15 mn 'Covid Safety Essentials' sold across India on udaan during 2nd wave

Nearly 15 million ‘Covid Safety Essentials’ catering to over 23,000 orders from over 400 sellers across 5,000 pin codes were sold on udaan, during the second wave of the pandemic. Bengaluru-based udaan which is India’s largest business-to-business (b2b) e-commerce platform witnessed a 5X surge in the demand for items like protective masks, face shields and PPE suits.

“As a result of restrictions imposed during the second wave of Covid-19, the supply-chain and distribution ecosystem of retailers were disrupted,” said Uday Bhaskar, Head – Lifestyle, Electronics, General Merchandise (Non-food business), udaan.

As India grappled with the second wave of Covid-19, udaan supported retailers with a regular and uninterrupted supply of covid safety essentials across the country. The second wave saw a huge demand of over 11 million protective masks, making it the largest item sold on the platform. During the period, the platform also shipped over 1,00,000  face shields, oximeters, PPE suits and kits, infrared thermometers, and oxygen concentrators among other essential items across more than 750 cities and towns.

“During these challenging times, we ensured regular, uninterrupted, and timely delivery of covid safety essentials at best prices to the buyers on our platform,” said Bhaskar. “This ensured that the end customer was continuously served by our retailer partners, while the economic activity also continued which was extremely important to keep the wheels of the economy moving during this period.”

From March onwards till the gradual decline of the second wave, a total of 6 million covid safety essentials were shipped to the states of Assam, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar. These states accounted for more than 50 per cent of the overall orders for Covid essentials on the udaan platform. Some of tier 2 and 3 towns like Tezpur, Sivasagar, Dhubri, North Lakhimpur (Assam) and Balurghat, Cooch Behar (West Bengal) witnessed high demand for oximeters and face masks. Most of the orders for face shields on the platform came from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Assam. Highest sales of infrared thermometers were in Andhra Pradesh, followed by Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. States leading the demand for PPE suits and kits were Andhra Pradesh, followed by West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Orissa, respectively.

The retailers on the platform benefitted from door-step delivery by placing orders on the udaan app from the convenience of their homes and shops. udaan fulfilled these orders through its strong and reliable supply-chain and logistics network covering 900 cities and 12,000 pin codes.

udaan provides solutions for all business requirements in the b2b space. It enables shopkeepers, kirana, restaurants, street vendors, chemists, offices, small factories, and contractors to source from a large selection of high-quality products at the best prices. It is connecting them to sellers, brands and manufacturers across the country with the convenience of e-commerce.

The platform’s SaaS (software-as-a-service) offerings such as the app-based pricing system gives better pricing control. The product listing advertisements and in-app advertisements encourage manufacturers to reach their targeted, specific, and ready-to-purchase retailers on the platform.

udaan said it has built inclusive tech tools for Bharat, catering to the needs of brands, retailers and manufacturers. It provides them with a level playing field to conduct and grow their business.