Amazon to set up performance centres to help Indian SMEs

02 Oct '14

2 min read

Amazon, the world’s largest e-tailer, will set up performance centres, upgrade logistics services, and develop mobile platform and new tools and techniques to help small and medium businesses grow in India, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, has said.

Mr. Bezos participated in an interactive dialogue on ‘Creating an enabling environment for SMEs in the digital economy’, with Mr. Kiran Karnik, former president of NASSCOM. The dialogue was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), in association with Amazon.in.

“After our first year in business, the response from customers and SMEs in India has far surpassed our expectation. We see huge potential in the Indian economy and for the growth of e-commerce in India,” said Mr. Bezos.

In July this year Amazon.com announced US$ 2 billion additional investment into Amazon India. “With this additional investment, Amazon team can continue to think big, innovate and raise the bar for customers in India. At current scale and growth rates, India is on track to be our fastest country ever to a billion dollars in gross sales,” he said.

“What is stunning about India is the speed at which it is growing and that is one of the tailwinds for the growth of e-commerce,” said Mr. Bezos and added that “India is unbelievably energising; the people are focused on learning and extremely inventive.”

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) initiative is working better than expected, according to Mr. Bezos. The FBA initiative enables Indian SMEs to store their products in Amazon’s warehouses, and then Amazon picks, packs and delivers the orders to customers, provide customer service and handle returns.

“Amazon India teams go out and train SMEs, give them tips and teach them the tricks on how to use the internet tools,” Mr. Bezos said and added that “SMEs can reach out to global customers in America, Europe and Japan with the right logistics and systems.”

Mr. Bezos said that in India, Amazon will set up performance centres, upgrade logistics services, and develop mobile platform and new tools and techniques to help small and medium businesses grow. Amazon is also considering setting up a data centre in India.

India’s e-retail market is currently estimated at $2.3 billion. (RKS)

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