Amazon Business Eyeing Strong Growth from Indian MSMEs

MSMEs in India are a focal point for policymakers and global tech giants. I am talking about those giants who have shown great digital transformation for MSMEs. The transformation which significantly contributed in the growth of small businesses. Amazon is undoubtedly one such organization which have made it's a strong presence and created it's space among Indian MSMEs by offering them new customers and new markets. Discussing Amazon Buinsess' strategic focus and plans for Indian MSMEs, Faiz Askari, Founder of SMEStreet has spoken to Suchit Subhas, Director, Amazon Business, India and found some great insight regarding Amazon Business experience with and strategies for Indian MSMEs.

Here are the edited excerpts:

• Faiz Askari: Can you share some Details on Amazon Business Journey in India and way forward strategy? 

Suchit Subhas: At Amazon, we have always worked to empower MSMEs as a one-stop destination with over 16 Cr GST-enabled products across 6.5 lakh sellers and cater to their distinct business needs. As we complete five years in India this year, we feel humbled to be able to contribute to the MSME space in India by launching innovative procurement solutions for MSMEs. We are India’s largest GST store and in the last five years, we have added a host of features through which businesses can avail GST invoices with ease, user-friendly business analytics tools and get savings from bulk discounts. We strive to innovate to our maximum potential with a customer-backward approach. For our seller partners, Amazon Business provides an additional opportunity on Amazon.in to increase their B2B sales by catering to requirements from lakhs of business customers. In addition to catering to requirements from MSME customers, our sellers have catered to orders from businesses from across the country. More than the growth figures, what gives us even more satisfaction is the voice of our happy customers:

• Leading Financial Firm: “We are happy to partner with Amazon Business for our Procurement needs like IT and office supplies for our CFL (Centre for Financial Literacy) Project. We are now able to procure different products with GST invoices from one single platform across 429 remote areas of country (14 states & 4 Union Territories)”
• Leading Digital Firm: “Since the time Amazon Business was introduced to me, it saves 25-30% of our time to search for the best technology product at a best price.” 
• Leading Food based startup: “It’s three-four hours to the nearest city, whereas with Amazon, it’s a click away. They make sure we are on time, all the time.” 
• Leading Sales and Distribution company: “My journey with amazon business from last 3 years is quite smooth and satisfying. The Amazon business team is really very helpful and always ready to solve the issues of their sellers. 

• Faiz Askari: What are the Key learnings from the year gone by? 

The first half of 2022, MSMEs and businesses were in recovery phase and operating in hybrid mode.  Most of the businesses operated on the decentralized model where we could help lacs of the employees get access to the right WFH equipment, COVID-related supplies and deliver to the remotest of locations. Businesses are adjusting to life after Covid and different modes of office/hybrid work and we at AB want to support that change and growth which will benefit both sellers and buyers. 

At Amazon Business, we will continue to work on our customer backwards approach and innovate on behalf of our customers and help them simplify their procurement process even further.

• Faiz Askari: What will be the Focus for 2023?

Suchit Subhas: Customers are our constant focus. There are multiple innovative features and services specifically for the business customers which we introduced understanding their challenges like credit extension, having a wide selection of products, business analysis tools, turning wholesale purchasing into value driver and greater savings. Going forward we will continue adding more features with a customer backwards approach.

• Faiz Askari: What are the top trends in MSME segment?

Suchit Subhas: MSMEs are the growth engine of India. With the presence of over 63 million MSMEs employing over 110 million people staggered across services, manufacturing sector contributes nearly 30% to the GDP.  We at Amazon Business are humbled to get this opportunity to be a part of this growth story and help MSMEs run their businesses more efficiently.

There have been many economic and consumer behaviors shifts that have happened in the past helping us prioritize as we head toward 2023. Prioritizing customer fulfillment and highly personalized e-commerce experience, mobile-first purchase, and adopting digital procurement and omnichannel strategies with in-built transparency in-system and process automations are some of the trends that we can witness in the B2B space in the coming years. 

• Faiz Askari: What priorities do you expect from SMEs in 2023 with respect to technology adoption?

Suchit Subhas:  At Amazon Business, our goal is to drive digitization for our customers and bring them on board with the advanced technology existing in the market while making them future-ready. The advancement of technology over the last two years has caused a ‘tectonic shift’ in the reduction of cost of adoption of digital solutions, thereby increasing the efficiency of the businesses. In the coming year, we will continue to inform, educate and engage to create awareness within the MSME space and ensure that businesses have e-procurement solutions available to scale up their operations.