Maersk fixes uniform shipment rate of USD 1 for online retailers

But the highly fragmented market and supply chain complexity are hurdles to many businesses growth.With our new solution, we want to stay true to our purpose of improving life for all by integrating the world.

Logistics firm AP Moller-Maersk on Monday announced a uniform rate of USD 1 (around Rs 80) for online retailers for shipment of orders to the customers' doorstep across the country.

''The new e-commerce fulfilment solution will provide single-window access to the entire logistics ecosystem for brands selling their goods online, including e-commerce system integration, warehousing, country-wide distribution and returns at a flat rate of Rs 80/USD 1 per order,'' the company said in a statement.

The fixed charge includes 60 days of storage, delivery across India covering 18,000 pin codes in 48 hours, 20 per cent returns to origin (RTO) and no fixed monthly costs or no minimum orders, it said.

Vikash Agarwal, Managing Director, Maersk South Asia, said, India's e-commerce business has great growth potential. But the highly fragmented market and supply chain complexity are hurdles to many businesses' growth.

''With our new solution, we want to stay true to our purpose of improving life for all by integrating the world. With our 'one country one price' solution, we will take complexities out of our customers' supply chains and grow with them as they focus on what they do the best,'' he said.

The solution, Maersk said, has primarily been targeted at a typical small or medium e-commerce business in India that relies on multiple logistics partners for different activities. With this solution, Maersk is taking the complexities out of its customers' supply chains by providing single-window access to all required solutions, such as storage in warehouses, last-mile deliveries and executing return orders, all while providing end-to-end visibility at unified pricing.

AP Moller-Maersk is an integrated logistics company operating in more than 130 countries and employs over 100,000 people worldwide.