US logistics firm XPDEL to invest about Rs 370 crore in India; to start with three markets

The company plans to start with Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru and expand to 20 markets in India over the next two years.

US-based e-commerce fulfillment center network XPDEL on November 18 launched its operations in India, and has plans to invest approximately $50 million (Rs 370 crore) over the next five years in supply chain logistics and technology with its partners.

The company plans to start its business with three markets - Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru - wherein it will offer a range of technology-enabled solutions for the country’s expanding e-commerce market.

“We plan to deploy approximately $50 million over the next five years in network for supply chain logistics and technology with partners. Subsquently, we plan to expand our footprint to 20 markets by end of 2023 to provide nationwide coverage. As part of our global expansion, the company aims to launch in Europe and Canada by 2022,” Manish Kapoor, founder and global CEO of XPDEL, told Moneycontrol.

“We have already built and tested solutions in the US. India is the fastest growing e-commerce segments, we are looking at the end-to-end supply chain. Other players thinking of last-mile delivery and other pieces of it. Our mission is to help the small and medium businesses to succeed,” he said.

XPDEL is currently piloting in three markets – Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. “We are looking at nano fulfillment centres, which will be closest to the customers’ neighbourhood for quick delivery. But the products are coming from somewhere into these nanos. Those are bigger facilities which we call micros. We have a number of partners lined up for real estate as well as buildings where we can go and operate,” said Kapoor.

India’s eCommerce sector is expected to reach $ 111.40 billion by 2025 from $ 46.20 billion in 2020, signifying an annualized growth of 19.24%. Grocery is expected to be one of the key pillars of growth and it is predicted to reach $18.2 billion in 2024 from $1.9 billion in 2019, expanding at a CAGR of 57%. With its aggressive growth plans and technological architecture and focus on accurate and speedy deliveries, XPDEL claims it will play a critical role in supporting this spurt in growth for eCommerce business in the country.

By the end of next year, the company is targeting at least 20 markets in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, with Assam being the next market, Kapoor added.

“We will be setting up 20 micro fulfilment centres in two years, which will have a footprint in the range of 10,000-75,000 square feet and we are exploring a model for setting nano-fulfilment centres which will have an area of 2,000-5,000 square feet,''  said Ashish Chadha, co-founder and CEO, XPDEL-APAC.

“The Indian eCommerce industry offers promising opportunity and we are addressing the key challenges related to logistics and inventory.  Our first customers are from the automotive and personal care verticals who have taken the lead against competition by partnering with XPDEL. We will also be contributing significantly in employment generation by creating thousands of job opportunities,” said Chadha.

The company is building on XPDEL’s success in the US "that is engineered with customer density analytics, network design, efficient operations, optimized logistics and advanced technology," said Jon Johnson, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives.

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