How Pidge Is Powering India’s Ecommerce Boom With Next-Gen Logistics Tech

Ecommerce is surging worldwide, buoyed by its convenience (as witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic) and the deep penetration of digital technologies across businesses and industries. India is no exception. The ecommerce market in India is the eighth largest globally and is projected to reach $400 Bn+ by 2030 from a $123 Bn market opportunity in 2024, per an Inc42 report.     

Consumer behaviour has evolved, with increasing demand for faster deliveries—whether within minutes through quick commerce or same-day fulfillment. The question is whether businesses can keep pace with the complexities of quick commerce and time-bound ecommerce deliveries ranging from minutes to a few hours. Given the change in consumer behaviour with a convenience-first approach and the way delivery is undergoing a rapid transformation, it is next to impossible for traditional logistics tools and practices to handle all aspects of this business. 

Take intracity B2C logistics, for instance. Given a widely varied customer base within a specific city, businesses need to work with multiple carriers at times, ship inventories from multiple storefronts/warehouses and ensure last-mile deliveries on time for a world-class experience.

“We need the right technology platform to overhaul logistics operations and meet the requirements of new-age businesses and customers,” Ratnesh Verma, founder and CEO of Pidge, a Gurugram-based logistics intelligence platform. By combining a powerful SaaS suite with a national delivery partner network, Pidge is helping businesses—large and small—adapt to the new rules of ecommerce.

“India’s logistics sector remains fragmented and largely undigitised, leading to revenue losses and high operational costs for businesses. On a macro level, inefficiencies are further exacerbated by demand surging at 2x every three years, making it critical to address supply constraints to sustain industry growth. Pidge is enabling businesses to do more with less through its innovative solutions, ensuring seamless scalability and unhindered growth in an evolving market,” adds Verma.

Pidge Powered Network & Pidge Titan: A Close Look At The Tools Of Excellence 

Launched in 2019, Pidge was built on a simple yet a  bold idea: delivery should be infrastructure—not an afterthought. Today, it offers a mobile-first, low-code SaaS platform that connects self-delivery (1PL or first-party logistics by sellers), third-party logistics players (3PLs are the fulfilment and delivery companies optimising end-to-end operations) and second-party logistics firms (2PLs provide transportation and storage services to 3PLs) on a single stack. This Pidge Powered Network, or PPN, includes more than 500 national and regional logistics partners and covers more than 100 cities to serve businesses of every size across diverse geographies. 

Tapping into this PPN, businesses get operational agility, reduced costs, and access to real-time, intelligent delivery routing—all without needing to build or manage fleets. “We’re building India’s first unified and interoperable logistics ecosystem,” says Verma. “Instead of scaling fleets internally, brands can tap into verified and diverse local partners via Pidge.”

For businesses, this kind of integrated resource-sharing ensures operational agility, greater control over workflow and the option to select the most cost-effective delivery partner for each order. It also reduces idle time for in-house riders and boosts productivity. More importantly, when businesses have access to a seamless logistics ecosystem for fulfilling daily orders, they can devote time to R&D for innovative ideas and methods for long-term growth. For consumers, the PPN model guarantees fast, reliable delivery with full visibility every time.      

To ensure PPN’s offerings, Pidge has introduced Pidge Titan, an AI-driven capacity management and resource allocation engine to maximise fill rates. With each successful order completion, this self-learning model refines its algorithms to predict successful delivery rates and boost efficiency accurately. The platform also performs big data analytics to develop prediction models and generate actionable insights. Its smart route optimisation and real-time delivery tracking streamline operations and provide visibility throughout the shipment workflow, minimising delivery times and reducing operational costs. 

Ask Verma, and he will say excellence lies in simplicity. The platform has built robust yet affordable technology solutions for micro, small and medium businesses and big enterprises. The mobile-first, transaction-based service suite does not require a bespoke tech backbone and helps companies run logistics operations with minimal overhead. Plus, the service suite is modular, and easily scalable and deployable, making it one of the most versatile choices in the market. 

Similarly, its self-serve SaaS product allows businesses to onboard within a few minutes and access its core functionalities. While working with businesses, Pidge offers them a seamless integration via APIs, mobile applications and dashboards, ensuring operational efficiency, better customer experiences and dynamic delivery management. 

The startup claims to serve more than 10K MSMEs and achieves a remarkable 2x quarter-over-quarter growth. Businesses using the Pidge platform report an average 25-30% rise in revenue due to improved fulfilment, which gives them the confidence to scale their operations in high-potential localities. Besides, they have reduced an average of 40% in delivery times and distances and seen up to 30% dip in costs due to optimised routing and rider management tools. Even offline stores can leverage these delivery services, giving customers a Blinkit/Zepto-like user experience.

How Pidge Fosters Small Logistics Firms For Inclusive Growth

Pidge empowers local logistics players across the country, via PPN, enabling them to be digitally at par with larger delivery firms. To realise this goal, Pidge is onboarding providers from the unorganised sector and digitalising offline legacy players, making a tangible impact on local communities. 

The platform’s inclusive model has helped smaller players contribute more to the broader ecommerce industry, create jobs within communities and improve earnings. Interestingly, success stories abound. Thanks to the logistics tech startup’s seamless technology and operational integration, vendors have grown from managing one rider to operating fleets of more than 100.

“Our proprietary technology allows businesses to aggregate demand from all channels and scale accordingly. Overall, Pidge aims to transform hyperlocal logistics into a seamless, integrated ecosystem. We focus on economic inclusion, digitalising the unorganised sector and driving operational efficiency for businesses across industries,” said Verma.

Taking Charge Of Last-Mile Challenges And Data Security

As Verma operated as a logistics provider long before transitioning to a tech-first startup, he knew the complexities of last-mile deliveries and wanted to create lasting impressions among customers with cutting-edge services. Therefore, the platform deals with several challenges such as address tracking in dense areas without proper street names, COD (cash on delivery) collections, remittances and fraud prevention. It also provides local language apps to drive adoption among delivery personnel.

Another critical area is privacy and data security, which is paramount in today’s digital landscape. Pidge claims it has adopted GDPR (the General Data Protection Regulation updates and unifies data privacy laws across the EU) and sticks to SOC2 compliance, a standard assessing security measures and practices to ascertain whether customer data remains safe. 

Further, the platform has a multi-layered security architecture and runs regular audits to reinforce user privacy. These stringent measures have built trust among businesses and cemented Pidge’s reputation as a compliance-first, reliable partner.          

Pidge’s Partnership With ONDC: A New Era For Logistics In India

When the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) had a soft launch in 2022, it was expected to be another game changer like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). But this time, it was an open network seamlessly connecting buyers, sellers and logistics providers to democratise ecommerce and integrate MSMEs into India’s digital economy.

This is in sync with Pidge’s long-term vision and expansion goals. The platform joined the ONDC ecosystem in March 2024 to drive hyperlocal and same-city deliveries. 

Aligned with ONDC’s protocols, Pidge offers scalable, affordable, and accessible logistics infrastructure to sellers across the country. For government and nonprofit partners, the platform is offered at heavily subsidised rates to boost adoption in remote regions.

“ONDC needs execution partners to drive adoption. By using AI tools and digitalising the logistics value chain, Pidge empowers businesses of all sizes to scale their operations efficiently and wants them to thrive in a fast-evolving competitive landscape. We’re building the logistics rails for India’s open digital economy,” says Verma.

Delivery Logistics Is The Next Frontier; Is Pidge Ready To Scale?

User penetration in ecommerce is expected to hit 18.9% in 2025 and 25.5% by 2029, while the share of e-retail in the total retail market may rise to 13-15% by 2028 from 8% in 2023, according to a BCG-Retailers Association of India report published in 2024. Again, a 2023 Bain & Company report put online spending at a meagre 5-6% of total retail in India versus 23-24% in the US and more than 35% in China.  

Going ahead, this spells a mammoth opportunity for Pidge, Locus & Shiprocket, part of a growing wave of logistics tech providers set to power the future of retail delivery.

“By leveraging our unified and collaborating with ONDC, we will scale our network of [logistics] partners to 50,000 in the next five years. This aligns with the hyperlocal logistics market’s projected growth to $40 Bn at a 23% CAGR, driving accessibility and operational efficiency across underserved markets​​,” shared Verma. 

There lies the need for innovative logistics tech to bridge the gap. As the traditional supply chain struggles to serve India’s diverse and fast-expanding consumer markets, platforms like Pidge are stepping in as the critical enablers of an inclusive and efficient digital commerce ecosystem. 

“We’re not a logistics company—we’re a logistics enabler,” says Verma and adds, “By turning fragmented capacity into a connected, intelligent network, we’re laying the foundation for India’s next wave of digital commerce.”

Pidge has already lowered the growth barriers for small logistics firms and their MSME customer pools. Can it emerge as a key architect of this transformative logistics landscape?