Have you ever been stuck in a situation where you wanted something to be delivered to a particular place but couldn’t? Then, we have the perfect solution for you and that is Grofers! We had an informal chat with Albinder Dhindsa, the co-founder of Grofers and this is what he had to say about Grofers and how you can benefit from them.
Albinder Dhindsa – Co-founder, Grofers
Describe Grofers in one sentence.
Grofers is a hyper-local logistics company that connects consumers with their local retailers.
What is the concept of Grofers?
We want to improve the experience of ordering from your local stores. The information about the store, the items they hold and the delivery times should be accessible easily to the user. We are working on organizing this market so this can actually happen.
When and how did the idea to start Grofers originate?
We had a good understanding of the local market and what users require. A lot of issues came from the disorganized nature of the sector and a lack of technology that could ensure transparency.
How did you make up your mind to take this huge risk of starting your own company?
We saw a huge opportunity in the market. Looking at the size of the local retail market and the need of looking at the value we are placing in convenience every day helped us convince ourselves that the risk was worth taking.
Whom do you consider as influencers or motivators in your business life?
Motivator for my business life is Marc Benioff, Chairman and CEO of Salesforce.
What were the initial hurdles when starting your company and how did you overcome them?
Initial hurdles included convincing people that our idea had merit and they could trust us to do deliveries for them. We knew it would be a difficult climb to convince consumers up front of our value so we tied up with merchants and built our delivery network by tying up with over 150 stores.
They were extremely supportive. Always have been.
What made you choose the Logistics industry?
We chose the local discovery space. Organizing logistics at the same level was just something that we figured needed to be done.
How different is your company when compared to the existing players?
Our value proposition is quite unique and we are not facing a lot of direct competition currently.
How did technology help you in your day-to-day operations?
We rely heavily on technology to track our operations and keep in constant contact with out merchants. Since we are working on bringing the local retail online, we have to make sure our technology is solving real problems while being simple to understand.
How many people are part of the Grofers team?
We are a team of over 180 people including deliverers, shoppers and station managers.
The Grofers Team
Which are the cities in which you operate?
We are currently operating in NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore. We also have plans to expand to other cities very soon.
Who is your typical customer base? How do you reach out to your target audience?
Everyone in urban areas is our customer. Indian market has a very heavy focus on deliveries, so we can assume every household can be a potential customer. Our partnerships with local stores play a big role in our reach out to the target audience.
What are the facilities available for people who avail of the services of Grofers?
Quick deliveries and a convenient user experience.
How many deliveries do you carry out, on a typical day, across all the cities you operate in?
Currently we are handling approximately 1500 deliveries every day.
What are your future plans for Grofers?
We aim to become the delivery service of choice for local customers and merchants. Shoppers will be able to order everything from groceries to stationery items from your smartphones and Grofers will be bringing them to your doorstep within minutes.
What is the biggest challenge you are currently facing in your business environment?
We are in a challenging scaling up phase where we are taking a relatively new business model to new cities. Managing this growth and making it endure is a huge challenge for us.
Any advice you would like to give to aspiring entrepreneurs?
Be persistent and try to survive for as long as possible.
The next time you are looking for somebody to deliver an item urgently to a particular place, remember to check Grofers and do not forget to like Grofers on Facebook. You can even follow Grofers on Twitter. If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to share with Albinder or us, please do leave us a comment below.
