Unveiling the e-commerce solutions for making SMEs competitive, adaptive and IT-oriented, in view of the globalisation and removal of quantitative restrictions, Aptech CEO Mr Ganesh Natarajan said that there has been an urge within the IT industry in India to make industries more competitive and Aptech should come forward in providing e-commerce solutions to these industries.

Mr Natarajan was speaking at a roundtable conference on `Information Technology for Small and Medium Enterprises', organised by CII here on Thursday.

The CII survey reveals that 83 per cent of SMEs do not use e-commerce. However Mr Natarajan said that Aptech has developed a package called `Rs 25,000 SME solution' which can make 75 per cent of domestic SMEs computer savvy. The total cost of the package stands at Rs 30,000, which includes annual transaction charges of Rs 25,000, and a yearly subscription of Rs 5,000."

The Aptech CEO also stated that ICICI had been approached for the realisation of the financial transactions, BlueDart for transferring the paper work etc in case such a portal gets CII's backing.

Aptech vice-president Mr CK Sharma addressing the session said that Aptechaims to cut costs of SMEs by propagating use of IT tools, automating business processes, providing easy access to larger markets. He further added that the benefits of B2B are lower material and service costs, shorter order fulfillment cycles, lower administration costs, and improved inventory practices. But there have not been many takers amongst the SMEs for this.

SMEs on an average look for tried and tested solutions, industry-level benefits, low capital investment, training and handholding in computers, and continuous up-gradation, and support, he added. Mr Sharma stated that according to an Aptech survey, stakeholders like the CII, look for industry-level solution, and not hit and trial methods.