The nationwide lockdown in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 has greatly altered how Swiggy operates and what services it offers. The company expanded into grocery and package delivery earlier last month. Now, as the government eases the lockdown restrictions, Swiggy is looking to help restaurant partners get back on their feet.
The food delivery giant has set up a new B2B platform called Swiggy Staples Plus. It’s aimed at delivering grocery, meat, vegetables, and other essentials (such as packaging material) to its restaurant partners. The minimum order amount needs to be Rs. 900, as per the Swiggy Partner app.
The highlight of this platform will, however, have to be the fact that Swiggy is offering essential raw material on credit to its restaurant partners. The company wants to aid restaurants who have been worst hit due to the 2-month lockdown in India. These eateries have incurred heavy losses due to a slump in the number of incoming orders – well, obviously because of COVID-19 fears. A credit line at this moment in time could be super beneficial to them in the long run.
As per Moneycontrol’s report, Swiggy is beta testing its delivery arm in Bengaluru and Mumbai. The company is said to surface a ‘Pay on Credit’ option (same as Buy Now, Pay Later) to restaurants in the partner app. How and when will the restaurants have to clear its dues? Well, Swiggy will most likely deduct repayments from the payment cut that it takes from restaurants on each order delivery.
Swiggy is stepping into the B2B space, offering to bring raw materials to its restaurant partners, just now. It’s arch-nemesis Zomato has been doing so for the past couple of years. If the company’s pilot proves to be a success, it plans to expand the delivery of raw materials and credit option to more cities in the near future.
Swiggy also takes aim at startups like Ninjacart and BazaarNXT with its B2B supplies delivery service for restaurants.
