Do we really need 10-minute deliveries? Ex-Jet Airways CEO asks Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal

“Do we really need 10-minute deliveries?” Former Jet Airways CEO Sanjiv Kapoor asked Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal about thousands of workers protesting low wages and working conditions and lack of social security benefits in the gig economy.

10-minute delivery has become one of the highlights of the gig workers’ nationwide strike, and the promise was made possible by the density of stores and not by asking delivery partners to drive fast, Goyal said, arguing for this.

Out of sheer curiosity, Kapoor asked: “Deepinder, what I’m really wondering is, do we really need 10-minute deliveries in our chaotic urban conditions, except for medical emergencies?”

“Would a 30-minute or 1-hour delivery (without a lot of pressure and speed) be the end of the world?” he added.

To explain the concept to Kapoor, a netizen shared an example using two different scenarios: “1. When I place an order, the Blinkit store is 1.8 km away and the Instamart store is 1.5 km away. 2. If a store is too busy, my order will be processed from a store 2.4 km away. 10 minutes is not mandatory.”

“People have money but no time, and these two create the perfect ecosystem for 10-minute delivery models across all platforms,” said one social media user.

Another user said, “Patience is in short supply these days. And in the future, people will pay a premium for 10-minute delivery.”

The former Jet Airways CEO later clarified that he was “not outraged” by the 10-minute system, but simply asked a simple question. “Is 10-minute delivery (except in emergencies) really necessary? Wouldn’t it be better to balance safety and environmental risks (bulk deliveries, fewer individual trips) by reducing delivery to 30 minutes or offering a variety of delivery intervals?” he repeated.

What did Deepinder Goyal say about 10-minute delivery?

In a series of tweets, Deepinder Goyal shared that due to increased density of dark warehouses, the delivery partner had enough time to reach the destination safely.

“After placing your order at Blinkit, it is collected and packaged within 2.5 minutes. Then, the driver covers an average of less than 2 km in approximately 8 minutes. This means an average of 15 km/h,” he said.

Goyal also clarified that delivery partners were not on time to deliver the order and were not penalized for late deliveries. “Delivery partners don’t even have a timer in their apps to show the customer the original promised time.”