E-commerce marketplace Flipkart has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FISME (Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises) and NCDPD (National Center for Design and Product Development).
As part of the agreement, Flipkart will list products from 50,000 SMEs. It will also provide them with infrastructural support in data analytics, marketing and customer acquisition to help them scale their business. The deal period or the terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Tying up with NCDPD makes sense for Flipkart, as fashion is one of the fastest growing verticals in India as of now. Despite acquiring Myntra, the company needs to keep getting exclusive products on board for this vertical to stay competitive. Apart from getting more products to offer consumers, Flipkart could also change the perception of being a service that is over dependent on WS-Retail to remain popular.
These new retailers might end up using Flipkart’s eKart service, that was opened up for third-parties earlier this year. Apart from helping smaller players avoid the headache of logistics, it also helps the e-commerce platform offer products from more sellers for its Flipkart First program.
This is quite an interesting development after retailers and trade unions had complained against e-commerce companies alleging predatory pricing.
That being said, eBay had also tied-up with trade associations earlier this year. The list of small trade associations that had agreed to use eBay to sell their products included Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Engineering Export Promotion Council, GJEPC (Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council), Jaipur Jewellers Association, Delhi Hindustan Merchantile Association, Eastern UP Exporters Association, Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce, Tirupur Exporters Associations, Surat Diamond Association, District Industries Centre, Thrissur and Vijayawada Chamber of Commerce.
Scheduled delivery: Last week, Flipkart also introduced scheduled delivery feature, which allows customers to specify a time for the product to be delivered. The service is currently available in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with plans to extend it to other cities soon.
The company mentioned that the service is free and is currently available only for larger electronic appliances such as televisions with plans to extend it to other categories in time. It will also offers free installation along with delivery during these pre-selected slots. The service is however not applicable for same day deliveries.
When we checked, we noticed that users can select the delivery date and time from the available slots, following the order confirmation. One also has the option to change the delivery time by calling up the Flipkart customer care number.
Digiflip Tablets? Flipkart also plans to sell self-branded tablets under its electronics accessories private label Digiflip, reports The Economic Times, citing sources. The company declined to comment on this to the publication. Earlier, there were also rumors of the company launching self-branded smartphones, although the company had denied this to Medianama.