​Mahindra to enter eCommerce soon!

Many of us know Mahindra for its technology and automobile, but the group is planning to open an eCommerce portal soon! The company has brought on board angel investor and former CEO of Askme.com, Jaspreet Bindra who would strategize how the automobile maker can tap technology for business growth.

Bindra, who has been appointed as the Group Senior Vice President for Digital Innovation and Ecommerce, in mid July will drive automation and implement digital technologies across the group.

A source with knowledge of the matter told Economic Times, "He will be expected to drive digital but also craft an ecommerce strategy. The group had been looking to put an ecommerce framework in the past six months. This will mainly be for auto division, two-wheeler and other consumer-facing businesses.”

While spearheading Mahindra Group’s eCommerce plans, Bindra would be leveraging the first-hand experience he got of eCommerce while he co-founded Bazee.com, one of India's first ecommerce portals, which was later acquired by ebay after its founder.
"Bindra would be building a centralised team, which will then work with different group companies to drive digital transformation. It could be at a product level, at a process level also - making internal operations more digital and getting in automation. It would also be at a marketing level," a second source told the ET.
The Mahindra Group confirmed Bindra's appointment to the ET, but refused to share further details, saying it is still in early days. Bindra is also clued into the country's startup ecosystem --he has seed funded many startups like Wooplr, a fashion discovery app, and Storyxpress, an algorithmic video company.

He has also mentored Mapmygenome, a molecular diagnostics startup and Qwikcilver, a gift card company, among others. Experts said that to make large companies more nimble, it makes sense to drive it at the group level.

At a time when country's large industrial conglomerates are looking at technology more seriously, Mahindra seems to have pulled the lever at the right time. The country's largest businesses are also beginning to put in place ecommerce and digital strategies.