Diwali is a festive feast all around. Diyas lighting up every corner, the aroma of home made mithai and savouries and of course, the greatest joy of all- the rustle of gifts being packed and unpacked.
For marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart, it is a race to scale. The orders and offers multiply and GMV becomes the new four-letter word. And let’s not forget customers’ whose service demands skyrocket just like their fireworks. In all this we forget who real bears the burden of the rush and push.
Parcels zip across pin codes braving all kinds of weather to reach you safely and on time thanks to the foot soldiers of ecommerce, the courier force. Delivering an order every 8 minutes (with 500 minutes in a shift, you do the math), they go the extra mile for the last mile during this rush season. They are barely noticed and rarely thanked. Back problems, pollution, irate customers and impossible targets are just some of the problems they face.
Recently I noticed a courier boy deliver a package to us, he was sweaty and tired and could well have done with a glass of water, but it doesn’t strike us. We sign the slip, shut the door and move on. The irony was that we ourselves were planning the Big Diwali Sales push for our clients. Made me think how all the thousands of orders that we increase would fall on these shoulders
– Gurpreet Singh, CEO Browntape
We at Browntape, decided to do our bit to acknowledge these unsung warriors. After all our order and inventory management platform stands on the shoulders of these delivery giants as does India’s entire ecommerce scape. To show our thanks we hosted a Diwali party for the courier brigade in Goa. A crew of about 20 from all companies turned up. Songs were sung, stories were exchanged, selfies clicked. Much laughter presided over a meal prepped by the Browntape employees. Here Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal all came together under one roof forgetting their competitive rivalry. Among those present were twins, one working for Amazon and the other for Flipkart. They shared anecdotes of their deliveries that gave us an inside insight into a day in their lives -The overload, the travel, the customers, the bosses- the works.
As they honoured us with their company, we honoured each of them with a Certificate of Appreciation. We hope that in our own small way we turned their Diwali into a festival of delight.
We deliver in so many offices and homes, day in and day out, nobody even asks our name, it felt very good when the Browntape Team gave us this Diwali party
Shivanna, Amazon Delivery
