Case Study:
Launchpad: The Internship Program at Flipkart

Jitesh Nair*
Assistant Professor, IBS Hyderabad (Under IFHE - A Deemed to be University u/s 3 of the UGC Act, 1956), Hyderabad, Telangana, India. E-mail: jiteshnair@ibsindia.org

Balaswamy Pasala
Research Associate, IBS Hyderabad (Under IFHE - A Deemed to be University u/s 3 of the UGC Act, 1956), Hyderabad, Telangana, India. E-mail: balaswamy@ibsindia.org

The case looks at the selection process and design of the internship programs offered by Flipkart for graduate and undergraduate students in India. It first describes the summer internship program offered to students pursuing their Bachelor's or Master's in computer science or business management who interned for two months in the software development, operations management, and product management roles. The case then talks about Launchpad, an internship program offered by ekart, the supply chain arm of Flipkart, since 2019 for undergraduate students. The 45- day internship program was designed to introduce students to work in Flipkart's supply chain. It ends with a look at Flipkart's focus on becoming a value player in the Tier-II cities of India as part of its long-term business strategy.

Introduction

Flipkart, an e-commerce company headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in 2007. The company, which initially focused on book sales, later expanded into other product categories such as consumer electronics, fashion, home essentials, groceries, and lifestyle products. Flipkart had a customer base of over 250 million, and offered over 80 million products across 80+ categories with 100 million registered users and 8 million shipments per month in 2020.3 Flipkart began to focus on the rural and semi-rural belts of India after its acquisition by US retail giant Walmart, which picked up a controllable 77% stake in Flipkart for $16 bn in 2018.

Aligned to its business strategy, Flipkart introduced the 'Launchpad internship program' for undergraduate students of Tier-II cities in 2019. According to Amitesh Jha (Jha), senior vice president, Flipkart, "We introduced Launchpad internship program last year to offer students hands-on experience of working in a state-of-the-art modern supply chain and inculcate necessary skills to succeed in this industry."4

Summer Internship Program
Flipkart's internships were open to students pursuing their Bachelor's or Master's in computer science or business management. Software development, operations management, and product management were a few profiles for which candidates could find an internship. The summer internships were two month-long and offered in its Bengaluru office. The interns were provided with a stipend of 25,000 to 35,000.5 At the end of the internship, a few selected students were given a pre-placement offer.

Selection Process: Students could apply for the internship programs through a referral, getting in touch with HR executives, or through campus placement.

Shortlisting: The filtering of the possible candidates was done by Flipkart's hiring committee. The process varied depending upon the profile of the internship. The general process consisted of three rounds-an online test, followed by a technical round, and then an HR round.

Onboarding: Selected candidates were offered airfare from their hometowns. The company made arrangements to receive them at the airport and provided accommodation at a hotel for up to two weeks until they could arrange for accommodation on their own. A two-day orientation program was designed in such a way as to ensure that all Flinterns (as the interns were called) felt right at home. The Flinterns participated in fun-filled group activities and received a bag of goodies with a poster, t-shirt, and welcome letter.

Supportive Mentor System: Flipkart had an informal and non-hierarchical work culture. Each candidate was allocated a mentor and a buddy to show him/her the ropes. Each Flintern was provided with a mentor who supported, guided, encouraged, and also cleared the intern's day-to-day doubts. This approach helped the intern to not only gain a holistic understanding of the operations but also to imbibe the culture of the company. Flinterns also had the liberty to select their own projects and were given complete ownership of their projects. The supportive mentor system helped interns gain work experience and meet interesting new people.

Recreation: Flipkart believed that the internship program was not just about work; it took necessary steps to maintain a balance between work and play. The company had a stress-busting zone that consisted of video games, bowling, archery, air hockey, bunker rooms, and a well-stocked pantry. The company also provided the interns with various cuisine options for lunch.

Launchpad Internship Program
Launchpad was an internship program offered by ekart, the supply chain arm of Flipkart. The internship program, launched in 2019, was designed to introduce students to work in Flipkart's supply chain and help them understand the processes that formed the backbone of e-commerce. The 45-day internship program was rolled out during its Big Billion Days Sale and was open only to undergraduate students. Jha said, "Flipkart is always at the forefront of sharing knowledge and building an ecosystem of skilled workforce for the fast growing e-commerce industry in India. In this pursuit, we introduced Launchpad internship program last year to offer students hands-on experience of working in a state-of-the-art modern supply chain and inculcate necessary skills to succeed in this industry."6

Selection Process
Flipkart's selection process for Launchpad Interns involved five stages.

1. Registration: Students needed to go through the eligibility criteria and register for the internship program through their educational institutes.
2. Internal Vetting: Flipkart's internal teams would do a level of checking to ensure the right candidates were processed for the interview.
3. Telephonic or Virtual Round: The shortlisted students were notified by the regional teams for the first level of interview.
4. F2F Round: The Face to Face (F2F) round varied based on the department and it was not compulsory for all applicants to be called to its facilities for a quick F2F interview.
5. Final Selection: Once the candidates were done with their required levels of interview, they received a formal communication of selection from Flipkart's team.

In the first year of the program in 2019, about 2,000 students participated from 200 plus educational institutions across India. They were exposed to the state-of-the-art supply chain management system at Flipkart during 'The Big Billion Days' sale. Apart from the stipend, the students received benefits such as insurance, Rewards and Recognition (RnR) incentives, and a certificate on internship completion. Aarif Ali who interned in 2019 at the Bhiwandi Hub, Maharashtra, said, "Get an overview how operations industry works. Understand the concept of supply chain management. How it is important for company to satisfy the end users. What are the processes behind the customer order. How the inventory is managed and controlled. How procurement team works. Understand upstream and downstream which is completely different from bookish language. It was such a great experience for me."7

Launchpad Internship Program 2020
Under the Launchpad Internship Program 2020, Flipkart collaborated with educational institutes in Tier II and Tier III cities across 21 locations including Binola (Haryana), Bhiwandi (Maharashtra), Uluberia and Dankuni (West Bengal), Malur (Karnataka), and Medchal (Telangana) to identify meritorious students and engage them at its fulfilment centers. As part of the internship, students were offered a stipend of 500 per day. However, the pay varied from state to state.

Since the internship program was scheduled during the Covid-19 pandemic, Flipkart issued work from home guidelines. The campus team at Flipkart ensured that the internship program continued without any hassles and ascertained that the learning and productivity of interns were not affected amidst the pandemic. Interns had a weekly campus team connect with all co-interns and took part in competitions and fun quizzes. These social engagements compensated for the lack of face-to-face interaction due to the Covid-19 situation at the workplace.

Future Plans
Flipkart decided to focus on Tier-II cities of India and shift its proposition from efficiencies in delivery to value for money as part of its long-term business strategy in the country. The company was of the view that this differentiator would work in its favor to grow its business further. Another reason for the shift in focus was that fashion was the biggest category for Flipkart and sales from Tier II and III locations accounted for around 70% of the total sales and micro-small sellers accounted for 80% of the total sales in terms of value. According to Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart, "From being a start-up unicorn, we have emerged as a sizeable company and there is a need to take a long-term view to grow the business for the future."8 It remained to be seen to what extent the internship program could contribute to Flipkart's long-term plans in its quest for growth from Tier II and Tier III towns.