In the on-going battle in the ecommerce industry, Amazon India has taken yet another step to please sellers on board. The ecommerce major will give sellers an allowance to cover for potential damage in transit. As per a report in the Economic Times, Amazon India will pay sellers a fixed percentage of the selling price of every unit that is shipped.
It is an interesting move by Amazon India after it received flak from sellers for increasing its commission. Sellers were complaining of financial losses due to damage of merchandise in transit. Incidentally, this is one of the biggest concerns currently for the ecommerce industry.
Until now, sellers had to file claims for products that got damaged in transit. Speaking to ET, an amazon India spokesperson said that the company has introduced ‘seller flex’ for certain categories as part of its endeavor to providing good seller experience.
As per the Seller Flex programme currently, allowance is given for products in the apparel, shoes, watches and luggage categories. And this is only applicable to those selling via the program.
Through this program, Amazon replicates its warehousing practices around inventory management, quality control, packaging and shipping at the facilities owned by third-party sellers. This ensures a reduction in shipping inventory costs from the seller’s premises to Amazon’s warehouses.
As per the ET report, in an email sent to sellers, Amazon India said, “We would like to inform you about the upcoming changes to Seller Flex Lost and Damaged Inventory Reimbursement Policy which will be effective May 14, 2017, onwards for all units fulfilled using the Seller Flex Programme.”
Amazon has been going all out to capture market share in India’s ecommerce industry. Most recently, it announced an addition of 14 fulfilment centres, taking the total number to 41.
Additionally, when the global giant recently announced its financial results, CEO Jeff Bezos said that the company will keep investing in technology and infrastructure in India, which is one of the company’s fastest growing markets.
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