Empowering Canadian SMEs to Compete with e-Commerce Giants: A Novel Generative AI-based Cross-Vendor Collaboration Approach

Principal Investigator: Ahmed Doha, Supply Chain Management
Project Title: Empowering Canadian SMEs to Compete with e-Commerce Giants: A Novel Generative AI-based Cross-Vendor Collaboration Approach
Funder: SSHRC Insight Grant
Duration: 5 year

Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) e-commerce vendors in Canada, and globally, struggle to compete against giant marketplaces like Amazon. This issue is becoming more critical as Canada’s e-commerce market is projected to grow significantly. SMEs, which are vital to Canada’s economy, face restrictive policies when using platforms like Amazon, putting them at a disadvantage. The proposed research aims to empower SMEs by enabling them to collaborate and offer unique value through an innovative Cross-Vendor Experience e-Commerce (CVEE) Recommendation System. This system will help SMEs create bundled offerings that provide price savings for consumers and operational efficiencies for vendors. The research will not only benefit Canadian SMEs but also contribute to global e-commerce, potentially saving billions for families and creating new business opportunities.