FW: THIS IS WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD !

My yesterday’s posting on LinkedIn :

We have all heard the story of 7 blind persons trying to figure out the shape of an elephant by touching / feeling different parts of its body

And , coming up with descriptions of 7 non-existent animals !

A somewhat similar exercise is under way right now , to define E COMMERCE , by the following stake-holders ( - incapable of seeing the future, beyond their noses ? ) :

# Government

# Online Retailers

# Offline Retailers

# Payment Companies ( including Banks )

# Delivery / Logistics Companies

# Product Manufacturers / Service Providers

# Dealers - Stockists - Distributors - Wholesalers

# Political Parties

# Trade Associations / Professional Bodies

# Swadeshi Jagran Manch

List goes on and on I urge them all to take a look at " What is around the Corner " !

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Weave  a  Wondrous  World   [  W3  ]

Of late, there is a lot of debate in respect of the following dimensions of  E Commerce :

BUSINESS  STRUCTURE

·      Domestic   vs   Foreign Multinationals

·      Single Product  vs   Multi Product

·      Marketplace   vs   Inventory-based

·      FDI   vs  Domestic Investment

·      Selling from  own web site  vs  from someone’s web site

·      Related Entities  vs  Non-related  Firms

·      Vendor   vs   Platform

·      How much can be sold by one Vendor  vs  Unlimited  Sale by any Vendor

·      Preferential  treatment   vs   Equal  treatment

·      Private  Labels   vs   Public  Labels

I do not know if anyone has also added to this endless debate , the dimension of “ Ownership “ , viz :

·      Single Person owned / Partnership / Private Ltd / Public Ltd / Co-operative etc

Given these  11 variables , how many “ Permutations / Combinations “  can we get ?

If my math has not got too rusted , could these amount to :

L 11  ( Factorial Eleven )

=  11x10x9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1 =  39.92  Million  ?

Next , let us consider the following dimensions of E Commerce :

BUSINESS  PROCESSES

·      Nature 

     (  a “ physical “ product  vs a “ virtual “ service )

·      Geographic Spread

    (  “ within a State ”  vs  “ across India ”  vs  “ across entire World ”  )

·      Supply Chain / Intermediaries

     (  Mfr  >  Distributor  >  Dealer  >  Retailer  >  Buyer )

·      Order Placement and Acceptance

     ( Shop / Store / Office / Factory / Home / Web site / Mobile App / SMS /  Email  /

      Phone /  Video Conference for a Service )

·      Delivery

( Personal pickup  / Delivery Boy / Drone / Self 3D Printed at home )

·      Payment

(  Cash / Cheque / Credit-Debit Card / Payment Wallets – Gateways / Bank Transfer / Barter )

I am at a loss to calculate the number of  “ Permutations and Combinations “ that these “ variables “ could generate , in conjunction with those 39.92 million mentioned above

Quite likely , TRILLIONS  !

It is simply impossible to structure a “ E Commerce  Policy “ which can address all of these permutations  !

So , how will the E Commerce game  get played out  ?

Here is a hint :

( source : India's e-commerce curbs could hit online sales by $46 billion by 2022   )

Extract :

Industry sources told Reuters the policy would delay or derail some investment plans and push companies such as Amazon and Flipkart to create new, more complex business structures

   

                              

How complex can these Business Structures get  ?

I expect Shri Mukesh Ambani to conjure up for Reliance Retail , a complex structure comprising following elements :

·      Holding Company  and  Subsidiary company Reliance Retail Ltd ( RRL )

·      A “ Cooperative “ of 4 million Kirana Shops ( ala AMUL ) – KIRIL

·      Cooperative holding “ non-transferable / non-voting “ shares in RRL

·      Holding Company giving loans to Kirana Shops to buy shares of KIRIL

·      Manufacturers of Consumer Goods launching “ E Com Platform “

·      4 million Kirana shops listing their inventory on this “ E Com Platform “

And here are some “ legit “ ways to overcome those hurdles placed by DIPP :

·      Instead of E Com platforms offering discounts , Banks / Credit Card Companies / Mobile Wallet companies etc to offer  “ Discounts “

·      Logistics / Delivery companies to offer “ FREE DELIVERY “

·      Manufacturers to make “ Exchange Offers “

·      Instead of calling it “ Cash Back “ , just say “ 50 % off “ or “ Today’s Price “

I choose to envision the following :

·      “ E Commerce is as elusive as an molecule of Air “ , that travels freely around the Earth – and unstoppable by national boundaries or un-implementable laws ?

Neither its Origin , nor its Destination will be apparent !

·      Someday soon , everything will be displayed and sold “ Online “

·      The only sensible ways is to treat “ E Commerce “ as a “ Traditional Commerce without bothering to define its “Business Structures” and “ Business Processes” ?

REFERENCES :

[ A ]    RIL readies e-comm platform, to take on Amazon, Flipkart 

Extract :

“The new e-commerce platform will empower and enrich our 12  lakh small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat

………intends to take on the world’s largest retailers by combining his JIO telecom service , mobile devices and a vast physical retail network

 [ B ]   Techies write new code for farming success

Financing  >  Interest – free loans from 90 IT professionals to 98 farmers

Payment   >  Barter system through groceries ( “ Return “ on investment  ?  )

Delivery   >  From a designated outlet

Ordering  >  Online

[  C  ]   www.re-weave.in  /  Microsoft launches e-comm platform for handloom weavers

This e-commerce platform will help connect artisans to buyers directly, enabling them to expand to newer customers and markets.

[  D  ]   Swadeshi Jagran Manch urges govt not to go easy on e-commerce

Extract :

The SJM cited that China-based sellers are selling Chinese products illegally on e-commerce sites, and said it has identified 200,000 such orders being fulfilled on a daily basis via this channel in India.

These companies are delivering goods via couriers and postal gift shipments, bypassing and evading a range of laws regarding payment gateways, custom duties and GST

[  E  ]   Call  it  tech biz , or  retail  biz  ? (Debashish.Mukherjee@atkearney.com )

 

Extract :

 

One, the assumption that ecommerce is a technology business and not a retail business.

 

However, it is clear that any entity that,

 

·      controls or curates the assortment for sale, 

·      has pricing power, 

·      acquires customers and, 

·      to some extent, deals with inventory and other services to the end customer ,

 

is a retailer

[  F  ]   Here's how regulatory challenges are affecting new economy activities 

Extract :

Laws regulating E – Commerce

·      Drugs and Cosmetics Rules – 1945

·      Packaged Commodities Rules – 2011

·      Consumer Protection Bill – 2018

·      Food and Safety Standards Act – 2006

·      FDI Policy – Press Note 3

·      Foreign Exchange Management Act

·      National Telecom Policy

·      Draft – National Digital Communications Policy – 2018

·      Personal Data Protection Bill – 2018

·      IT Act – 2000

·      Payment and Settlement Act – 2007

[  G  ]    MA  =  DA x 4,000,000  ?          [  17  July  2018  ]

 

            Jio Hubs : Entrepreneurs Apply   [  19 Sept  2018  ]

 

            Mukesh has the last laugh !        [  31 Dec  2018  ]

                Game plan of how Reliance Retail plan to make Amazon / Flipkart etc , irrelevant

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21  Jan  2019

Rsvp :  hcp@RecruitGuru.com

www.hemenparekh.in

www.3pConsultants.co.in