Ecommerce in India is changing fast, and Flipkart has established itself at the forefront as one of  India's top marketplace. Flipkart has made itself welcoming to newcomers — sellers can sign up and get their products listed in a matter of minutes, after which they can tap into Flipkart's gigantic customer base to make the entire nation their market.

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This article covers an in-depth analysis of how Flipkart manages its sellers, and how sellers can improve their performance on Flipkart to qualify for the coveted gold tier.

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Understanding seller profiling on Flipkart

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With the exponential rise in the number of sellers on Flipkart, it became really hard for them to treat all sellers equally. Flipkart had to decide which seller's products would have maximum visibility, which sellers would need a dedicated account manager, which sellers needed advanced seller support, and so on.
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This made them introduce the seller tier system in 2016, where sellers would be rewarded based on their performance. Flipkart has devised three tiers to split its pool of sellers - bronze, silver, and gold.
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The introduction of the tier system was a win-win because sellers were struggling to create a unique identity for themselves amidst the millions of competitors. Since the tier system set clear distinctions in terms of the service and recognition, it became easier for them to incorporate a milestone-driven approach in their selling strategy.
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Note: All sellers start out as bronze sellers, after which they can qualify for the silver and gold tier based on their performance.

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Benefits of each tier

Benefits get progressively better as you move from bronze to gold. Also, the coveted gold tier has some unique benefits such as being invited to exclusive Flipkart events and getting a dedicated account manager.

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How Flipkart measures your performance?
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Flipkart measures the performance of a seller based on four inspection criteria standardised by them, these are - sales, average product ratings, service quality and regional utilisation.
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Criteria 1: Sales

One of the major differentiators between sellers for Flipkart is their sales performance. Flipkart measures the sales performance of a seller based on one of three criteria's — sales in units, sales in revenue, or growth index. Sellers need to accelerate their sales in order to qualify for the Silver and Gold tier.

Criteria 2: Average product ratings

Flipkart offers your customers the ability to rate your products based on their experience in terms of usability and service. These ratings are range from zero to five, with five being the highest ( best achievable rating).

The benchmarks standardised by Flipkart for the average ratings of your products are vertical benchmarks. This means that they vary based on the category of the products you're selling.

Sellers need to ensure their products and services meet the required customer expectations in order to receive positive feedback.

Criteria 3: Service quality

Flipkart expects high service quality standards from its sellers. To ensure this, they have implemented strict guidelines which sellers need to adhere to and penalties in place in case of any breaches. Flipkart measures the service quality of a seller based on two criteria's —  RTD breaches and seller cancellation. Sellers need to be meticulous when selling on Flipkart with regular inventory updates and SLA-driven order processing.

Criteria 4: Regional utilisation

An order placed on Flipkart could be local, zonal or national depending on the location of the customer.

Flipkart wants to offer speedy delivery of orders to their customers, this means delivering their orders on the same day or the next day.  Delivering orders with such speed is only possible for local and zonal orders. This is why Flipkart wants to reward sellers with a high regional utilisation percentage who are helping them meet this objective.

How to become a gold seller?

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To become a Gold seller, you need to meet the following performance criteria:

• Sales - Sellers need to sell more than 6000 units OR generate INR 50 lac in revenue OR exceed the current growth index benchmark.
• Average product ratings - The average product ratings of a seller should exceed the vertical benchmark set for products of that category
• Service quality - Sellers need to ensure that their RTD breaches are less than 1% AND their seller cancellations are less than 0.15%
• Regional utilisation - Sellers should have a regional utilisation of more than 30%

Tip 1. Improve your sales performance

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(I) Participate in flash sales and promotional events

‍One of the most effective ways of increasing sales on Flipkart is a flash sale or a promotional event. You can promote the sale ahead of time; this will act as a catalyst, bringing you more sales and more revenue. To participate in such events, go the the 'growth' section in your seller dashboard. You will see promotions Flipkart is actively encouraging sellers to take part in. Choose the most suitable options in line with your sales strategy and get going!

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(II) Run advertisement campaigns on Flipkart

‍Another proven strategy to increase the discoverability of your products on Flipkart is to run ad campaigns on Flipkart. Using paid advertisements, you can create highly-targeted and tailormade ads for customers who are most likely to purchase your merchandise. To use Flipkart ads, simply head to your seller dashboard on Flipkart and click on advertisements. Flipkart has an extensive rate card with different cost-per-click for different categories. You can select the relevant category, define your target audience and start advertising.

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(III) Offer product combos

You can offer your customers with product combos which helps you boost your sales and average order value. Customers are lured into buying product kits because they're reasonable and they offer solutions to multiple pain-points.

(IV) Offer a widespread product catalog

Make sure you're offering enough products for your customers to choose from. Even if you have a limited range of products, you can let your customers choose between different product variants like colours and so on. This increases the likelihood of them making a purchase.

(V) Analyse your competitors

You need to see what your competitors are doing at all times, this helps you stay updated on customer shopping trends and pricing patterns. You will be able to identify products with high sell-through, analyse why customers love to buy them and tweak your sales strategy accordingly.

(VI) Leverage Flipkart's growth opportunities

‍If you open Flipkart's seller panel, they have created a dedicated space to provide sellers with actionable insights on how to grow their sales. These insights can vary from stock recommendations, pricing suggestions to advertising recommendations and more. Based on these insights, sellers can modify their sales strategy to accelerate their sales.

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Tip 2. Improve your product ratings

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(I) Present adequate high-quality images

‍If you display your products with pixelated or blurry images, customers may never know what exactly they are buying. This increases the chances of your products getting bad ratings. To prevent this, you can include high-resolution images of your products from all profiles.

(II) Curate informative descriptions

If you're not using correct and informative product descriptions, customers may set the wrong expectations from your products. This can also lead to them rating your products poorly. To avoid any confusion, you should have content-rich product descriptions, including its features, materials used, weight, size, and more.

(III) Give easy-to-read and accurate size charts

‍Particularly for clothing or footwear brands, the ratings stoop down due to incorrect size ordered by the customers. Moreover, there is a slight size variation from brand to brand. By providing an easy-to-read size chart, customers will order the right products which will help improve your product ratings.

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(IV) Make sure your products reach your customers in the right condition

‍Another reason for poor product ratings is when the product reaches your customer in a damaged or substandard condition. To avoid this, you need to make sure you use the right packaging materials. For example, fragile glassware should be bubble-wrapped and then sealed in a corrugated box.

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Tip 3. Improve your service quality

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1. How to reduce RTD breach?

• Sellers should pack orders and mark them as ready to dispatch on a first come first serve basis.
• Sellers and the marketplace agree on a procurement SLA. Sellers should assign procurement SLA’s to their product listings as per their order processing capabilities.
• In case of exigencies like unavailability of resources, increase the procurement SLA's across listings immediately to avoid RTD breach.
• Lastly, avoid packing orders and marking them as ready to dispatch on the last day.

2. How to reduce seller cancellation?

• Update your product listings regularly with the right selling price and quantity
• If an ordered item is not available in your inventory, try to source it quickly to fulfil the order on time
• If you are unable to source the product, remove the product from the listing immediately
• Enter your product listings based on your order processing capabilities, avoid entering too many listings and then failing to fulfil some of them.

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4. How to improve your regional utilisation?

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(I) Analyse the most demanding zones

With the help of your past order history, analyse the region where orders are maximum. It helps you plan your inventory distribution according to high sales zones. Flipkart has developed an extensive seller panel which can provide you with performance reports. You can analyse these reports to identify the most prominent zones to store your inventory. If you're just starting out, it might make sense to distribute your inventory to major metropolitan cities of the country — for example, Mumbai, Delhi, and more.

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(II) Identify high selling SKU's

Look for the products having a high sell-through rate and distribute them to different fulfilment centres. If you are starting fresh and don't have sales data to identify top performers, then distribute inventory of your flagship products.

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(III) Distribute your inventory

‍Based on your analysis, you can now distribute your inventory across the country.

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How Eshopbox can help you become a Gold seller on Flipkart?

Working with a tech-enabled 3PL like Eshopbox can help you on your journey to becoming a gold seller by:

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Meet every SLA to ensure high-quality service

Eshopbox SLA-driven and streamlined pick and pack allows you to pack every order and mark it as 'ready to dispatch' on-time, without fail.

How does it help?

By meticulously processing orders with the SLA in mind, sellers can avoid RTD breaches and seller cancellations.

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See how picking and packing works

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Avoid overselling with accurate inventory relay

One of the major contributors to SLA breaches is overselling. This happens when the seller is unable to source a customer's order due to lack of inventory. Eshopbox syncs your inventory across all channels every 5 mins, this allows you to relay accurate inventory levels to marketplaces and avoid overselling which can lead to seller cancellations.

How does it help?

By relaying accurate inventory levels, you only receive orders for inventory you have. No more seller cancellations.

See how inventory snapshot works

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Offer product kits to increase your revenue

Products make their way into your customers’ shopping cart easily when they are bundled. With Eshopbox, you can use powerful merchandising techniques like kitting to combine multiple products together. This helps you maximise product exposure, offer exciting deals and target multiple needs through a single purchase.

How does it help?

It helps you boost revenue by increasing the average order value of a purchase.

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Learn how kitting can be a powerful revenue boosting tactic

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Distribute your inventory with Eshopbox to improve your regional utilisation

Eshopbox has a powerful network of fulfilment centres spread across the nation. You can split your inventory with Eshopbox based on your most demanding zones and improve your regional utilisation.

How does it help?

It helps you improve your regional utilisation by storing items closer to your customers in multiple locations.
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Learn how splitting inventory can help you improve your regional utilisation
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Don't let a quality-reject product reach your customers with accurate order processing

Eshopbox conducts quality checks at the time of receiving inventory and order processing to make sure your customers get the correct products in their hands. If you have unique products which need to be specially examined, Eshopbox allows you to customise the inspection criteria as per your specific needs.

How does it help?

It helps you improve your average product ratings by delivering the right products.
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See how quality check works

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Frictionless fulfilment when participating in flash sales and promotional events

To manage flash sales effectively, Eshopbox combines its extensive fulfilment infrastructure with organised workflows to handle the exponential surges in order volumes. All you need to do is inform Eshopbox about the time and duration of the flash sale and the Eshopbox will take care of the rest — from increasing your daily pick capacity to allocating dedicated manpower, everything's covered.

How does it help?

It helps you accelerate your sales and boost additional revenue.
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Check out our quintessential guide to running a flash sale
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Make Eshopbox your seller on record to get instant access to Flipkart Gold

What if we told you that there is a way to become a gold seller instantly, without any of this hassle? Eshopbox already qualifies as a gold seller on Flipkart, all you need to do is make us your seller on record to enjoy the benefits of being a Flipkart Gold seller.

How does it help?

It helps you qualify as a Flipkart Gold seller directly, without any lengthy process.

See how seller on record works

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Success story

Eshobox helped Spykar and many more become a Gold sellers on Flipkart, for which they received a certificate of recognition from Flipkart.
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Bottom line

Now that you've understood the journey to become a Gold seller on Flipkart, you can start working towards it. It will give you immense opportunities to grow your brand and reap the exclusive benefits of Flipkart's most rewarding bracket. Happy selling!