Even as the country is looking at the digitization of businesses with the rise of online businesses, B2B wholesale online shopping platform Amazon Business Significant business growth is expected in the country going forward. The company has helped digitize 25 lakh MSMEs across the country. in an interview with News18.com, Amazon Business Director Suchit Subhash Said about a third of its customers and orders come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, and meeting customer needs will remain its focus. Edited excerpts:
How is Amazon Business different from offline suppliers?
Our procurement solutions come with ease and convenience, a range of selection and a wide range of features, along with fast and reliable solutions. Amazon Business is digitally revolutionizing shopping in India and contributing to the Digital India mission by providing a reliable and efficient platform for businesses to buy goods and services online.
We offer frequently purchased business supplies and products at wholesale prices to small and medium businesses, including small office and home offices, educational institutions, grocery stores, hospitals, hotels and restaurants.
As India is one of the fastest growing major economies, how has been the growth of Amazon business here?
We have become India’s largest GST store with over 16 crore GST-enabled products. In 2017, we started with 14,000 sellers and now have over 6.5 lakh sellers associated with us. Amazon Business is also contributing to the Digital India mission by providing a reliable and efficient marketplace for businesses to buy goods and services online.
Our marketplace offers easy online buying, a broad customer and seller base as well as tools to manage purchases efficiently. It helps MSMEs save time and money by streamlining their procurement processes and provides them with insights to make informed purchasing decisions. We can deliver to 99.5 percent of pin codes across the country using our deeply penetrated network of fulfillment centers across India.
What are the growth trends in smaller towns and cities as compared to metro cities?
Around 30 per cent of our customers and 25 per cent of our orders come from Tier II and Tier III cities. Nearly 90 percent of sellers on Amazon.in use Amazon’s logistics and warehousing services, of which more than 50 percent of our sellers are from Tier II and below cities.
We plan to maintain this momentum in the near future by catering to the needs of our existing and potential clients through our thoughtful services. We ensure that we cater to the diverse needs of MSMEs and provide them with different options to address their challenges. In terms of sellers, Amazon has digitized 2.5 million MSMEs across the country.
What are the MSME trends in India right now in the e-commerce sector?
We see three big trends emerging in MSMEs in the e-commerce sector – digitization, cost and efficiency, and regional growth.
In digitisation, MSMEs will leverage digital technologies to improve their competitiveness and access new markets. This would include adoption of online marketplaces, digital payment systems and cloud-based tools for managing business operations.
In cost and efficiency, MSMEs are moving to become more efficient, reduce costs and increase their profitability through adoption of new technologies and creation of new business models.
As far as regional growth of MSMEs is concerned, it will accelerate with the increase in skill levels in smaller towns and rural areas, which has been accelerated by the technology adoption mentioned earlier.
We also have specific benefits for MSMEs in Tier II and III cities to help them with their requirements – language support, low logistics cost due to delivery options including doorstep delivery, and market awareness.
How is Amazon Business changing the wholesale business landscape in India?
We have continued to add products to meet the changing needs of businesses. To make the shopping experience easier for our customers, we have dedicated stores like Commercial Store, Quantity Discount Deals and Best Seller Store to help customers find products as per their needs – all curated in one place have been done.
Our commercial store offers thousands of products in top categories such as business laptops, networking devices, industrial adhesives, tools and equipment, and security from top brands such as Lenovo, Cisco, Pidilite, Kimberly Clark, Stanley Black & Decker, and Kirloskar.
Over the next few weeks, we are hosting a host of events for MSMEs to ease shopping for high-value office essentials like PCs, laptops, ACs, large appliances and home electronics at one place. As a commitment to our valued customers, we continue to host Business Value Days in the last week of the month from last few years where we provide best value for money and help MSMEs save cost.
What are your future plans in India?
Amazon Business has served as a one-stop destination offering a wide selection of business supplies, competitive pricing, and a vast distribution network. At Amazon Business, our customers’ needs will be our constant focus. We have introduced and will further develop many services, such as credit extension, and business analysis tools, and provide a wider selection and more savings for the customer.
Simultaneously, we will focus on digitization for our customers and bring them on board with the advanced technology currently in the market, making them future ready.
In 2023, Amazon Business will support business customers in their digitization journey. This enables faster growth by increasing the range of available products, improving the speed and accuracy of delivery to reduce working capital requirements, competitive pricing to improve their profitability, and especially mobile shopping, digital documentation. Will focus on the convenience features in the context of Will help customers reduce the cost of running a business. With the evolving trends, we are committed to grow and expand along with the ecosystem.
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