E-commerce companies see big opportunity in kirana store tech
1 min read . Updated: 08 May 2020, 12:49 AM IST- While Paytm is looking to equip kiranas with a tech ecosystem, Swiggy has on-boarded several on its platform
BENGALURU : The resilience of the humble kirana has led many online delivery and e-commerce companies to source essential goods from neighbourhood stores and deliver them to households during the covid-19 lockdown.
This has reaffirmed the belief of large online delivery firms that kiranas could be helped to innovate with technology solutions.
“We realized that technology and better logistics is something most offline shopkeepers can be equipped with. They need robust cataloguing, inventory, and order management system that is intelligent enough to figure out which stock-keeping unit (SKUs) they need, when, and in what quantity. This is important to maximize profits, prioritize orders, and help keep pilferage and wastage low," said Srinivas Mothey, senior vice president, Paytm Mall.
“A good back-end inventory management system logged seamlessly to an e-commerce platform will help offline stores get more orders and increase revenue," Mothey said.
Paytm Mall also aims to equip kiranas with a technology ecosystem for payments and logistics.
Swiggy, which has on-boarded several kiranas on its platform, has been adding features and training partner-store owners for post-lockdown activity. “We might add more features and equip store partners with a more sophisticated app. Mirroring the offline purchasing behaviour, we might urge users to move to alternative SKUs, if a product is running out. There might be technology integrations to let store owners know which products are running low and which are popular," said Swiggy’s chief operating officer Vivek Sunder.
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