Running a Joint Business Plan on Quick Commerce
A joint business plan turns your quick commerce category buyer from a gatekeeper into a partner. Here is how operators structure a JBP that both sides sign.
- A JBP trades committed visibility and support for committed volume, margin or new launches
- Walk in with the buyer's category growth goal, not just your brand's revenue target
- Structure the ask around assortment, availability, visibility and price, not a single discount
- A signed quarterly JBP converts ad-hoc PO haggling into a planned growth calendar
What a joint business plan is, and is not
A joint business plan, or JBP, is a written agreement between your brand and a quick commerce platform that commits both sides to shared targets for a quarter or a year. It is not a rate card and it is not a one-off promotion. It is a plan where you commit to something the buyer wants, such as new launches, exclusive packs or guaranteed supply, and the buyer commits to something you want, such as assortment expansion, premium visibility slots or better trade terms. The document exists so that neither side is renegotiating from scratch on every PO and every campaign.
Most brands never reach this stage. They react to platform POs, buy the ad slots that are offered, and treat the buyer as a gatekeeper who says yes or no. A JBP flips that posture. It makes you a partner who arrives with a plan for the category, and it is available to far smaller brands than most operators assume. You do not need to be a large FMCG house. You need to be organised, reliable on supply, and clear about what you are willing to trade.
Start with the buyer’s goal, not yours
The single biggest mistake in JBP negotiation is opening with your revenue target. Your category buyer at Blinkit or Zepto is not measured on your growth. They are measured on their category growth, their category margin, and how their category performs against the platform’s own priorities such as basket size, new-customer acquisition or premiumisation. Your plan lands only when it is framed as a way to hit their number.
Do the homework first. Understand where the buyer’s category is being pushed. If the platform is chasing premiumisation, a larger or gifting pack from you helps them. If it is chasing basket size, a combo or multipack helps them. If it is filling a price gap in the category, a sharp entry SKU helps them. When you open with how your plan grows their category, the conversation about what you get in return becomes a negotiation between partners rather than a request from a supplier.
The four levers to structure the plan around
A strong JBP is built on four levers, not a single discount. Treat them as a package you assemble.
- Assortment: which SKUs are listed, in which city clusters, and the commitment to add new launches on an agreed timeline. This is often the most valuable thing a smaller brand can win, because range drives discoverability.
- Availability: your fill-rate and OTIF commitment in exchange for the buyer holding your range and not trimming SKUs at the first stockout. Reliability is a currency here.
- Visibility: committed placements such as category banners, search keyword ownership, or a share of the platform’s promotional calendar, priced and booked in advance rather than fought over weekly.
- Price and margin: the trade margin, any funded promotions, and the promotional depth for planned events. This is where your funding meets their calendar.
The art is in the trade. You might offer two exclusive pack sizes and a committed fill rate above 97 percent, and in return win listing in three new city clusters, a guaranteed category-banner slot each month, and protection of your range through the quarter. Neither side gives without getting.
Bring the numbers that make it real
A JBP that is all intention and no arithmetic does not get signed. Bring a plan with quantified commitments on both sides. Your side: expected dispatch value by month, the launch calendar with dates, your fill-rate commitment, and the promotional funding you will put behind agreed events. The buyer’s side: the assortment additions, the visibility slots, the margin, and the supply protection. Put it in one table both parties can initial.
Anchor it to a realistic growth number. If you did 30 lakh a month last quarter and the plan gets you to 45 lakh, show the specific drivers: eight lakh from new city clusters, four lakh from the two new packs, three lakh from committed visibility. A buyer trusts a number built from named drivers far more than a round aspiration, and a driver-built plan also tells you exactly what to fix if a month misses.
The quarterly review is where the plan earns its keep
A JBP signed and filed away is worthless. Its value comes from a standing quarterly review where both sides sit against the plan and mark each commitment green, amber or red. Did you hit your launch dates and fill rate. Did the buyer deliver the banner slots and the new-cluster listings. This review is where trust compounds. A brand that consistently delivers its side earns the credibility to ask for more next quarter, and a buyer who sees reliable delivery starts bringing you opportunities rather than waiting for you to ask.
Over two or three cycles this changes your entire relationship with the platform. You stop haggling PO by PO and start operating a planned growth calendar. Your visibility is booked, your range is protected, your launches have a runway, and your margin is set. That predictability is worth more than any single discount you could have squeezed, and it is the real prize of running a proper joint business plan on quick commerce.