E COMMERCE IS SIMPLY " COMMERCE BY ANOTHER NAME " !

E  Commerce  Definition :  a  Space  Ship  ?

I will repeat what I have said many times earlier

As long as our imagination remains confined to “ SHIP “ as a mode of traversing huge “ DISTANCES “ , we will never manage to go very far into the intergalactic “ SPACE “

Concept of a “ SHIP “ is good enough for sailing on “ OCEANS “ girdling our earth but totally inadequate for SPACE

We will conquer the SPACE only when we stop thinking in terms of a SHIP and start thinking in the terms of 4^th dimension , called TIME

Why this long prologue ?

For over 2 years , a Committee of Govt Secretaries has been trying to come up with a definition of :

E  COMMERCE

Here is today’s news :

Ecomm Subgroup suggests FDI in Inventory Model

Extract :

The policy is expected to set a new definition for ecommerce that will pin greater liability and responsibility on online retailers………….

A group of nine secretaries led by commerce secretary Rita Teaotia will meet on Friday to discuss data localisation, FDI in inventory-based online retail, consumer protection and emerging technologies as India seeks to finalise an ecommerce policy by year-end.

It suggested this for  business-to consumer ecommerce models  ,

*   with Indian entrepreneurship and control,

*   with stipulations such as less than 51% stake for a single foreign entity as the

     ultimate beneficiary owner (UBO),

*   100% selling of

*   made-in-India goods, and the

*   founder/promoter to be a resident of India. 

“ This would require defining made-in-India products and their accreditation by a competent authority,” the subgroup submitted. 

What a short-sightedness  !

If you want to know why this “ Definition “ of E Commerce is bound to fail , read :

E - Commerce is Easy Commerce !  [  15  Nov  2015  ]

One Day , Everything will Sell Online !  [ 29 March  2016  ]

 

Missing the Woods for the Tree ?  [  12  Aug  2016  ]

 

3 Laws of E – Commerce [  04 Dec  2017  ]

 

ECommerce : Broad Policy / Elements  [  14  Mar  2018  ]

 

 

And , as far as defining what is “ Made in India “ is concerned , I believe , government goes by “ Percentage of Value Addition “ locally

 

 

But , this is a very difficult and time-consuming exercise

 

Even when possible, its result holds good for a very short period in a dynamic situation

 

A manufactured “ local product “ could have hundreds of components ( both, local and imported )

 

And those “ local components “ could have “ imported “ raw materials or intermediates

 

These days , a product could be,

 

*  patented in one country ( concept )

 

*  designed in another country

 

*  developed ( detail manufacturing drawings  ) in another country

 

*  components made all over the World

 

*  Sub-Assemblies ( of those components ) carried out in another country

 

*  Final Assembly done in another country

 

*  Packaging done in another country

 

*  Offered for sale on ONLINE e-commerce portals in another country

 

*  Marketed by agencies located all over the World

 

*  Delivered using manpower / drones / supply chains of several countries

 

*  Financed by funds from all over the world

 

 

At which “ Level  “ of Value Addition , does a product become “ local “ ?

 

And if I download a " Product Drawings / Design " over the internet and then " 3D Print " it in my garage ( using " imported " resins ) , then is that a " local " product ?

 

 

06  July  2018

www.hemenparekh.in / blogs