Amazon Launches Cross-Border Logistics Services ‘SEND’ For Indian Exporters

Amazon India has launched SEND, its cross-border logistics platform, allowing end-to-end support to Indian exporters. The platform is currently available for exporters on Amazon Global Selling that ships air parcels from India to Amazon’s fulfilment centres in the US. 

Amazon plans to expand SEND to additional destinations and shipping modes soon. Services offered under this new vertical will include information about multiple carriers, negotiating rates and service levels, compliance and credit checks, shipment tracking and various payment modes.

According to a statement from Amazon, sellers can book, ship and track their packages from within their Amazon seller central dashboard and set up auto payments via their disbursement account.

The launch of Amazon’s SEND comes close to the annual Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) sales. And it opens an opportunity galore to several Indian exporters who can sell their products on Amazon’s global websites, especially categories including home and kitchen, toys, personal care, fashion and apparel, stationary, furniture and more. 

The ecommerce giant has also slashed the subscription fee of Amazon’s SEND platform for new exporters joining its Global Selling program for the first three months from $120 per month to just $1 for the three months. 

However, the services are still only available to sellers on the Global Selling platform. 

But, the move comes shortly after Amazon India quietly opened its logistics services within the country for non-Amazon sellers as well. The move competes with Flipkart’s Ekart services and has been named Amazon Shipping.

“The launch of SEND and the special subscription fee offer is part of our endeavour to make exports easier and accessible for businesses of all sizes,” Amazon India’s director of global trade, Bhupen Wakankar, said in a statement. 

“Our sellers from India can participate in these global sales and it will be like participating in multiple Diwali sales,” Wakankar added.

The Indian arm of the ecommerce platform currently has 1 Lakh+ exporters across the country on the Amazon Global Selling program with customers across 200+ countries, having surpassed $5 Bn in cumulative sales till now. 

Through this event, the ecommerce giant aims to launch new Indian products in the US and the UK markets and is expecting a 5X year-on-year jump in its sales. Amazon also plans to enable $20 Bn in cumulative exports from India by 2025.