Ministry, partners help drive small orders online

“After cooperating with financial institutions, logistics firms and electronic payment systems, more small traders can sell online, as they will be able to save costs, as those companies will offer discounts for using their service,” Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said yesterday. 

The project called “Small Order OK”, or Sook, was initiated to encourage small traders to market their products online, in line with the government’s policies to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises and move to a digital economy.

Under the project, more SMEs should be able to trade online and enhance their competitiveness so they can sell to other countries. 

SMEs can advertise their products on the department’s website www.thaitrade.com, with buyers able to purchase goods through a e-payment system. 

DHL Express will deliver products to both domestic and overseas customers. 

Previously, www.thaitrade.com only handled business-to-business transactions and buyers had to place big orders. Sook will help SMEs boost sales by taking small orders directly from customers.

The project is expected to add 1,000 small enterprises to trade online on top of about 130,000 merchants with combined sales of Bt2 billion.

E-commerce is worth Bt2.1 trillion a year. The Sook project is expected to increase sales by Bt1 billion a year. 

In the next six months, 6,000 SMEs are targeted to start trading online.

To promote cyber-shopping, the ministry’s Business Development Department will hold the Thailand Online Mega Sale under the theme “Raining Sales Fever” at www.thailandmegasale.com from September 1-9.

The department expects to draw a million shoppers online and stimulate Bt450 million in immediate sales over the nine days.