‘Built on cheap labour by exploitation’: Indian-origin man shares how Germany is stunned by 10-minute delivery system, sparks debate

In a lengthy LinkedIn post, the man described how Germans are often stunned by India’s 10-minute delivery services, popularised by companies like Blinkit and Zepto.

The man credited India’s speed to an intricate web of dark stores, dense rider networks, and efficient traffic navigation, which together enable a delivery system that’s almost unmatched globally (Image source: Express Collage)

An Indian-origin professional living in Frankfurt is grabbing eyeballs after making a LinkedIn post highlighting a stark comparison between India’s lightning-fast delivery ecosystem and Germany’s methodical logistics system.

In a lengthy post, Shahil Choudhary described how Germans are often stunned by India’s 10-minute delivery services, popularised by companies like Blinkit and Zepto, saying that the concept feels almost “like teleportation” to them.

Choudhary also shared how delivery culture differs sharply between the two countries. “Here in Germany, forget instant delivery, your parcel arrives only during specific business hours. No deliveries on weekends, and painful return procedures,” he wrote. In contrast, he explained, “Back home, logistics runs on caffeine. Thousands of riders weaving through traffic, dark stores every 500 metres, and ETAs that defy physics.”

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He credited India’s speed to an intricate web of dark stores, dense rider networks, and efficient traffic navigation, which together enable a delivery system that’s almost unmatched globally. According to him, “This speed has stimulated the economy in a way even policy couldn’t — boosted consumption, created liquidity, and employed millions across India.”

However, Choudhary also acknowledged the human and environmental cost of this rapid efficiency. “When I tell Germans about this, they stare at me in disbelief, like I’m describing teleportation. It makes India sound more first world than the first world itself,” he said. “But the cost of this speed is paid by the ones racing to deliver it — low wages, long hours, rising pollution. It chokes roads with traffic and still bleeds bottom lines. But still, we’ve innovated an extraordinary capability that we can potentially scale to redefine global logistics,” he wrote.

See the post here:

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The post ignited a conversation on efficiency of delivery platforms in India and labour culture in the country. “The workers in Germany have a salary that allows them to work only during certain hours and have a life the rest of the time, while those in overpopulated and competitive India must work crazy hours to make ends meet,” a user wrote. “It’s built on cheap labour by exploitation. That’s why not possible in Europe,” another user commented.

“Brilliantly written — but this also reflects the deep disparity in how human capital is valued across economies,” a third user reacted.