Flipkart to discontinue its seller service, Smart Fulfillment

Flipkart is discontinuing one of its seller services, Smart Fulfillment, according to a statement sent to the sellers of Flipkart.

What is smart fulfillment by Flipkart?

Smart Fulfillment is a service in which Flipkart assists you in methodically organizing your warehouse, simply keeping your inventory, and efficiently delivering it to your customers via a Flipkart logistics partner. 

Sellers would establish a distinct location for their items at their own warehouse or place of business under Smart Fulfillment, which would be linked to Flipkart’s infrastructure so that these items could be delivered more quickly. Sellers would keep these warehouses up to corporate standards, and these items would be labeled “F-Assured” on Flipkart.

Why is Flipkart discontinuing its seller fulfillment service?

With the discontinuation of Flipkart Smart Fulfillment, merchants will have just two options: keep their items at Flipkart’s warehouses or handle the logistics themselves. According to a source, moving more goods to Flipkart facilities will allow for faster delivery and lower costs.

“We have found that Smart Fulfillment is leading to additional cost for sellers due to dedicated manpower, additional rented space, and third-party software to cut short the operational challenges,” Flipkart said in the note.

After quality inspections, shifting merchandise to Flipkart warehouses will allow for faster delivery.

What’s next?

According to the note, Flipkart is also rebranding F-Assured to F-Plus. “The new program under which they (sellers) may qualify for F-Plus allows sellers to make more efficient decisions, particularly in terms of labor costs.” It lowers their overall investment cost,” a source familiar with the situation stated. According to those briefed on the situation, a sizable number of retailers were utilizing Smart Fulfillment.

According to three sellers ET talked with, although the shift may help some sellers ship products faster, they may also have to pay more.

“I will end up paying Rs 4-5 extra per order from now on for renting space in Flipkart’s warehouse and their other services,” one of the sellers said. “For sellers moving small shipment volumes, that won’t be helpful,” he added.

Amazon, Flipkart’s competitor, also offers an identical service called Amazon Seller Flex to its merchants worldwide.