Flipkart's Ekart Logistics Arm Begins Onboarding External Clients

Flipkart's in-house logistics arm, Ekart, has started accepting delivery orders from third-party businesses, signalling a notable change for a unit that until now largely served the Walmart-owned e-commerce group's own marketplace. The move positions Ekart against a crowded field of Indian third-party logistics providers and parcel carriers that already handle fulfilment for sellers, direct-to-consumer brands and enterprise clients.

From Internal Network to Open Platform

Ekart was built more than a decade ago to handle Flipkart's first shipments and grew into one of the country's largest parcel-delivery operations, spanning sort centres, line-haul trucking and last-mile fleets. Opening the network to outside customers lets the unit generate revenue from assets that have historically been used almost exclusively by Flipkart and its group companies, including Myntra and Cleartrip. The shift mirrors a broader trend of e-commerce logistics arms spinning off or expanding commercially, a topic explored in coverage of the CMA CGM agreement to acquire FedEx Logistics for $1.4 billion.

What Third-Party Onboarding Means

For external shippers, access to Ekart's existing delivery footprint could shorten transit times in tier-2 and tier-3 cities where its reach is well established. Ekart's third-party services are expected to include:

• End-to-end parcel delivery for online sellers and brands
• Reverse-logistics and returns processing
• Warehousing and fulfilment support tied to its sort-centre network
• Integration with seller platforms through existing logistics partners

Industry analysts note that Indian e-commerce logistics capacity is expanding rapidly, with new warehousing capacity coming online in cities such as Austin of the Indian tech corridor and beyond, as detailed in reports on RK Logistics Group opening a new 3PL warehouse in Austin. Broader sector trends in rail and intermodal movement, highlighted in the Annual State of Logistics Report, are also reshaping how parcel carriers plan networks.

Competitive Stakes

By opening up, Ekart enters direct competition with Delhivery, BlueDart, DTDC and Ecom Express, all of which have courted marketplace sellers. Its scale and Flipkart-aligned volumes remain an advantage, but pricing pressure is likely as Ekart courts customers who can also choose established neutral carriers. The company has not publicly disclosed pricing tiers or service-level commitments for the new third-party offering.