Customers expect faster deliveries, but speed comes at a cost. Move too slowly, and returns rise; move too fast, and margins shrink. For most D2C brands, logistics already eats up 8-12% of order value, meaning even small inefficiencies, scaled across millions of orders, quickly turn into significant losses.

The old playbook no longer works. Ecommerce logistics today is about making the right decision for every single order, and that requires intelligence.

Shipway: Providing intelligence for every order

That's where Shipway's ShipSense AI comes in, an in-built decisioning engine that goes beyond courier choices to deliver decision-making intelligence for every shipment, at scale and in real time.

Founded in 2015, Shipway is a shipping and logistics platform for ecommerce businesses and third-party logistics providers. It integrates with multiple carriers and ecommerce systems, allowing brands to manage orders, automate shipping decisions, compare carrier rates, and track shipments, all from a single interface.

The venture is headed by Kapil Makhija, Managing Director and CEO of Unicommerce eSolutions Limited, and Saurabh Kumar Choudhary, Chief Business Officer of Shipway by Unicommerce.

The platform caters to D2C brands, 3PLs, and enterprise clients, with capabilities ranging from rate shopping and automation to multi-warehouse operations and custom per-client workflows.

It also offers a shipping API for businesses looking to embed logistics into their own systems, along with an on-site workstation application for high-volume warehouses, and an intelligence layer that converts shipping data into operational insights.

AI that picks the perfect courier

At the core of Shipway is ShipSense AI, an automated decisioning engine that determines the best way to ship each order. It evaluates multiple variables in real time: proximity of warehouses, courier performance in specific regions, payment mode, delivery timelines, return patterns by PIN code, and the cost of faster shipping. All this happens seamlessly, without manual intervention.

Instead of applying a one-size-fits-all logic, ShipSense continuously learns from historical performances. Couriers that underperform in certain regions are automatically deprioritised, while better-suited partners are prioritised for future shipments.

The impact? Higher on-time delivery rates, lower return-to-origin instances, fewer customer queries, and reduced weight disputes. At scale, even marginal gains across these metrics can significantly impact unit economics.

"We're going all in on AI. ShipSense is getting smarter at predicting the best route for every order before it's even packed, and we have built Loca, a chatbot that gives our operations' teams real answers in real time, not just dashboards to stare at," Chaudhary says.

Shipway's journey

Shipway started as a multi-courier platform, helping ecommerce brands compare rates, track shipments, and make smarter logistics decisions from a single dashboard. It quickly became a go-to solution for D2C sellers looking to move beyond the limitations of single-courier setups and rising costs.

In late 2024, Unicommerce, an ecommerce enablement platform, began acquiring Shipway, completing the full buyout in March 2025, integrating it into a broader ecommerce operations stack along with Uniware (warehouse management) and Convertway (omnichannel tools).

This shift transformed Shipway from a standalone aggregator into a more comprehensive fulfilment engine, part of an end-to-end platform spanning orders, inventory, marketing, and logistics.

The growth since has been sharp. Shipway reached Rs 100 crore annualised run rate in Q3 FY26, up from Rs 71 crore in Q4 FY25, its first full quarter post-acquisition. By November 2025, monthly shipments had crossed 1 million, and the company achieved adjusted EBITDA breakeven.

Being part of Unicommerce has also strengthened its pricing power. By aggregating shipments across a base of Unicommerce's 7,500-plus clients, Shipway is able to negotiate enterprise-level courier rates, benefits that extend to smaller brands that would otherwise lack such scale.

Shipway operates in a competitive space alongside players like Shiprocket, NimbusPost, and ClickPost. Its edge lies in AI-led decisioning and deeper integration within a wider ecommerce operations stack.

Real wins from real brands

For fast-growing wellness brand, Dr Veda, expansion beyond metro cities brought an unexpected challenge: delivery delays that began to hurt cash flow. "Inefficiencies were hurting our fulfilment," says Co-founder Smyle Wadhwa. With Shipway, on-time deliveries improved from 70% to 78%, return rates dropped, and the brand was able to scale into smaller towns without eroding margins.

Astrotalk, a D2C astrology platform, faced a different set of issues: rising shipping costs and endless "Where's my order?" queries. "Shipway cut costs without compromising service quality, reduced [customer] queries with live updates, and freed up our support team," says Co-founder Anmol Jain.

For both brands, the shift wasn't just operational; it made scaling smoother and more predictable.

Market boom and Shipway's next play

India's express parcel market is entering a phase of rapid expansion, expected to grow from 10-11 billion shipments in FY25 to 24-29 billion by FY30, according to Redseer. Ecommerce alone will contribute up to 5.5 billion shipments, while quick commerce and hyperlocal delivery continue to push logistics networks deeper into Tier II and Tier III cities, expanding both opportunity and complexity.

At the same time, India is increasingly moving online, often without the scale to negotiate competitive shipping rates or invest in logistics technology. Cash-on-delivery (CoD), still accounting for approximately 40-60% of orders in many categories, adds another layer of risk. Return-to-origin (RTO) rates in some segments can run to approximately 20-30%, directly affecting margins.

This is where Shipway is positioning itself. As logistics becomes more complex, the focus is shifting from speed alone to smarter fulfilment.

"Indian ecommerce is entering a phase where fulfilment intelligence, not just delivery speed, will determine long-term winners,"says Kapil Makhija. "The next decade will belong to brands that treat logistics as a strategic growth lever, not just a backend function."

Edited by Teja Lele