Build versus Buy: Rewiring your Organization to Make it “Ecommerce Ready”
Looking at ASEAN’s current $15 billion online retail sales and 19% YOY growth, the region’s ecommerce potential will continue to rise for the years to come.
Looking at ASEAN’s current $15 billion online retail sales and 19% YOY growth, the region’s ecommerce potential will continue to rise for the years to come.
More brands in Southeast Asia are looking to adopt “dot com” strategies for a direct-to-consumer approach. Why? It allows them to establish a stronger brand identity, customize a more personable online experience and obtain customer data to keep optimizing their ecommerce cycle.
But it’s not cheap to build a website and with so many software options on the market, how can a brand that is only beginning to go online make an informed decision? The right technology allows scalability whereas the wrong one will require more maintenance sucking both time and money.
Mandy Arbilo, Senior Project Manager at aCommerce, Southeast Asia’s leading ecommerce service provider, share his insights about what brands should take into account when choosing between the two most popular platforms currently on the market, Magento and Commerce Cloud (previously Demandware).
Ecommerce has completely disrupted not only how people shop, anywhere anyhow, but also the supply chain and distribution of goods. Brands and businesses are empowered in a way never before possible, most noticeably by cutting the middle men and selling directly to consumers. By adopting a direct to consumer strategy, businesses gain a stronger presence in both online and offline markets.
The hype surrounding ecommerce in Southeast Asia is high and everyone from small retailers, globally acknowledged brands to established giants like Alibaba and Amazon are looking to tap into the market.
Similar to other markets, Southeast Asia experiences seasonality in sales – some months are quiet while others experience a rush of eager shoppers. National holidays across the six biggest nations in the region differ, so which are the best performing sales months?
Regional ecommerce enabler aCommerce has shared data that sheds light on online shopping seasonality for various categories in the region.
To maintain strong value share in the skin care sector, St.Ives products are offered on top marketplaces: Lazada, Tokopedia and Shopee, through aCommerce Brand Commerce services.
Signed at the end of July, the no.1 scrub brand in the US worked with aCommerce to build an official presence on three Indonesia’s marketplaces (Shopee, Lazada, Tokopedia) throughout August to serve the growing demands for use of natural ingredients in skin care products (Euromonitor) in part of rising consumer image consciousness and the 47% of Indonesian women use facial scrub.
St. Ives most popular all-natural exfoliants, body wash and lotion offered a discount of 20% off across platforms to commemorate the official launch.
The platform has been updated to offer a wider range of shipping services such as shipping from multiple locations offering different service levels at each city.
aCommerce shipping platform is able to handle up to a million of packages each day and applicable to various fulfillment models including: first mile pickups, counter and locker package drop off, and last mile. The technology can also choose the most cost-effective 3PL for clients through its auto-selector.
Through 25 API Integrations with carriers in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, the technology allows tracking and shipping status updates from the carriers to be processed in real-time. These updates are shared with end customers and clients via API, reports or on tracking.acommerce.asia.
The global FMCG company now offers all of its categories on Thailand’s top marketplaces through aCommerce Brand Commerce services
22% of Asia Pacific has bought groceries online and is doing it regularly, higher than any other part of the world, and higher than the global average (14%) according to Nielsen.
Nestlé Groceries offers popular categories that include pet food, coffee, cereal & breakfast, baby formula and UHT milk on 11street Thailand and will launch on Shopee coming September. As Asia quickly adopts ecommerce for its convenience and ease, groceries becomes an attractive category online (especially following the Amazon-WholeFoods acquisition).
Nestlé also uses aCommerce for end-to-end ecommerce solutions in Thailand.
Southeast Asia is considered the next big opportunity for ecommerce. Singapore’s ecommerce market is projected to expand by 11.2% by 2021. As Amazon has established its presence in Singapore via the launch of its Prime Now app in July offering a two-hour delivery service, it has set new standards for the country’s digital landscape.
To equip individuals and brands with data-driven insights and help them accelerate the growth of digital in Singapore, Southeast Asia’s first market research portal dedicated to online retail, ecommerceIQ held an invite-only executive Ecommerce Masterclass at the Google Asia Pacific office on August 10th for over 30 brands. aCommerce Group CMO Sheji Ho, Singapore Country Manager Karl Noronha, and Business Development Director Nigel Seow represented aCommerce at this event. Read more
The new aCommerce fulfillment center in the Philippines is a part of the company’s expansion plan to empower customized demands for brands and retailers. This new facility serves as a warehouse extension dedicated to FMCG, Health, Cosmetics and Food products as ecommerce demand accelerates in the country.
The 11,800 square feet facility is located at TAO Technology Group Center, P. Antonio St. cor. F. Legaspi St., Brgy. Ugong, Pasig City, MM
Success of popshop leads Levi’s to bolster its digital strategy with aCommerce end-to-end services
The success of Levi’s popshop has led to Levi’s amplifying its presence online in Thailand through a dedicated Levi’s webstore and Lazada shop-in-shop. The household name enjoys an extensive offline presence in Thailand, operating over 70 locations in department stores and shopping complexes nationwide.
These initiatives are all part of Levi’s comeback plan to capture more shares in the global denim market, estimated to be worth $79 billion by 2021.
aCommerce is a leading ecommerce solutions provider present in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, bringing global brands and retailers online.
689 Bhiraj Tower, 33rd Floor, Sukhumvit Road, Klongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
