Reliance Retail sets the ball rolling on delivery in an hour, starts pilot service in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai

Kolkata: Reliance Retail has started the pilot of immediate delivery of groceries and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products in certain areas of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai where orders will be fulfilled within an hour, a senior industry executive told ET.

The group's fast-delivery service has been integrated into the Jiomart mobile application as a 'hyperlocal delivery' option. Reliance will try to reduce the delivery time to 30-45 minutes as more stores get linked into the system and the operation expands into other markets, the executive said. According to industry executives, Reliance's shortest delivery time for orders of daily necessities placed online is about 12 hours. Some orders can even take up to three days.

An email query sent to Reliance Retail remained unanswered as of press time.

Quick commerce companies like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and BB Now from Tata-owned BigBasket are delivering most orders within 10 minutes. Reliance doesn't want to enter the delivery race as that would require setting up higher penetration of dark stores and hiring a large fleet of delivery personnel. Instead, it will be fulfilling these orders from its store network and warehouses.

The executive cited earlier said that in areas where its store network is limited, Reliance is planning to rope in the kirana stores that have joined the JioMart Partner initiative. These kiranas source products from Reliance Retail's wholesale arm and have their backend connected.

The company is utilising technology platforms such as FYND and Locus for the fulfilment process and to optimise delivery routes. There's also a plan to go hyperlocal with apparel and electronic items at a later stage, the executive said. For its re-entry into quick commerce, the company has formed an inter-departmental team comprising Reliance Retail's chief executive for grocery business, Damodar Mall, and JioMart's chief executive Sandeep Varaganti. The team will be expanded later as more categories get added. Last year, Reliance shelved its quick-commerce pilot - JioMart Express - in Navi Mumbai. This time round, it has not used any specific branding.