Snapdeal's Playbook Offers Vendor Onboarding Lessons
An analysis of Snapdeal's vendor strategy highlights key tactics for onboarding sellers from smaller cities. The value-driven marketplace emphasizes mobile-friendly registration, local language support, and coaching vendors to use WhatsApp for customer engagement and managing COD fulfillment. This approach provides a model for lowering barriers for first-time online sellers.
- To support its base of over 500,000 sellers, Snapdeal established 130 new logistics hubs, many in Tier-II and Tier-III cities like Baramulla, Saharanpur, and Latur, to accelerate deliveries and reduce shipping distances. - The "Power Brands" program assists sellers in creating and building their own brands, with Snapdeal offering support in brand development and licensing to a network of sellers to ensure product quality. - Through its "Capital Assist" initiative, Snapdeal facilitates working capital loans for its sellers, having enabled over 150 sellers to raise more than Rs 50 crores. In one partnership, Tata Capital provided unsecured loans ranging from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 2 crores to meet sellers' working capital needs. - Snapdeal rolled out a "Jaldi Payments" program, a fast-track payment option that allows sellers to receive their funds within 3 days of their shipment being delivered, significantly improving their capital turnover. - First-time online sellers are provided with training by Snapdeal professionals on how to effectively use the platform's tools and marketing modes to reach a wider customer base. - To streamline the traditionally slow Cash on Delivery (CoD) refund process, Snapdeal partnered with Cashfree Payments to process instant refunds to customers' UPI-linked bank accounts or wallets using only a mobile number or email address. - The company's "Snapdeal 2.0" strategy pivoted to focus on the value-conscious consumer, with 90% of its orders coming from customers outside of metro cities. - For sellers managing their own fulfillment, Snapdeal offers a "Vendor-Self" model where the seller controls the entire shipping process, and a buyer-seller messaging feature is available on its app and seller panel to facilitate direct communication.
