Flipkart bets big on automation as it gets ready for Big Billion Days sale

Ahead of Big Billion Days sale, Flipkart has increased the number of its self-guided robots, also known as Automated Guided Vehicles, for smarter sortation of packages.

Flipkart bets big on automation (Flipkart)

Flipkart is gearing up for its annual mega online sale, Big Billion Days sale. The sale begins on September 29 and will continue till October 4. Flipkart says the 2019 edition of Big Billion Days is going to be its biggest online sale ever with big discounts and new product launches such as Apple iPhone 11.

Flipkart is betting big on new-age technology such as automated sortation to manage an imminent steep demand during the Flipkart Big Billion Days sale. The e-commerce company had introduced a new robot-based sortation technology earlier this year.

Flipkart will use Automated Guided Vehicles, self-guided robots, will automatically sort packages for customers to send shipments based on customers' pin codes. The company has increased the number of these robots from 100 to 450 across its mother hubs. The AGVs are assisted by humans for more efficient sorting.

Nandita Sinha, Flipkart VP- Events, Engagement & Merchandising said that the company is aiming to achieve a 100% visibility this year by reaching almost 20,000 pin codes. "For tech readiness, scalability and reliability, we do a lot of testing. This helps us get ready from a technology perspective and manage the kind of traffic we are going to receive during the Big Billion Days sale."

On asked about what sellers, especially smaller sellers can look forward to, Sinha said, "We've increased our last mile pickup services for sellers by up to 40%. Sellers can now ship products from 800 plus cities, which is roughly 40% higher than the last year. The online sale gives an opportunity to sellers to sell their across India and not restricted to certain pin codes. We help facilitate sellers reach to our more than 116 customers in the country."

"For The Big Billion Days this year, we have partnered with 40 key brands to co-create unique offerings which will be unveiled with 'Big Billion Days Specials'. This unique range will feature an interesting collection of limited edition products across categories, all available under one roof. We have an interesting array of tech products like the Google home Mini in a special coral colour, Asus ROG 2, Boat limited edition Guru Randhawa signature series, Huawei Media Pad M5 Lite and more, which have been created to make the festive season bigger and better for our consumers across the country. We believe that the Big Billion Day Specials will enhance everyone's shopping experience and make this season extra special", she added.

Flipkart is also anticipating a big demand in categories such as mobile phones and large appliances among others. According to the latest techArc report, about 10 million smartphones will be sold during the festive seasons across e-commerce platforms.

"If these online sales platforms - Amazon and Flipkart, play their marketing and advertising strategy well, they can significantly drive increase in overall 4G Smartphone installed base across the country; however, it has to be primarily focused at states like West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Karnataka where installed base of Non-4G Smartphones is still above 30%," said Faisal Kawoosa, Founder & Chief Analyst at techArc.