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Video này nói về Flipkart, một nhà bán lẻ trực tuyến lớn nhất của Ấn Độ, được thành lập vào năm 2007
bởi Sachin Bansal và Binny Bansal. Nó bắt đầu là một cửa hàng sách trực tuyến và đã mở rộng để bán
hơn 80 loại hàng hóa khác nhau. Flipkart có hệ sinh thái kỹ thuật số riêng của mình, bao gồm eKart (cánh
tay chuỗi cung ứng nội bộ của nó), PhonePe (một ứng dụng giúp tạo điều kiện thuận lợi cho các khoản
thanh toán điện tử) và Mantra và Jabong (hai nhà bán lẻ thời trang trực tuyến hàng đầu của Ấn Độ).
Năm 2018, gã khổng lồ bán lẻ Walmart đã tuyên bố ý định mua cổ phần kiểm soát tại Flipkart với giá 16
tỷ đô la, đây là thương vụ mua lại thương mại điện tử lớn nhất từ trước đến nay. Việc mua lại này được
nhiều người coi là một sự thúc đẩy lớn cho các hoạt động hậu cần của công ty và cũng sẽ giúp công ty
chuyển sang các lĩnh vực mới như thực phẩm tạp hóa trực tuyến.

FLIPKART: WINNING IN INDIA?

In 2019, India’s Internet users were expected to deliver doubledigit growth, reaching 627 million, driven
by rapid Internet expansion in rural areas. This sharp rise is the result of increasing acceptance of online
payment gateways, the critical mass of Internet users, the rising middle class with disposable income to
spend, and most importantly, the widespread adoption of low-cost smartphones and data plans. India’s
e-commerce revenue is expected to jump to US $120 billion in 2020, growing at an annual rate of 51
percent, the highest in the world. As a result, the number of e-commerce businesses has grown rapidly
in India. Flipkart and Amazon are the two main players in the Indian e-commerce industry, each with a
30 percent market share in 2018.

The electronic retail market, commonly known as the e-tailing, was hardly known by Indian consumers
before Flipkart. Started in Bangalore in 2007 by two former Amazon employees, its online shopping
platform offers Indian customers a wide variety of product categories, such as consumer electronics,
fashion, and lifestyle products. Since its inception, the company has grown significantly, with over 100
million registered users, 8 million shipments per month, 100,000 sellers, and 21 warehouses. This
tremendous success has illuminated the potential of the Indian e-commerce sector to businesses around
the globe.

Since Amazon’s entry to India in 2013, the global giant has flourished. With its deep pockets and
aggressive marketing campaigns, Amazon has almost matched Flipkart, becoming one of the few top e-
commerce giants in India. In response, Flipkart has taken many steps to expand its market share and
compete with Amazon: Flipkart completed mergers and acquisitions, changed its business model, and
launched an innovative and secure payment system. But questions remain. How can Flipkart survive the
increasingly tougher and well-capitalized competition? Can it keep up with Amazon’s pace of
innovation? Can it ever beat Amazon?

An Indian Home-Brew

Flipkart was the brainchild of Mr. Sachin Bansal and Mr. Binny Bansal (not related), both alumni of the
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. The two Bansals worked for Amazon and eventually quit to start
their new venture— Flipkart Online Services Pvt Ltd. The company is headquartered in Bangalore and
operates exclusively in India. Bangalore, known to be the Silicon Valley of India, is one of the country’s
most progressive and well-established cities. Due to governmental regulations on foreign direct
investment in business to consumer firms in India, Flipkart is registered in Singapore by a holding
company.

Sachin and Binny started out using a modest investment of about US $6,000 to build the Flipkart
website. Following in Amazon’s footsteps, they began by selling books online. Soon, they began to offer
product across many categories including electronic goods, air coolers, air conditioners, stationery
supplies, lifestyle products, and e-books (see Exhibits 1 to 3). Since its launch, the company has raised
US $3 billion worth of capital. Now offering over 80 million products across over 80 categories, the
company is credited with establishing the e-commerce market in India. Its website is among the 10
most-frequented websites in India.

Evolution of E-Commerce in India

Traditional Indian Retail Culture

Indian consumers have historically preferred shopping at small retail stores rather than online. India has
over 14 million small shops, most of which are smaller than 600 square feet in size. India’s Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) government regulations are structured to protect these local shops. Traditional retail
shops also complement India’s cash economy; many people in the country think e-commerce to be
overly difficult and time consuming.

The experience of walking into a small Indian retail shop is unlike that of any American retail shop. For
Indians, chai (tea) is an integral part of their lives. Businesses, whether small or large, incorporate tea
into the shopping experience. Customers walk into a store and expect to be offered a cup of tea or light
refreshment with no cost or expectation of purchasing a product. The customer then begins to leisurely
look at products offered by the shopkeeper. If a substantial amount of time has passed, the customer
may even be offered snacks from nearby food carts. The intent is hospitality—to put the customers first
and make sure their needs are met. After selecting items that a customer is interested in purchasing, the
negotiation commences. In India, listed prices are a mere suggestion or starting point. People negotiate
in practically every transaction, whether it be for individual grocery items, clothes, or even taxi fares.

Growth of E-Commerce in India

The e-commerce market in India has undergone exceptional growth, as the majority of the Indian
population is gaining access to personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and high-speed Internet
services. Demographics rule the destiny of online business in India, where 75 percent of the adults are
between 15 and 34 years old, an age group more likely to be proficient at utilizing modern technology,
ultimately making digital commerce in India very attractive. According to Bain & Company, e-commerce
in India is projected to grow four times faster than the total retail market over the next five years (see
Exhibit 4). Businesses have expanded the e-commerce consumer base by employing strategies such as
online shopping websites, establishment of online marketplaces for third-party transactions, business-
to-business buying and selling, online data gathering through social media, publishing online
newsletters, and retailing novel products to prospective clients.
While the current retail market in India is predominantly served by traditional brick and mortar stores,
which form 90 percent of the total market, sales from e-commerce are expected to reach 17.5 percent
by 2021. E-tailing will grow at a fast rate, from the present US $0.6 billion to US $76 billion by 2021,
which is over a hundredfold. The acceleration in growth will be due to improvements in the market-
enabling environment and ecosystem formation for e-tailing. Overall, a larger adaptation of e-commerce
in India will offer numerous gains to the Indian economy, aside from the advantages it will bestow upon
consumers.

Becoming Big

In the early years, Flipkart faced many challenges in the e-commerce industry. Flipkart co-founder,
Sachin Bansal, admitted in an interview that initially the idea of creating the company seemed absurd
and that most of his peers believed Flipkart was a ridiculous idea. One key operational challenge was
supply chain management; ensuring that goods are punctually delivered is integral to the success of an
e-commerce company. Flipkart’s logistical infrastructure and supply chain were not initially prepared to
handle the volume. Additionally, with its user base growing year after year, maintaining optimal user
experience was becoming a challenge.

Nevertheless, New York-based private equity firm Tiger Global Management LLC–Flipkart’s biggest
investor at the time–believed in the idea and its founders, as did others. With external investment of
substantial funds, Flipkart was not only able to improve its supply chain and logistics, but also to expand
and grow through several strategic acquisitions (see Exhibit 5).
In 2014, Flipkart acquired Myntra, a leading fashion e-commerce company in India. Myntra increased
Flipkart’s margin in the e-commerce sector, giving the company an important advantage over rivals
Amazon and Snapdeal. The acquisition also helped Flipkart, a formerly generic ecommerce company,
scale and endure in the ecosystem. Pradeep Udhas, Head of Technology Sector at KPMG India, stated:
“Firms lacking scale or a niche presence will find it tough to survive in the sector.” Moreover, Flipkart
and Myntra could experience enormous cost savings since both companies pursue a similar customer
and demographic base.

The co-founders of Myntra believed that the two companies together could better challenge a big player
like Amazon. “It was an aligned viewpoint between founders of the two companies,” stated Ashutosh
Lawania, co-founder of Myntra. Lawania’s Myntra co-founder, Mukesh Bansal (not related), said “both
companies had a strong cultural fit. Flipkart would bring many things to the table to accelerate Myntra’s
growth, which would also help Flipkart to fight competition.” The fact that both companies had common
investors made acquisition easier and helped improve synergies. Following the acquisition, Flipkart’s
valuation was estimated to be around $15 billion, five times more than its previous valuation.

Organization

Flipkart believes that its success is due, in large part, to its employees. Smrithi Ravichandran, Senior
Director at Flipkart, stated, “Innovations are only unique for a small duration of time, but its people are
what make the business thrive. That killer attitude, that we will do whatever it takes to see this through,
which you see from the CEO all the way down to the entry- level staffer—I don’t know if it’s because we
hire people like that, or if people come here and change.”

The culture at Flipkart is pervasive, and the fact that Flipkart employees call themselves “Flipsters”
reflects its strong values, which are to be audacious, customer-focused, unconventional, and beyond
standards. The friendly work environment Flipkart created has led to the company being rated the most
desirable workplace in India for two years in a row. It surpassed its biggest rival, Amazon, which came in
second.

In January 2017, Flipkart underwent an organizational restructuring by creating an umbrella over all of
its units, calling it Flipkart Group Organization. Through this process, founder and then CEO of Flipkart,
Binny Bansal, became the Group CEO. Bansal planned to concentrate on constructing a high-growth
portfolio of new businesses and on capital allocation across group companies. Kalyan Krishnamurthy,
who joined Flipkart in June 2016 from Tiger Global Management as head of the Category Design
Organization, became the CEO of Flipkart. Krishnamurthy oversaw customer experience, talent
management, and overall profit and loss for Flipkart.

The Flipkart Game Changer— Cash On Delivery

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani stated in his post in the Economic Times of India, “One of the
reasons Flipkart took off was that they brought in cash on delivery,”19 people pay for goods when they
are delivered rather than in advance. Many Indians did not have a method for completing online
transactions, since India had traditionally been a cash-based economy, so this innovation was a game
changer for Flipkart. He went on to say that the cash on delivery (COD) system gave Flipkart a
competitive edge over its rivals, particularly over foreign businesses that did not recognize the problem
with digital payments (see Exhibit 6). Moreover, when rivals did catch on, they were forced to adjust to
the COD system due to its popularity among Indian consumers.

When Flipkart introduced COD in 2010, only 0.5 percent of the population in India utilized credit cards
and 7.5 percent of the population used the Internet. The COD service enabled Flipkart to become
remarkably popular and made online shopping more attractive and trustworthy for its customers.
Suddenly, everyone from a college student without a bank account to a person from a remote town who
did not own a debit card was able to purchase goods with just a click.

Factors that aided the growth of Cash on Delivery payments in India included:

• Convenience

• Experience with cash payments

• Population of unbanked consumers

• Small amount of credit/debit card users

• Scarcity of secured payment gateways

• Consumer hesitancy in online payments, due to lack of trust

• Apprehension of online scams

Consumer Convenience

Flipkart continued increasing its customer base with the announcement of an easy return policy. Many
consumers in India were reticent to shop online because they want to be able to physically see and
examine the products. In order to address this, Flipkart offered a no-questions-asked return/ exchange
policy, wherein customers could return goods that did not meet their expectations. Making purchases
online through Flipkart became extremely appealing to Indian consumers because brick and mortar
stores never offered the same deal.

Flipkart also recognized that mobile network connectivity was not homogeneous throughout India,
prompting the creation of Flipkart Lite, similar to Flipkart yet designed for a mobile experience. The
mobile browser, developed within 45 days by five engineers, was easier to use while in areas with an
inconsistent network. In addition, Flipkart Lite enabled users to access shopping search history. Flipkart
Lite was considered very innovative and other companies such as LinkedIn began using similar
technology.

Flipkart Business Model

The introduction of a marketplace system changed the way Flipkart conducted its business, transforming
its website portal into a “virtual mall” allowing consumers to shop different sellers and brands on a
single platform. No longer required to maintain an inventory of its own, Flipkart greatly reduced
overhead, while retaining control of the sales, with delivery completed by Flipkart’s logistics and supply
chain division. The model can be compared to eBay India, Tradus, or Amazon. Since foreign companies
in India are restricted from multi-brand e-tailing, Flipkart sells its products through WS Retail, a private
limited e-commerce company in India (see Exhibit 7).
Online marketplaces have several sources of revenue. A listing fee is charged to the seller. This charge
can be onetime or on an annual basis. Sellers who wish to feature their products can pay for
advertisements on the site. Sales commissions provide Flipkart a profit on each purchase transaction.
The commission charged by online marketplaces varies by product type. In June 2019, Flipkart revamped
its fee structure, significantly reducing the percentages that sellers must pay. The timing of this change
suggests it is a strategic move to inspire seller loyalty, as competition heats up. Amazon is doubling
down on investments in India, after finally admitting defeat and pulling out of China.

Flipkart Competitors

Flipkart has faced several competitors throughout its decade-long battle in the Indian e-commerce
industry. The major competitors included Myntra, Jabong, Snapdeal, eBay, Paytm, and its strongest
competitor, Amazon. Flipkart remained in the spotlight in the Indian e-commerce industry through
frequent mergers and acquisitions, acquiring most competitors and increasing market share in an effort
to compete with Amazon.

Paytm

Paytm, an acronym for Pay Through Mobile, is the largest mobile payment platform in India. It is owned
by One-97 Communications, and its headquarters is located in Uttar Pradesh, India. Back in 2010, the
company initially offered mobile recharge and utility bill payments. Today, Paytm provides a full
marketplace through its mobile apps. The company has over 100 million registered users and gets
approximately 60 million orders per month. Paytm offers the option of recharging a secure online wallet,
Paytm-cash, enabling customers to shop from any location. Paytm can also be accessed from a browser,
and the Paytm app is accessible on mobile devices compatible with Android, Windows, and iOS
operating systems. Paytm has attracted many notable investors, including Tata of India and Alibaba
Group of China. Transactions completed on Paytm are completely free with no concealed charges.

Paytm Mall has over 17 fulfillment centers across the country and over 40 courier partners for sellers.26
In 2017, Flipkart cut the commission that it collected from sellers to combat Paytm Mall. Reliance Capital
invested about $41 million in Paytm, increasing valuation for Paytm’s parent company, One-97
Communications. Paytm’s valuation is estimated to be approximately $5 billion, whereas Flipkart’s is
$5.39 billion. In March 2019, Paytm took on Amazon and Flipkart as it launched its subscription-based
loyalty program, Paytm First. Through this program, the company aims to offer exclusive benefits over
and above the regular Paytm cashback offer, while looking to promote further usage (of its platforms)
and to increase customer retention.

Snapdeal

Snapdeal, founded by Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal (not related), is another rapidly developing e-
commerce company in India. Snapdeal evolved from a group coupon business to an online marketplace
that eventually turned into a billiondollar company. Snapdeal has a relatively young workforce, with an
average age of about 25 years. Snapdeal’s values include innovation, change, openness, honesty, and
ownership, which have propelled the company to great success. Snapdeal’s impressive growth is the
result of relentless determination to prosper as the best B2C (Business to Customer) marketplace in
India.

Snapdeal’s most important success factor was investment by Vani Kola, a venture capitalist. Snapdeal
began as an offline business and eventually went online in 2010. In November 2011, the founders of
Snapdeal were inspired by the success of Jack Ma’s Alibaba and wanted to develop a somewhat
analogous business. Hence, Snapdeal exited the deals business and moved into the online marketplace.
The decision was risky since Snapdeal held a large market share in the deals business. However,
Snapdeal’s value is now estimated to be around $1 billion, and, currently, there are more than 50,000
sellers and approximately 5 million products on Snapdeal. The company has grown through acquiring
several companies since 2014 (see Exhibit 8).
Amazon India

Amazon, founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994, is an American e-commerce company based in Seattle,
Washington. It is the largest Internet-based company in the United States. Amazon started as an online
bookstore, but shortly diversified, offering compact discs, VHS, video and MP3 downloads and
streaming, software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. Amazon has
individual retail websites for countries all over the world, including: United States, United Kingdom and
Ireland, France, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Australia, Brazil, Japan, China, India,
and Mexico. Amazon provides international shipping to other specific countries for selected products. In
June 2013, Amazon started its Amazon India marketplace. One month later, Amazon publicized that it
would invest US $1.85 billion in India to expand its business, seemingly in response to news that Flipkart
decided to invest US $1 billion in expansion.

Amazon came into the Indian market with the reputation of being the king of e-commerce. Initially,
Amazon’s success in India was uncertain, as Indian consumers are considerably different from the rest of
the world. Amazon lags behind Asian e-commerce companies such as Alibaba, overwhelmed by
competitors in China, with no indication of catching up. Amazon believes that the failure in China was
because the company did not spend enough. That is why Amazon is investing more in India. Amazon’s
CEO Jeff Bezos enlisted Amit Agarwal to lead Amazon’s India business. Agarwal told Forbes, “Amazon’s
entry into India is big, we can add significant customer value, and we can generate significant cash
flows.” Amazon already committed to spend $5 billion for Amazon India, and Bezos has indicated
additional investments will be made as time goes by.

One of the main reasons why Amazon stands out among Flipkart’s competitors is because Amazon is
customercentric, similar to Flipkart’s business strategy. Amazon has an edge in terms of reputation and
brand recognition. The company is admired and well-known for providing excellent customer service
internationally. People are confident making purchases with Amazon due to product replacement
offerings and after-sales services.

Flipkart has expanded by mergers and acquisitions. It has been trying to become self-sustained by
developing its own payment gateway and logistics services. However, Amazon is also acquiring
companies in India, although not on as grand a scale as Flipkart. For instance, in 2016, Amazon acquired
Emvantage Payments Pvt. Ltd., an Indian payments company, to facilitate online payments.

Home-Brewed Company versus International Giant

Flipkart definitely used home advantage by adapting to the Indian environment quickly. In 2015, Flipkart
launched Flipkart One Stop (F-1 Stop) to provide sellers services such as training, registration,
cataloguing, packaging, and financial assistance. The support services aim to help first-time merchants
get their businesses up and running online.

Even though Amazon only entered the Indian e-commerce market in 2013, it aggressively marketed
itself to catch up. Amazon launched the Chai Cart campaign to connect with small sellers. As mentioned
earlier, India has a very strong chai (tea) culture, and Amazon found a way to capitalize on it. A chai cart
operated by Amazon associates would move around various Indian markets and share with local sellers
the advantages of online selling, over a cup of chai. It created a safe space for local sellers to raise
questions and concerns about growing their businesses online. It also helped create brand recognition.
Within four months, the Amazon Chai Cart team traveled 9,495 miles across 31 cities, served 37,200
cups of tea and connected with more than 10,000 sellers. The campaign was innovative and successful
with Indian consumers.
Looking at the Future– Flipkart’s PhonePe App

India is swiftly evolving into a digital giant (see Exhibit 9). The increasing use of smartphones and
Internet access has enabled Indian consumers to remain continuously connected. Consumer behavior
and preferences are changing. This is only the beginning of digital payments in India, since a large
portion of the population remains an untapped market. Digitization of cash will be faster over the next
few years. In addition, non-cash payment transactions are estimated to surpass cash transactions by
2023. Overall, the proportion of cash transactions in the total consumer spending in the country has
dropped from 78 percent in 2015 to 68 percent in 2017.
It is projected that the total payment transactions through digital payment tools will be around US $500
billion by 2020. Person to merchant (P2M) transactions compelled by digital payments at the physical
point of sale, trailed by business to business (B2B) and peer to peer (P2P) transactions, are predicted to
be key suppliers of growth.
Flipkart currently offers several payment options, which include cash on delivery, Internet banking, or
payment by credit and debit cards. Flipkart’s most recent offering, the PhonePe wallet app, developed in
partnership with YES Bank, is revolutionizing payments. PhonePe enables customers to connect bank
accounts securely to their smartphone through the encrypted software of the National Payments
Corporation of India, which makes PhonePe especially attractive to Indian consumers. In the earlier
stage of its launch, Flipkart’s cash on delivery option drove success, as Indian consumers were not ready
to commit to online payments. However, with the PhonePe app, Flipkart offers secure transaction
options for almost all types of payment methods. The PhonePe app permits users to carry out
transactions at no cost and users can exchange or return items to Flipkart and receive reimbursement in
the PhonePe wallet.

PhonePe is based on the government-backed Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform. UPI permits
consumers to transfer money between any two parties’ bank accounts via secure unique identifiers. This
means that the exchange of bank account details is not necessary. This makes it stress free to send or
receive money. In addition, customers can pay straight from their bank account to both online and
offline merchants. It eliminates the necessity of entering credit or debit card details or a one-time
password.

India: The E-Commerce Frontier

Amazon may be the largest online e-retailer in the world but it is not yet the market leader in India.
While that honor still belongs to Flipkart, Amazon is determined to conquer India. Amazon has a
multibillion-dollar plan to dive into the online grocery business in India. Reduction in government
restrictions allows online retailers to sell domestic products such as processed foods and groceries
directly to consumers. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is prepared to let Amazon create a
nationwide network to stock and distribute such groceries.

Flipkart is choosing instead to focus on artificial intelligence (AI). Flipkart’s research team is based in the
United States, working at F-7 Labs, located in Silicon Valley. The company believes that investing more in
AI will help Flipkart advance its business processes and customer interactions. “There is an
understanding at Flipkart that, to deliver at scale, we will need artificial intelligence and that the Valley is
the place where the cutting-edge research is being done,” says Mihir Naware, Director, Product
Development at F-7 Labs.

Amazon can also afford to undercut Flipkart by offering a wider variety of services and more discounts;
this may be enough to attract Indian consumers used to the tradition of negotiating prices. On the other
hand, Indians are known to be nationalistic, and Flipkart has utilized this to their advantage. Other
domestic start-ups have sought government intervention to give Indian businesses a formal edge over
competition. While protectionist policies have helped create world-class technology companies like
Alibaba, Tencent, and Didi in China, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi courting foreign capital
from the Silicon Valley companies, protectionist policies do not seem to be a realistic scenario in India at
this point of time.
The battle is intense because the stakes are high. What makes India so attractive is its huge population
and growing consumer market. Growing Internet and mobile permeation are increasing the use of
online payments. The e-commerce sector in India is expected to grow by four times its current size and
is anticipated to go over $100 billion within the next five years. If so, e-commerce in India has the
potential to add more than 4 percent to India’s GDP. Mobile commerce (m-commerce) is developing
rapidly as a steady complement to the e-commerce industry. The government’s “Digital India” project
intends to promote the sector by bringing Internet and broadband to secluded corners of India.
Supported by an investment of approximately $17 billion, this initiative will help make India a more
connected economy. It will lead to additional investment in electronics manufacturing, creating millions
of jobs.

During this time the American multinational retailer, Walmart, had been struggling to come up with a
play for India. However, that ambiguity ended in August 2018, when Walmart invested $16 billion to
acquire a 77 percent stake of Flipkart. While Flipkart’s management team would lead the India business,
Walmart would finally have a platform for business in India. Walmart would also infuse $2 billion into
Flipkart to grow the business.

In November 2018, three months after its celebrated acquisition by Walmart and following a probe into
an allegation of “serious personal misconduct,” Flipkart Group’s CEO Binny Bansal left the company.
Flipkart underwent a management reshuffle, where several top and mid-level executives moved to new
roles, and Kalyan Krishnamurthy became Group CEO. Krishnamurthy looked to tighten firm performance
across all units and reduce Flipkart’s reliance on smartphones, which continues to generate more than
50 percent of Flipkart’s overall sales.

Walmart remains extremely optimistic about Flipkart. Walmart’s President and CEO Doug McMillon said,
“I got to visit our teams in India and China a few weeks ago. I continue to be excited about the
opportunity I see with Flipkart and PhonePe. I’m impressed with the team and their ability to innovate
for customers with speed.” The company said that its plans for India includes investments that “support
national initiatives and will bring sustainable benefits in jobs creation, supporting small businesses,
supporting farmers, supply chain development, and reducing food waste.” Walmart is investing in the
future of Flipkart, however, Walmart has not mentioned a hands on management approach yet. Armed
with a $2 billion USD equity investment from the new owners Flipkart should be ready to compete.

Flipkart Assured

Flipkart India’s largest online marketplace seeks to improve the shopping experience for customers, and
to be competitive in the online retail market, Flipkart launched a product assurance programme for
buyers. The program is “Flipkart Assured”. Under Flipkart Assured, Flipkart will promise improved
delivery service and a stricter quality check of products. Products under this “Flipkart Assured” badge
will be delivered to Customers across India within 2–4 days. Flipkart Assured products of a value greater
than `500 will be shipped absolutely free of charge. Flipkart has mentioned on its website that the
Flipkart Assured badge is accorded by an algorithm, developed by Flipkart data scientists, which
computes key product and seller metrics along with stringent quality parameters. Only select products
from Flipkart’s most trusted and reliable sellers qualify for a badge. A product is eligible to earn the
Flipkart Assured badge only if it passes extensive checks on seller and product quality as well as
availability of faster shipping. Customers will be able to filter Flipkart Assured products while shopping
on Flipkart. Flipkart Assured products undergo six quality checks at every stage starting from storage to
packaging. These quality checks ensure that all customers, irrespective of where they are shopping from,
are served only the highest quality of products with the most reliable delivery. With Flipkart Assured,
products are packed in accordance with Flipkart’s stringent packaging guidelines, using the most suitable
materials to endure the hardest transit. Flipkart in the past has introduced Cash on Delivery as a
payment method, which encouraged millions of Indians across India to place their trust in e-commerce.
In the past, Flipkart has also introduced a ‘No Cost EMI’ payment model which also attracted customers.
It is expected that this Flipkart Assured programme will further enhance the buying experience for
Flipkart customers.

Question

1. How do Flipkart’s supply chain management activities help the company create value for its
customers?

2. Why did “Cash On Delivery” play an important role in the success of Flipkart?

3. What is Flipkart Assured?