As India’s quick-commerce frenzy collides with labour unrest and tightening economics, the race for ever-faster deliveries is being forced to slow down. Earlier this year, mass protests by gig workers exposed the hidden costs of the 10-minute promise. One logistics company, however, argues it anticipated the reckoning.

In this episode, Host Anirban Chowdhury speaks with DTDC CEO Abhishek Chakraborty about why the 35-year-old firm stepped away from the dark-store arms race and instead backed what it calls “rapid commerce”: 4 - 6 hour deliveries powered by co-located dream stores. Now back to profitability after years of investment-driven pressure, DTDC is betting that operational discipline can outlast headline-grabbing speed. Abhishek unpacks early BCG research that flagged an impending labour crunch, the rise of AI in customer operations, the rapid consumption growth of tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and the hard realities of EV adoption and overseas expansion beyond tariff-hit US markets.

In logistics, winning may depend on knowing when not to race.

You can follow Anirban Chowdhury on his social media: Linkedin & X

Check out other interesting episodes from the host like
Iran On The Edge, BRICS at the Helm: India’s Moment, and Its Multilateral Test, ET in the Valley: Apoorva Pandhi, MD at Zetta Venture Partners Silicon, India's Mega QSR Merger

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