I was born in Delhi to a disadvantaged family. Later, my father left us when I was 15. He was a stonemason and with his departure, I couldn’t concentrate on my studies. I ended up flunking my 12th exams. With a part-time job in hand, I eventually completed my HSC through correspondence in 2016. I am glad I didn’t stop there.
My journey is interesting as it starts with Blinkit (then Grofers) in 2017, when I joined as a delivery boy in the Lado Sarai area. Back then, I had no idea what the word ‘career’ even meant. Fortunately, I was a hard worker and had an encouraging manager who appreciated me. In fact, all my seniors in Blinkit have been positive in their approach.
Vijay Kumar during his delivery partner (DP) days
Within six months of joining, I was promoted to team leader (TL) for RTO process – making sure that dispatch gets ready on time so that orders aren’t delayed. During this stint, I learned quite a few tasks (COD reconciliation, RTO justification, route planning, order assignment, etc.) that were usually catered to by station managers (SM). When a new DC was opened in Mahipalpur, I was transferred there to streamline processes.
Vijay during his team leader (TL) days
During this phase, I registered for a long-distance graduation course.
In January 2019, Blinkit started its B2B operations under the guidance of Avijit Mondal. He planned to start this process with two TLs, and to ultimately promote them as SMs, based on their respective strengths. I was promoted to SM, taking the end-to-end responsibilities in Dhulsiras, before the operation was moved to Faridabad, and then to Sonipat and ultimately to Gopalpur. We ran it from there till May 2021.
During this phase, I graduated with a BA from IGNOU.
Vijay as a store manager (SM) in Faridabad
Last summer, I was asked to manage 3PL operations like recruiting and daily escalations, in coordination with 3PL vendors. In August, I was moved to the HR Ops team. We hired 1000+ riders on per-packet-model and helped in ES expansion. It was a very exciting phase. From working on the “field”, my journey took me to working from “office”.
The best part about my story in Blinkit is that I am constantly learning new skills. I am always up for new challenges, and am currently learning payroll processing and handling employee grievances. I sometimes wonder what would have been my journey had I not joined this wonderful company six years ago. What works for Blinkit is that it’s filled with caring folks who look out for each other. Without the right opportunities, none of us can bloom. I am sure there are many more stories in our organisation like mine.
I was born and brought up in Chandigarh. Blessed with a flawless childhood, I enjoyed a lovely family, the finest of education and a sound social life. In school, I excelled in studies as well as extracurricular activities.
Before I share my story, I want us to remember that India largely resides in its villages and towns. There are a lot of people in our country who have a lot of potential, but they seldom get the opportunity to prove their worth.
