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US CEO amazed by India's 10-minute delivery culture, says country is 'living in 2030'
The CEO compared India’s 10-minute delivery culture with the United States, saying Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery “feels ancient” in comparison.
A US-based Indian-origin CEO says the biggest surprise during her recent three-week trip to India was not traffic, food or congestion, but the speed of the country’s quick-commerce ecosystem.
Taking to LinkedIn, Varuni Sarwal, the CEO of TriFetch, compared India’s 10-minute delivery culture with the United States, saying Amazon Prime’s two-day delivery “feels ancient” in comparison. According to her, while the US still believes it leads on innovation, India’s B2C logistics “is already living in 2030”.
“San Francisco has self-driving cars. India has 10-minute everything. I’m not sure which is more impressive,” she wrote before describing an incident from her trip to Ranchi, where she and her colleague Rosemary travelled for a friend’s wedding.
In her post, Sarwal shared that on the day of the Haldi ceremony, the two realised that they had no outfits. In the US, she noted, this situation would mean either rushing to a mall or waiting two days for an Amazon package. But in Ranchi, a Tier-2 city, the experience played out very differently.
Sarwal wrote that they opened the Blinkit app at their hotel and, within 15 minutes, a delivery rider arrived with two complete traditional outfits. “The depth of the Indian consumer market is mind-bending,” she said. “The fact that high-velocity B2C logistics work this seamlessly in Ranchi is proof that the ‘India Opportunity’ goes far beyond the top 1%,” she continued.
Sarwal added that she would miss this level of convenience once she returned to San Francisco. She also ended the post with a light-hearted note, pointing out that in their rush to prioritise speed, they accidentally ordered the wrong items. “If you zoom in on the photo, Rose is wearing a men’s kurta and I am wearing a men’s lungi. But hey, we made it work,” she wrote.
(Also Read: Indian-origin Cisco executive works 18-hour days but follows 2 rules for work-life balance)
Social media reactions
The post has sparked a discussion about what makes India’s fast delivery systems work.
“To be honest, the B2C logistics is surviving because of the cheap labour and the harsh expectations the drivers and vendors are going through,” one user wrote.
“That 15 minutes delivery comes with a promise of no returns and a terrible customer service even in case of wrong/damaged product received. Dirt cheap labour to the tune where human life has no value is not B2C logistics innovation,” commented another.
However, one user wrote, “Incredible perspective. India’s B2C logistics are truly operating at a different level speed, reach, and adaptability are remarkable. Makes you rethink what ‘consumer convenience’ can look like, even beyond Tier-1 cities.”
“That's absolutely true! We only realize how fast our B2C logistics are once we get out of India. I am in the UK right now and the services over here are not even close!” said another.
