Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Saturday, 25 July 2015

If You cannot lick them ; Join them


If  You  cannot  lick  them ; Join  them 



CAIT stands for Confederation of All India Traders

It has over 4.5 million retailers as its members

Till a few weeks back , CAIT was opposed to e-commerce in retail trade

But when it realized that the e-Commerce tide was unstoppable , it decided to join it !

Recently , CAIT General Secretary , Khandelwal said :


" E-commerce is a reality. We cannot be blind to it. Through ‘e-Lala’, our aim is to retain consumers who were traditionally with brick-and-mortar outlets but are now shifting away to online stores 

We are being forced by circumstances to get into this. We have to move with the times ”


By October 2015 , CAIT plans to launch its own e-Commerce portal " e-Lala" to take on the likes of Amazon / Flipkart / Snapdeal / Myntra etc

But unlike these existing e-Commerce portals , CAIT does not have a war-chest of billions of dollars , to

>   Set up Fulfillment Centers ( Warehouses ) all over the country

>   Advertise online / offline , in a big way


But when you have 4.5 million Fulfillment Centers ( of course small ) , spread all over the entire country , covering every street , then why do you need to build central warehouses ?

And when 10 million delivery boys / girls , deliver a billion packages every day to millions of households , with a plastic bag / card-box carton that reads " YOUR  e-LALA DELIVERY  " , then why do you need to waste money on advertising  ?


Now the bad news :

>   How will e-Lala control the quality of products being delivered by 4.5

     million retailers  ?

>   How will it ensure timely delivery  ?

>   How will it ensure that Member-Retailers do not overcharge ?

>   Existing e-Commerce portals buy in bulk , directly from the         manufacturers ; then offer heavy discounts over the printed MRP . How will e-Lala counter this  ?


>  Today , barely 5 % of the retail buyers , pay thru Credit Cards . 95 % pay in cash

     If e-Lala insists on advance payment using Credit Card thru a online Payment Gateway , will this put-off buyers from using e-Lala portal  ?

          Again , today , almost all buyers pay " Cash Against Delivery " to their neighborhood retailer.

      They may not like to pay in advance of the delivery !

>   To- day , buyers do refuse to accept deliveries for various reasons , such as :

     #   Wrong product or labeling or package size or brand

     #   Expiry date exceeded or about to expire

     #   Even , change of mind !


     All because , there is no online advance payment , and nothing is lost by refusing !

>  To-day , buyers are even able to return the purchased goods to their neighborhood retailer , a couple of days later.

     And the retailer usually accepts the " Return " , in order to retain the

    client on a long-term basis - client whom , he knows personally !

    This will not be easy to duplicate in E-Lala ecosystem !


This is not to say that CAIT's e-Lala experiment is doomed  !


If anything , e-Lala would do well to think through these issues , then provide answers thru a FAQ page on its e-com web site


To help crystallize this thinking , it may not be too late even now , for CAIT to host: TRUE / FALSE : YES/ NO : MULTIPLE CHOICE : online Questionnaires , on its existing web site


One questionnaire for the End-Consumers  and another one for its 4.5 million member retailers


In today's " Dog it Dog " world of e-commerce , one can neither dictate nor predict , a competitor's actions


That kind of wishful thinking just does not work


To stay two steps ahead of the Competitors , you need to think and decide :


"  What am I going to do this morning ? "


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh

25  July  2015




(M) 0 - 98,67,55,08,08

   

No comments:

Post a Comment