1. Pick your customers before your couriers
Decide who you'll serve: Instagram and WhatsApp sellers in your city, D2C brands, B2B traders, or a mix. Their parcels decide everything else. Small sellers send light COD parcels to tier 2 and tier 3 towns; B2B customers send heavy cartons to fewer places.
2. Register the business
Most aggregators start as a proprietorship or private limited company with a current account and GST registration, since sellers will want tax invoices. Talk to a chartered accountant about the right structure for you.
3. Open courier accounts
Approach two or three couriers to begin with, usually one strong national network, one fast premium option, and one that is good in your region. Ask for API access, rate cards by zone and weight slab, COD remittance cycle, and RTO charges. Your margin is built on these numbers, so get them in writing.
4. Set your prices
Work out your selling rate per courier and zone: courier cost, plus your margin, plus a buffer for weight disputes and RTO. Start competitive on the lanes your customers use most, and keep margins healthier on the rest.
5. Get the software running
Your merchants need a website to sign up on, a dashboard to compare rates and book, labels, tracking, a wallet and COD statements. You need margins, KYC, COD payouts, NDR handling and invoices. Renting a white-label platform gets you live in a day for a monthly fee, instead of months of development.
6. Find your first twenty merchants
Your first customers come from people you already know: local shops, sellers in your area's WhatsApp groups, and anyone shipping through a franchise counter today. Offer to handle their first week of parcels personally. Good service on NDRs and fast COD payouts win word-of-mouth faster than discounts.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need to start?
The main costs are courier security deposits (if your couriers ask for them), the software subscription, and working capital for COD and prepaid float. Many aggregators start lean and grow with volume.
How long does it take to go live?
With rented software and one courier account, you can take your first booking within a day of getting your API keys.