growing recognition of these everyday pressures on businesses. “Budget 2026 attempts to solve some of the everyday frictions businesses deal with – from cash-flow pressure to operational delays. The focus on MSME financing, tax compliance simplifications and export relaxations is encouraging for businesses. The newly introduced ₹10,000 Crore SME Growth Fund also looks like a positive signal for smaller merchants looking for long-term capital. Continued investment in logistics infrastructure, including the expansion of Dedicated Freight Corridors, should help to improve predictability across supply chains. Overall, I expect this to translate into smoother day-to-day operations and more scalable growth for businesses over time.” he adds.

About NimbusPost

NimbusPost is an India-based logistics platform that works with eCommerce sellers and D2C brands to manage shipping, fulfilment, and post-purchase operations across multiple courier partners. The platform focuses on improving delivery predictability, reducing returns and operational friction, and providing sellers with greater visibility into logistics performance across geographies and order profiles.

By orchestrating multiple logistics providers through a single system, NimbusPost aims to help businesses move beyond static shipping setups and make more data-driven decisions as they scale. The company works closely with online sellers navigating a more competitive, margin-conscious phase of India’s eCommerce market.

Quick takeaways

• Logistics has moved from the backend to the balance sheet. Anand notes that delivery performance now directly affects margins, cash flow, and customer trust as India’s eCommerce growth becomes more disciplined.
• Efficiency and predictability matter more than raw speed. According to Anand, logistics is no longer optimised purely for scale, but for unit economics and consistency across geographies and order profiles.
• Post-purchase operations are where businesses win or lose. Anand highlights NDRs, returns, and delivery behaviour as major sources of margin leakage that demand structured, data-driven intervention.
• Early logistics shortcuts don’t survive scale. Hard-coded courier choices, static rules, and manual processes create blind spots as volumes grow, making flexibility and optionality critical from the start.
• Technology should work quietly in the background. Anand cautions against overhyping AI, arguing that its real value lies in reducing uncertainty through smarter routing, predictability, and exception handling.
• Quick commerce reset expectations, not fundamentals. While ultra-fast delivery changed consumer behaviour, Anand believes sustainable logistics requires balancing speed with cost discipline.
• The next phase of growth will reward resilient systems. Anand expects brands that integrate logistics end-to-end and build for variability to scale more sustainably in a competitive market.