Delivery & Shipping
Delivery & Shipping for Small Sellers in India
The sale is not complete until the parcel reaches the buyer. Shipping is where small sellers lose money, reputation, and repeat customers — or build an unfair advantage.
Best for: Any seller shipping physical products who wants to reduce costs, speed up delivery, and turn logistics into a competitive edge.
68% of returns
in Indian e-commerce are caused by late delivery or damaged packaging, not product quality
Pidi handles this for you
Automation built in.
One-click partner integration
Connect Shiprocket, Delhivery, Shipway, or Ekart in under 2 minutes from WhatsApp.
Rate comparison across partners
Pidi compares rates from all your connected partners and shows the cheapest or fastest option.
Dispatch from chat
Say "ship order #42 via Delhivery" and the shipment is booked, label generated, buyer notified.
Automatic buyer notifications
Buyer gets WhatsApp message with AWB number and live tracking link the moment you dispatch.
Real-time tracking
Ask "where is order #42?" and Pidi fetches live status from the carrier.
Encrypted credential storage
Your delivery partner API keys and passwords are AES-256-GCM encrypted. Never stored in plain text.
You handle this
Your touch matters.
Weigh and measure your parcels
Accurate weight and dimensions prevent costly rate corrections from carriers.
Pack products securely
Double-box fragile items, use bubble wrap, and seal with branded tape. Packaging IS marketing.
Set your pickup address
Tell Pidi your warehouse or home address — where couriers will collect packages from you.
Hand over parcels on time
Schedule pickups before 2 PM for same-day collection. Missed pickups delay delivery by 24 hours.
Handle delivery exceptions
When a buyer is unreachable or an address is wrong, respond to carrier queries quickly to avoid RTOs.
Step-by-step
01
Create a delivery partner account
Sign up with Shiprocket, Delhivery, Shipway, or Ekart. Complete KYC (PAN, bank, GSTIN if applicable), and add your pickup address. Takes 15-30 minutes.
02
Connect the partner to Pidiga
Tell Pidi "connect Shiprocket" or "connect Ekart" and enter your credentials. Pidi verifies the connection instantly.
Pidi can do this — ask on WhatsApp
03
Set your pickup address in Pidiga
Share your pickup address with Pidi — name, phone, full address, city, state, pincode.
Pidi can do this — ask on WhatsApp
04
Weigh your first 5 products
Use a kitchen scale. Record weights in grams. This prevents billing surprises from volumetric weight corrections.
05
Dispatch your first order
When an order comes in, ask Pidi for rates, pick the best option, and dispatch — all from WhatsApp.
Pidi can do this — ask on WhatsApp
06
Compare rates monthly and optimize
Track which partner delivers fastest and cheapest to your top cities. Switch defaults as you learn.
Pidi can do this — ask on WhatsApp
Pro tips
Always round up weight by 50g. Carriers charge by the next 500g slab — being 10g over costs you ₹30-60 in weight corrections.
Collect the buyer's pincode at checkout. A wrong pincode causes 15% of failed deliveries and costs you the return shipping.
Use the smallest box that fits. Carriers charge by volumetric weight (L x W x H / 5000) when it exceeds actual weight.
Dispatch within 24 hours of order. Every extra day before dispatch increases cancellation risk by 12%.
Add a delivery-area banner on your store: "Delivers across India in 3-7 days." Buyers who know the timeline buy more confidently.
COD orders have 25-30% RTO rate. Offer a ₹30-50 discount for prepaid to shift the mix — even 10% shift saves thousands monthly.
Which delivery partner should I start with?
Shiprocket is the best starting point for most sellers — it aggregates 25+ courier partners and auto-selects the cheapest or fastest per pincode. Shipway is another strong aggregator with 30+ couriers. For direct carriers, Delhivery offers strong metro rates and Ekart (Flipkart's logistics arm) has excellent pan-India reach. Start with one aggregator, then add a direct partner at 100+ orders/month.
How much does shipping cost?
For a 500g prepaid shipment within the same zone: ₹30-50. Across zones: ₹60-90. COD adds ₹40-60 extra. Rates drop significantly above 100 orders/month — negotiate with your account manager at that point.
Should I offer free shipping?
Yes, above a threshold. "Free delivery on orders above ₹499" increases average order value by 20-30%. Bake the shipping cost into your product price for orders above the threshold. Below it, show the exact shipping cost — no surprises at checkout.
What is RTO and how do I reduce it?
RTO (Return to Origin) is when a package comes back undelivered — usually because the buyer was unavailable, address was wrong, or they refused COD. Average RTO rate is 15-25% for COD. Reduce it by: verifying phone numbers, offering prepaid discounts, confirming COD orders via WhatsApp before dispatch, and using address verification.
Can I use multiple delivery partners simultaneously?
Yes, and you should once you hit 50+ orders/month. Connect Shiprocket, Delhivery, Shipway, or Ekart — Pidi compares rates from all connected partners and shows you the cheapest option for each order. Different partners offer better rates for different pincodes and weight slabs.
What about same-day delivery?
Same-day delivery is available in metro cities through Shadowfax and Borzo (coming soon to Pidiga). For now, dispatch before 2 PM for next-day delivery in the same city via Delhivery, Ekart, or BlueDart through Shiprocket.