Flipkart Revs Up Operations Ahead of 'Big-Billion Day' Sale


Learning from last year's glitches, Flipkart is taking no chances this time and has geared up to make its Big Billion Day's sale starting next week hassle-free through upgrades in technology, logistics and the seller base. "We are ramping up our logistics and during the festive season we will have over 19,000 delivery boys, including those from Ekart, delivering to over 40,000 pin codes across India," said Ankit Nagori, chief business officer at Flipkart.

The company is adding three warehouses including one at Dadri near New Delhi. Ekart is the company's own logistics arm. This time, the sale will be of a longer duration and restricted to the app. "On an average, we get about 75% of our traffic through mobile-only devices. We expect it to peak during the discount sale to over 80%," said Nagori.

 Last year, several customers reported automatic cancellation of orders after sellers ran out of stock. To avoid server crashes, Flipkart has installed its own data centres across major metros and will manage online traffic inhouse, unlike last year, when it relied on outsourced vendors.

"We have invested heavily in our chat application Ping and image- based search to improve the shopping experience," said Nagori, who joined the eight-year-old company in 2010. This year the sale will be conducted for five days, starting October 13. It will include Myntra, the online fashion retailer Flipkart acquired last year.

As per ET's estimates, India's biggest ecommerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Quikr are expected to spend over Rs 2,000 crore this year on marketing and advertising, a 53% jump from last year. Nagori declined to comment on Flipkart's marketing budget for the October to December period. "There will be a multi-channel approach with TV, print, outdoor and digital and this time we will specifically target tier-2 towns with our offline campaign," he added.

While product launches in categories such as electronics, appliances and mobiles are expected, throwaway sales such as mobile phones for Re 1 that were offered last year may not be available this time around. "Rather than the marketing deals (such Re 1 sales), we will offer significant number of products at a lower price to a larger base of customers," Nagori said.

Last year, sellers were sent deactivation mails after the supply chain ran out of capacity. This year the company is asking sellers to stock a large number of goods in its fulfillment centres. About 40,000 retailer are expected to sell through Flipkart during the sale. The company has launched a 'turbocharge' campaign to add 10,000 sellers in the next three months, through which it will offer free cataloging and listing support.

The company is also aiding sellers in faster loan approvals for buying stock. "We have been continuously preparing sellers to manage high-traffic during this event. After all, these three months offer the best time of the year if anyone wants to make extra money," Nagori added.

Last year, Flipkart's Big Billion Day saw sales of merchandise of over Rs 600 crore in 10 hours and the one-day flash sale was marred with technical and logistical glitches. Flipkart apologised to customers, acknowledging that their experience was less than pleasant. To ensure that sellers stock enough and deliver on time, the company is offering four outperforming sellers return flight tickets to Paris besides iPads for over a dozen star sellers.


Source: http://www.adageindia.in/digital/flipkart-revs-up-operations-ahead-of-big-billion-day-sale/articleshow/49222455.cms

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