1.0 Overview

Delivery has been one of the most efficient mediums to attract customer satisfaction.

From daily-use groceries to expensive electronics like laptops and computers and even the products of fashion are all being delivered.

This doesn’t exclude the businesses that are onboard ONDC as well. The delivery and logistics play a critical role in making these ONDC businesses thrive. Bitsila being one of the leading ONDC partners offers multiple delivery methods for the businesses that are onboard ONDC.

1.1 Types of Delivery for ONDC Businesses

There are primarily two types of Delivery offered by Bitsila.

1. On- Network Delivery 

2. Off-Network Delivery

1.1.1 On-Network Delivery

In On-network delivery when an order is placed, the Logistics partner(delivery boy) will be automatically assigned by the ONDC. When an order is placed, the integrated logistics of the ONDC network will be triggered and the system will find the most suitable delivery partner and assign the delivery automatically.

1.1.2 Off-Network Delivery

The Off-network delivery on the other hand takes a different approach.

Even when the orders are placed through the ONDC network, the business itself handles the deliveries on its own. Even the Off-Network Deliveries can be further classified into two types

1. Third-Party Logistics

2. Self-Delivery by the Business

1.1.2.1. Third-Party Logistics

In this method, the business will partner with an external logistics service provider to perform their deliveries. When an order is placed, the business will assign the delivery to its logistics provider who will perform the delivery.

1.1.2.2. Self-Delivery by the Business

In this method, the business will have its delivery staff and means to perform their order deliveries to the customer. When an order is placed, they will consider the distance of the delivery and the price and assign a delivery staff member to perform the delivery.

Of course, when delivery services are mentioned, we cannot ignore one more thing. Delivery Charges.

For the On-network delivery and the third-party logistics, the delivery charges are determined by the service providers themselves.

For a business that provides a self-delivery service, calculation of delivery charges is a must and many variables are at play when calculating them. Some of the most common variables are the Distance of Delivery and Total Order Amount.

The more distance it has the higher the delivery charge so the seller doesn't suffer a loss on delivery more often than not, the higher the price of the product the lesser the delivery charge is, because the sellers could subsidize that delivery charge with the profit they gain from an expensive product.

When the delivery is handled by the sellers themselves, they need to be the ones deciding on these variables, particularly on the ONDC network.

Now, Bitsila allows sellers to define these variables for the deliveries they provide. In this guide, we are going to take a look at how sellers can define delivery charges for deliveries.

But before that let’s understand the delivery system of Bitsila a bit better.

1.2 Delivery Types Businesses Can Offer

Bitsila system offers two types of delivery for the sellers to avail for their customers. 

One of them is the normal Delivery which is usually referred to as just Delivery and the other one is Express Delivery.

As the names suggest, Delivery is the basic and go-to delivery system that is opted whenever a customer requests for delivery.

Express delivery on the other hand is a premium delivery system that allows buyers to get their products delivered faster.

1.3 Variables in Defining Delivery Charges

There are not many variables involved in defining Bitsila deliveries.

Currently, we can avail two variables. One of them is the Charges based on distance and the other one is the Charges based on order amount.

1.2.1 Charges based on Distance

For the Charges based on distance, the calculation is done based on the distance between the outlet and the delivery location provided by the customer. These charges are defined with ranges.

Here is an example:

In this example, you can see various ranges listed down along with their delivery charges. So, for any delivery that has a delivery location within the range of 0 to 10 Km, the delivery charges would be 50 Rs. 

That means, whether the delivery location is 1 km away or 6.6 km away, the delivery charge would be 50 Rs only.

In the same way, for every delivery that has a delivery location within the range of 40 to 110 km, the delivery charges would be 250 Rs.

That means whether the delivery location is 40.1 km away or 98 km away, the delivery charges would be 250 Rs.

1.2.2 Charges based on Order Amount.

Unlike the delivery charges, the charges based on Order Amount can only be considered as a sub-definition or sub-category under the Charges based on distance.

This definition in and of itself can not be used and can only used along with the charges based on the distance. Here is an example of how these are defined.

As you can see in the table, we are defining these charges for only one distance range, but for three different order amount ranges.

For 0-10 km range delivery, the charges by default are 50 Rs. And if there is no order amount delivery charges defined under it, every time an order is placed for that distance it will take 50 Rs as delivery charges.

However, once the Order Range is defined and the delivery charges for that order range are defined, they take precedence over the delivery charges based on distance.

In the above example, we can see that for the first Order amount range of 100 to 250 Rs, the delivery charges are the same as the default. That means, if an order amount lies between that range, for that distance range, the delivery charge is 50 Rs.

However, for the second range, where the order amount range is 250 to 400 Rupees, the delivery charges are 30 Rs, whilst the delivery charges based on distance are still 50 Rs.

In this case, the delivery charges based on the Order Amount Range take precedence over the delivery charges based on distance.

That means the delivery charges will be 30 Rs.

Apart from these two main variables, there are some additional variables like tax, tax on delivery, type of tax whether it is exclusive or inclusive, and so on.

To understand this better, let’s define the following example as we go through the step-by-step procedure.

In this example, for an order that is between 0 - 100 Rs and the delivery location is within 10 km range from the outlet, the delivery charges should be 16 Rs and tax should be 5% exclusive.

And this order is being placed on a POS and is received from a phone.

Now, let’s go through the process of defining this.

2.0 Step-by-Step Procedure

• Login into the Bitsila Account

• Navigate to the Outlet Module on the left-side panel and Click on Outlets

• You can see the list of all the Outlets available under that account.

• Click on the Outlet that you are defining these delivery charges to

• You can see the details of that Outlet

• Go to the delivery Charges tab

• Click on the New Button under the Delivery section

• You can see the pop-up with the entry fields for you to enter the details.

• Now, enter the details based on the example given above.

• Select the Status Active from the drop-down

• Click on Create

• The delivery charges will be defined and if you place an order as it is, the delivery charges will be 20 Rs for the defined parameters.

• Now, Click on the three dots under the Actions Column

• Click on Add Order Range

• Define the Order Range Amount, and delivery charge amount and set the status as Active from the drop-down.

• Click on Create

• Now click on the arrow mark under the actions column.

• You can see the defined delivery charges based on the order amount range under the delivery charges defined with the distance range.

The Delivery charges are successfully defined.

3.0 Verification

After the delivery charge parameters are defined, it is easy to verify if they are actually working with the following process.

• Click on the Switch Icon in the top right corner

• Click on Switch to POS

• Place and Item Order

• Select the Order Type and Delivery Type and create the order within the parameters of the delivery 

• Check the Invoice for the Delivery Charges and you can see that they are exactly as defined by the parameters

The delivery charges are 16.8 Rs in the invoice because the base delivery charges for the parameters are 16 rupees and five percent exclusive tax means an additional 0.8 Rupees.

4.0 FAQs 

Q1: How are delivery charges calculated on Bitsila?

A: Delivery charges on Bitsila are calculated based on two primary variables: distance of delivery and total order amount. The charges vary according to defined ranges for distance and order amount, allowing for flexibility in determining the fees.

Q2: What are the types of delivery offered by Bitsila?

A: Bitsila offers two main types of delivery: standard delivery, typically referred to as just "Delivery," and Express Delivery, a premium service enabling faster product delivery.

Q3: Can you explain how distance-based charges work?

A: Distance-based charges are determined by the distance between the outlet and the customer's delivery location. These charges are predefined within specified distance ranges. For instance, deliveries within 0-10 km might incur a fixed charge of 50 Rs, irrespective of specific distances within that range.

Q4: How do order amount-based charges interact with distance-based charges?

A: Order amount-based charges function as a sub-definition under distance-based charges. They come into play within specific order amount ranges for a particular distance range. Once defined, they take precedence over the default delivery charges for that distance range.

Q5: What additional variables influence delivery charges on Bitsila?

A: Apart from distance and order amount, there are other factors like taxes (inclusive or exclusive), tax percentages, and order types (e.g., POS or Phone orders) that can impact the final delivery charges.