DELIVER Asia 2026 Conference Recordings

Quick commerce has transformed customer expectations around delivery speed.

In markets such as India, customers increasingly expect products to arrive within minutes rather than days. This shift is forcing brands and supply chain teams to rethink how they manage inventory, production, and logistics.

At DELIVER Asia 2026 in Singapore, Achal Chawla, AVP Supply Chain at Fast&Up, explored how companies can adapt to this new reality while maintaining operational reliability.

One of the defining characteristics of quick commerce is extreme demand volatility.

Chawla describes demand patterns in this environment as similar to an ECG heartbeat, constantly rising and falling rather than following predictable linear patterns.

To manage these fluctuations, Fast&Up focuses heavily on SKU-level forecasting, analysing product-level demand signals to anticipate peaks before they occur.

This predictive approach helps the company position inventory correctly and maintain product availability across its distribution network.

In a quick-commerce ecosystem, maintaining strong service-level agreements is essential.

From purchase orders and invoicing to batch management, dispatching, and quality control, every step of the supply chain must operate in sync to ensure fast fulfilment.

For Fast&Up, this means closely coordinating production, supply chain operations, marketing teams, and logistics partners to maintain consistent service standards.

Rather than treating logistics providers as third-party vendors, the company views them as strategic partners in scaling operations.

As demand grows, supply chains must be able to scale rapidly without compromising quality.

Fast&Up achieves this by maintaining tight control over its manufacturing processes, operating its own production facilities and assembly lines.

Operational scaling includes:

• Running multi-shift manufacturing schedules

• Increasing labour capacity during demand peaks

• Optimising warehouse storage through vertical stacking

• Expanding regional distribution networks

These measures allow the company to increase capacity without requiring entirely new infrastructure.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to support demand forecasting and supply chain planning.

According to Chawla, AI can analyse multiple data dimensions simultaneously, helping supply chain teams detect patterns and make faster decisions.

However, he emphasises that companies must first ensure teams are trained to use these tools effectively.

AI systems can only deliver meaningful insights when they are fed high-quality data and supported by skilled operators who understand how to interpret the results.

While delivery speed is critical in quick commerce, maintaining product quality remains equally important.

Fast&Up produces more than 200,000 product units per day across its supplement and wellness product lines, requiring strict quality control processes across manufacturing and distribution.

To maintain reliability, the company ensures sufficient inventory buffers and uses multiple regional warehouses to reduce delivery distances.

The organisation is also experimenting with new delivery technologies, including drone logistics, which may help accelerate deliveries for lightweight consumer products.

As quick commerce continues to expand, supply chains will need to balance speed, reliability, and cost efficiency.

For Fast&Up, the key lies in combining strong operational fundamentals with new technologies and close collaboration across partners.

By maintaining strict control over production, forecasting demand accurately, and continuously improving logistics processes, the company is building a supply chain capable of supporting the rapid growth of the quick-commerce economy.