Flipkart revamps seller onboarding process to help MSMEs

Flipkart on Monday announced it has revamped its seller onboarding process to ease the first-time e-commerce experience for medium and small businesses (MSMEs).

The e-tailer has also stationed 13 regional teams across the country to help onboard sellers in person, by meeting with them at their premises.

These changes to the onboarding process will make it easier for small sellers, who may not have prior digital expertise, to list their products on the platform and access Flipkart’s pan-India base of over 150 million customers.

“By revamping our onboarding process and simplifying the number of steps, we are making it easier for any seller, no matter the size, to list on our platform and get started from day one,” said Nishant Gupta, Head of Flipkart’s Marketplace business.

Currently, e-commerce accounts for less than three per cent of India’s overall retail industry. Government estimates suggest there are roughly 60 million MSMEs in India, many of whom are restricted to their local markets due to difficulties in accessing resources.

Flipkart has also added regional teams in various Tier II and beyond cities to help sellers sign onto the platform.

These regional teams, based in cities such as Lucknow, Coimbatore and Jaipur, cater to sellers in over 4,30 pin codes.

“As a home-grown company, we know that the future of e-commerce lies in bringing more MSMEs and smaller businesses online which, in turn, will generate employment and investment, and will meaningfully contribute toward the country’s socio-economic development,” added Gupta.