8 companies that are helping MSMEs grow business online on social media platforms
If you are an MSME seller on social media platforms, these companies can help you grow and boost your business by reaching out to your extended customer base.
Social media helps us connect with friends and peers. However, in recent years, these platforms have emerged as a strong tool to network with targeted clients for businesses. It is significantly leveraged by small business owners to scale their business.
With over two billion social media users worldwide, social media channels are providing a platform for SMBs to boost their reach — be it setting up shop on Facebook, selling via Instagram, or a WhatsApp group.
While a platform is a crucial element, SMBs would require other tools to facilitate their business. For this, many Indian companies are offering tools for shipments, account management, etc., to these sellers.
If you are an SMB looking to reach out to a larger customer base through social media platforms, here are a few companies and startups that can help you achieve this.
Shipments and logistics
Shiprocket is a logistic tech aggregation platform that automates logistics solutions for small businesses in the ecommerce sector. With the help of deep technology such as data analytics and AI, this startup helps recommend the best shipping medium and partner to sellers.
The startup integrates with several leading and specialised logistics partners, including Delhivery, Xpressbees, FedEx, Blue Dart, etc., to provide seamless delivery services. It has one of the largest networks in India, with 26,000 pin codes available for pickups, deliveries, and CoD.
Shiprocket’s CORE (courier recommendation engine) optimises courier selection on more than 10 variables, including shipment weight, pickup and delivery performance, RTO performance, mode and cost, and is able to automatically select the most appropriate courier partner and mode for each seller’s shipment that’s processed on the platform.
ANS Commerce is a full-stack ecommerce enabler startup that helps other brands sell on marketplaces, including Amazon, Flipkart, etc., by providing tools that include brand store tech, performance marketing, marketplace management, and warehousing.
ANS Commerce works with over 90 brands across segments, helping them sell on their brand stores along with over 15 marketplaces. It counts Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Portico, Piramal, CEAT, Marico, Bath & Body Works, and ITC among its brand partners.
ANS has now augmented its warehousing capacity and brands stores with tech-enabled solutions for SMBs to meet the festive demand on time, and giving real-time tracking for smooth functioning.
Max Wholesale
Founded in July 2016, Max Wholesale is a B2B ecommerce platform for kirana stores to source inventory on-demand. It helps neighbourhood kiranas discover price and scheme on various FMCG products and get door-step delivery much faster than traditional methods.
The company has warehouses in eight locations in Delhi-NCR and Chandigarh tri-city. It is also operating a network of delivery vehicles in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad to fulfil the demand of over 23,000 retailers in real-time.
The company manages inventory in its warehouses and has developed its own logistics arm for next-day delivery of orders.
Starting out
Meesho is an Indian-origin social commerce platform, which enables small businesses and individuals to start their online stores via social media channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
It is headquartered in Bengaluru, India, and is one of the three Indian companies to be selected for Y Combinator in 2016. It was also a part of the first batch of the Google Launchpad - Solve for India programme.
Ecommerce
Shoptimize is a one-stop D2C ecommerce platform that leverages AI to help brands set up and drive predictable growth. The Pune-based startup is also helping other notable consumer brands, including Whirlpool and Luminous Power Technologies, amplify their online presence.
Shoptimize's growth platform drives hyper-growth for the brands' D2C ecommerce store. It provides augmented analytics through a customisable analytics dashboard, user segmentation, and exploratory analysis to understand user behaviour. It also uses AI and ML that provide automated recommendations.
Financial Management
Khatabook is a ledger account book to replace your traditional bahi khata (ledger book) with a new digital ledger cash book. The tool is free, and the startup claims it to be secure for all types of businesses to maintain their customers' accounts.
A traditional bahi khata requires users to spend hours tallying and recording transactions physically. Khatabook, on the other hand, automatically takes care of all accounting needs.
With features like payment reminders, where an automatic SMS is sent to the customers every time a transaction is recorded against them, Khatabook has helped users bring transparency to their business.
OkCredit is a free, digital-based credit balance recording solution for SMBs. The Bengaluru-based startup was founded by IIT Kanpur graduates Harsh Pokharna, Gaurav Kumar, and Aditya Prasad.
OkCredit, which has raised just over $84 million, claims to witness over three million daily transactions on the platform. It has 5.5 million active users and saw transactions worth $7.5 billion recorded in October 2020.
Software major Tally Solutions is helping SMBs access critical data anywhere, anytime, with remote access technology, and wants to focus on improving the experience of the software by building multi-device access.
Today, Tally has two million SMEs paying for its accounting software, and nearly five million SMEs have used the product in the last three decades.
Edited by Suman Singh
