Amazon India is doubling down on its target to enable Indian exporters through its Global Selling program. The e-commerce giant is on track to cross a significant milestone, enabling Indian businesses to surpass the $13 billion mark in cumulative exports through the global export program from India by the end of 2024.
Technology is the driving force simplifying e-commerce exports for Indian MSMEs, according to Bhupen Wakankar, Director of Global Trade, at Amazon India. “We continue to put a lot of technology investment on making these things disproportionately simpler every year,” he says, referring to aspects such as registration, listing, and inbounding products into foreign warehouses. Since its launch in 2015, Amazon’s Global Selling program has enabled 1.50 lakh Indian exporters to sell over 40 crore ‘Made in India’ products to customers worldwide. The total seller base on the program has grown approximately 20% in the past year.
Moreover, Amazon has introduced services like ‘Amazon Send’, which allows sellers to ship products through air or ocean routes, depending on their needs. This programme started as an air service 18 to 24 months ago but has since expanded to include options for full and partial container shipments. “If a seller wants a rush order ahead of a holiday season sale, they can send an air shipment. If they have a little bit of time, they can send a full container or a partial container if they want to try out a few products,” explains Wakankar. This flexibility is crucial for businesses of all sizes, from startups to established exporters.
In addition to technology, Amazon is focusing on increasing awareness among potential exporters. The sellers are not necessarily digital-first entrepreneurs; rather, they are individuals who may lack technological expertise but have a deep understanding of manufacturing or sourcing specific types of products. Through Amazon's service provider network, they have learned to leverage technology more effectively, says Wakankar. He adds, “Or you might be a technology provider, but you know nothing about sourcing or product manufacturing,” for them, Amazon has connected a manufacturing base they can collaborate with, combining their digital content creation and marketing skills with tangible products.
The company aims to further bolster this growth, targeting $20 billion in exports by the end of 2025. Albeit the exports were around $8 billion in 2023.
Wakankar also believes that the e-commerce exports category is being bolstered by the government’s support with the consignment-wise cap on e-commerce exports through courier being raised from ₹5lakh to ₹10 lakh in the FTP 2023 and the focus on e-commerce export hubs discussed in the recent budget. He emphasised that such policy initiatives are crucial for addressing regulatory challenges, particularly in areas like cross-border payments and logistics.
“The needs of an e-commerce player are very different from the needs of an offline exporter. That's where these e-commerce hubs start playing a very big role,” he adds.
These hubs are designed to cater to the unique needs of e-commerce exports, which involve many small shipments rather than fewer but larger ones typical of traditional exports. “The conversation is maturing, and it's not just Amazon. There’s a whole bunch of ecosystem players that are contributing to that,” says Wakankar.
