NEW DELHI, INDIA: Amway India, the country's leading direct selling FMCG company has announced its e-commerce foray with the launch of www.amway.in. Powered by Microsoft cluster of technologies with Microsoft Commerce Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Biztalk Server -  the e-commerce platform has been implemented by Microsoft Enterprise Services division, the company's consulting, technical services and support arm. The portal is a strategic lever to deliver on Amway's objective of crossing Rs. 2, 500 crore in revenue by 2010 and is aimed at leveraging the online medium to further expand the company's existing distribution network across 500,000 Amway Business Owners, while also providing consumers in semi urban customers with direct access to Amway's  expanding product range.

According to Bill Pinckney, MD and CEO, Amway India  "Having grown from Rs 91 crores to Rs 800 crores in under ten years, we are now poised for further growth and expansion, and need to reach out to a wider consumer-base. We believe, our enhanced presence on the internet has the capacity to fuel this growth."

Outlining the objective of the launch of the Ecommerce Suite, Sanjay Malhotra, Vice President- IT & E - Biz said "The new URL www.amway.in would provide our Amway Business Owners(ABO's)  with a round the clock single touch point making it possible for them to access information about their business and place orders any time. The user-friendly website would have extended features for Amway Business Owner's & facilitate easy ordering". Pinckney added, "AMWAY India is now deliberating to empower its ABO's with online training as well. This would unfold in the next phase of this website by 2010".

Designed and implemented by Microsoft, the portal delivers a centralized one-stop touch point for over 500,000 Amway Business Owners in India. The extended features of the website will help Amway Business Owners automate the manual process of ordering goods and eliminate the process of physically travelling to pick orders from warehouses.

Amway India's web portal was devised and delivered by Microsoft Enterprise Services (MES) division that works with organizations to help them devise and implement a long term technology roadmap basis their business strategy. Speaking about the implementation, Malhotra said, "To launch Amway India's e-commerce foray, we needed a reliable and experienced partner to build a strong IT infrastructural foundation for our online business. After spending time evaluating options, we were convinced that Microsoft Enterprise Services was an ideal fit for building our online solution, and are confident that Microsoft's expertise in enterprise scenarios will help us achieve our aggressive business goals".

Commenting on the company's partnership with Amway for this launch, Vikas Arora, Director – Microsoft Enterprise Services, Microsoft India said, "Today, we are delighted to be a part of Amway India's e-commerce foray and look forward to further consolidating their IT infrastructure requirements in the future". He further added, "As the long time leader in business technology solutions, Microsoft understands the significance of right planning and implementation of IT infrastructure in determining the success of any given business. Microsoft Enterprise Services division works towards making the entire lifecycle of implementing technology easier by collaborating with customers, partners, and teams across Microsoft to provide the greatest impact of solutions, services, and support."