MAM
Compliance support & Analytics guidance from Snapdeal a big hit with sellers
Snapdeal has taken a variety of measures to help sellers on its platform resume their operations without getting lost in a maze of central, state and district level regulations.
The permission and procedure to reopen various kinds of commercial establishments, including offices, warehouses, shops etc vary depending on local assessment of the Covid-19 threat at any given point of time. While e-commerce deliveries have been allowed for both essentials and non-essentials, there are several practical challenges faced by the sellers on the ground.
To help sellers to operate their businesses in a compliant manner, Snapdeal is using various specialised tools & inputs. It has engaged Legistify, a law tech platform, that has developed live trackers of latest regulations on red, orange and green and containment zones, including the trends and micro details from such areas. These inputs help sellers and Snapdeal track COVID19 related compliance by monitoring the movement of goods at individual pin codes.
Snapdeal is also using the Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) tool by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to track these compliances and changes in regulations. Based on such inputs, regular seller communication with updated SoPs is shared with sellers to advise on best safety and hygiene practices.
Through its network of associates, Snapdeal is also enabling support on the ground for the sellers to obtain requisite permissions and resolve queries.
In the last one week, Snapadeal’s seller support team responded to more than 28,000 queries from sellers, helping them with verified inputs and connecting them with local resources for further assistance.
Snapdeal continued to receive orders for both essentials & non-essential items during the lockdown phase in April 2020, but only essentials were shipped out. In addition, millions of products were wishlisted and searched for by buyers. Snapdeal’s data sciences team has distilled inputs from these to guide the sellers with regard to what the buyers are looking for and at what price points. This is helping the sellers make the right stocking decisions. For instance, based on the popularity of multi-use packs, more sellers are now listing multi-packs of t-shirts (3 T-Shirts in basic colors), multi-pack & combos of undergarments, hair dye gel in smaller packs for frequent touch-ups (6 smaller packs instead of one big pack) etc.
Snapdeal is also assisting the sellers who are seeking to diversify into new or additional lines in order to reduce their dependence on existing products. Many large wholesalers and distributors have stocks and they are keen to list the same on online platforms via sellers who have existing online operations. Snapdeal is facilitating these by making introductions between large wholesalers/distributors, who are looking at new retail partners who can source from them and list these products online. Consumer electronics, beauty & health products and fitness are the categories witnessing interest from the sellers.
According to a Snapdeal spokesperson, “The resumption of E-Commerce operations has received an enthusiastic welcome by Snapdeal’s online sellers, who are now connected to a huge base of online buyers looking to buy what they need. Our sellers from all parts of the country have been reaching out to us in order to understand how they can resume their online operations while complying with new and changing regulations. Our policy, legal, analytics and business teams are working in close coordination to address these queries in a prompt and informed manner.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
