Coronavirus: Flipkart and Uber announce partnership to deliver essentials amid lockdown

India’s leading ecommerce marketplace Flipkart has announced a partnership with ride hailing app company Uber to provide people across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi access to everyday essentials, amidst the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus.

According to a press release from Flipkart, this partnership will keep vital supply chains running and will help customers receive essential goods at their doorstep every day.

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Flipkart said this partnership also supports the government’s objective of keeping hundreds of millions of Indians at home to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Commenting on the partnership, Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart, said, “This partnership is to help move essential supplies from our sellers/vendors to customers in the shortest possible span of time. Flipkart remains committed to supporting our customers and we are mobilising all possible options to ensure that in this national fight against COVID-19, we can support the governments by delivering essential supplies to people who are staying indoors.’’

In line with government guidelines and to maintain safety and hygiene for containing the spread of coronavirus, all drivers associated with this service are being provided masks, gloves, sanitisers and safety training.

Prabhjeet Singh, Director-Operations and Head of Cities, Uber India and South Asia, said, “We are pleased to announce our partnership with Flipkart today to further consolidate our new last-mile delivery service. The partnership helps keep the economy running and enables Indians to stay at home in line with government guidelines for containing COVID-19, as well as creates earning opportunities for drivers. Uber will not charge any commission, enabling drivers to keep 100 percent of billed amounts.’’

The extraordinary situation due to coronavirus has altered the business landscape of every organisation. Flipkart has now been restricted to meeting the fulfilment of daily essentials while for Uber, the business has almost come to a halt because of the nationwide lockdown.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)