In MUMBAI : Alibaba.com, the leading small business e-commerce company, has announced that it is investing in India, with the launch of its local customer service operations here to better serve the vast Indian small business community. With a service office in Mumbai, Alibaba.com will primarily focus on providing dedicated customer service to its Indian Gold Supplier members during a crucial time of growth for the small business community here. Alibaba.coms Indian arm will house a core customer service team including a dedicated staff that will focus on customer training programs. This team will eventually grow and expand to multiple offices across India to provide local, hands-on support company's member-base.
The announcement comes at a significant point, where the company is witnessing strong growth in the Indian market with an average of 30,000+ new users having registered per month in the first half of 2010 (as of 30 June, 2010). As of the same date, more than 1.45 million users from small businesses in India were using Alibaba.coms services to reach out to more than 13.6 million registered buyers and suppliers on its international marketplace. Since the first Indian entrepreneur joined the site in 1999, Alibaba.com has continuously strived to better understand the ever-changing needs of its Indian members.
Commenting on the Indian operations, David Wei, Chief Executive Officer at Alibaba.com, said, The growth of the Indian marketplace has been impressive. Indian small businesses are savvy and they understand the advantages that the internet can bring to them both in domestic and foreign trade. India is one of Alibaba.coms largest markets and we wish to enhance our customer service and support for our Indian members in line with their evolving needs. The local customer service operations will enable Alibaba.com to work with our customers more closely, helping them grow even faster, providing new jobs and fostering economic growth.
The customer service operations in India will be headed by Sandeep Deshpande, Country General Manager, Alibaba.com, India. Sandeep has more than two decades of marketing, business development & general management experience in globally renowned organizations such as Yahoo!, AT&T and Rediff.com. Sandeep will be responsible for spearheading local operations and identifying various opportunities to implement service offerings that are relevant to Indian members.
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