Nearly a month back, a Flipkart delivery boy named Nanjundaswamy was murdered at a gym in Bengaluru, for a petty reason. The customer who had ordered a phone did not have the money to pay for it and wanted the package at any cost.
The whole incident shook the e-commerce companies that were till now not even looking towards the concerns raised by delivery boys. Now the company has taken cognizance of this and launched ‘Project Nanjunda’ that provides some protection to field executives.
The delivery boys will be equipped with an SOS button built right into their delivery app. The ‘Nanjunda’ button sends an SMS and an email notification alerting the hub-in-charge and other delivery staffers around. No data connection is needed for this facility, all one needs is a working mobile network.
“Flipkart Wishmasters form the backbone of our business. Ensuring their safety is a primary priority for us. Over the days following the demise of Wishmaster Nanjunda Swamy, our teams have worked relentlessly to deliver this feature in less than a month in order to ensure our field staff is safe while on their delivery trips,” said Nitin Seth, Chief Operating Officer, Flipkart, in a statement.
This new feature will not only help the delivery executives in staying safe but also alert the customers. There are also specific reasons why Flipkart and other e-commerce giants do not deliver in certain areas or have a high threshold for deliveries.
It was high time Flipkart, and even other e-commerce companies launched a facility to protect the field executives. It is not only a tiring job but also a dangerous one where one has to deal with almost every kind of person. The incentives are low and the executives are not dealt with as well as a customer.
Will this feature help the delivery boys?
When the Government called for the installation of SOS buttons in car-hailing apps like Uber and Ola, the companies were quick to act on it. However, even in this case, the driver doesn’t have much power in case the riders behave wrongly.
Flipkart’s SOS button will help these delivery executives without a doubt, but it might not be as effective as one would hope it to be. Firstly, the delivery boy will have to open the app and then press the SOS button, which defeats the purpose of calling for an emergency. The company should have distributed a simple standalone device that solves this issue, instead of providing it in the software.
The thieves or the killers will take no time to procure the shipment and run away, leaving the delivery boy with no time to call for an emergency. However, this will be for extremely severe cases and must be dealt with very strongly. For less severe cases, this SOS button should be a boon.
I hope all the companies are taking a good look at this initiative and setting some strict policies around not just the customer but also their ground staff. It is equally important to maintain a safe environment for everyone.
Source: IANS
