S rinivas K.S., a lifelong biryani fan, likes to satisfy his biryani craving by ordering from a specific outlet a ways from his house in Kalyan Nagar.
Since the said establishment does not deliver to his house, he usually picks up takeaway on his way from home work in Indiranagar, bearing a slight detour through post-work traffic. These days, he has abandoned this ritual, as there are others ready to do the running for him.
On demand delivery services have mushroomed over the past year, looking to solve the problems we face every day, from running a seemingly trivial errand to aiding small business that cannot afford to have a logistics wing of their own.
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“There is a huge demand for delivery services, as there are many small businesses that cannot afford to have full time staff for the volumes they deal with,” says Abrar Ahmed, who handles operations and marketing at Kooriee, one of the recent entrants into the field.
When you use Zomato to order from that small eatery tucked away in a quiet lane in your neighbourhood, chances are it is one of these runners on demand who brings you your food.
This emerging sector has seen many takers, in this city where time is a premium and convenience is paramount. Shikha Chaterjee, a homemaker who dabbles in jewellery design, is one of the many who have siezed the convenience these services present.
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“Earlier, it used to be a chore getting my products delivered to other parts of the city. But nowadays I just make a call and things are taken care of,” she says.
Delivery is the main area of specialisation, and such services are slowly getting more versatile in helping users. “This is hardly a niche segment, this is the replacement for help in the future, and the demand is unlimited,” says Kabeer Biswas, founder of Dunzo, which uses a chat-based interface to allow users to create to-do lists, which are then completed by their ‘runners’. “We get all kinds of requests -- everything from taking pictures of your house under construction to wrapping your kids’ books.”
While Dunzo relies on its accessibility and versatility, Kooriee’s trump card is same day pick-up and delivery. “We deliver on the same day irrespective of whether it is a single client or a business,” Abrar continues, explaining that the service also helps out e-commerce websites with their next day delivery options.
For Ragunath, who runs a small grocery store in Kammanahalli, these services have come in handy more than once.
“About two years ago, I introduced the option of home delivering goods. But of late we have had trouble fulfilling commitments as demand goes up during the festival season. I considered suspending the facility as traditional delivery services don’t have an option for local delivery and now there are outfits who specifically deliver groceries. Then I tried out on demand services and realised they are convenient and affordable for people like me.”
According to Kabeer, a majority of the requests they receive come from women aged between 18 and 30, though there are exceptions, like Srinivas. “I think all these facilities are the way forward to a more collaborative future. Soon we might have aggregation services where any one of us could help someone out by dropping things off on the way to or from work. These technologies have opened up opportunities for people that did not exist before, whether you are a client or a business,” he says.
It is early days, but startups are looking to rapidly fill the pieces in the puzzle left open by existing mechanisms, all for the benefit of the users. As Apple famously told us a few years ago, “there is an app for that.”