the tech pieces - ire 2013 - internet retail expo
DESCRIPTION
The presentation I gave at IRE2013 ( http://www.internetretailexpo.com/ ).TRANSCRIPT
The Tech Pieces
Birla – ZopNowhttp://bkbirla.in/
Agenda
• Jokes• Intros• Even more stupid jokes• What is eCommerce• Understand all pieces in desi terms• How to decide what tech to use
Rules
• Interrupt me I don’t have many slides• Sleeping is fine, snoring is not• I don’t know all the answers so I reserve the
right to say I dunno.• I might not be able to reveal lot of data about
my company• I am available for follow up discussions
outside the hall after the session.
Run
Who am I?
• IIT Kanpur ( entered and exited with great difficulty )• Worked with Infosys and Amazon• CTO at Asklaila• Chief Music Officer at Bhoole Bisre Geet• Chief Food Officer at Potluck Restaurant• RJ with a radio station ( Radiowalla.in )• Poet at large• A PJ artist• The only guy in shorts in this black suit conference
About my company
• ZopNow started in Oct, 2011• Our tag line – Be Lazy, Buy Easy• Online hypermarket• We stock over 7000 SKUs• Our customers come to us 3-4 times a month• 25+ SKUs in every order and Rs 1500 as avg basket size• Nandini Goodlife tetra pack milk is the most sold SKU• Fastest eCommerce company - We do 3 hr delivery in
Bangalore of daily needs• Mobile orders are bigger compared to web orders
Let us start with a PJ
• What comes after e-Commerce
F-commerce
• When you don’t get your e-Commerce right, all the F words come to your mind
• Why the fruit tech guys charge so much• What the fruit do all these acronyms mean• Is eCommerce fruiting rocket science ( racket
science )• I have the best site and price but nobody
comes here. What the fruit.
What is eCommerce after all
• MISC - Massively Integrated Supply Chain• A supply chain is a system of organizations,
people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer.
• Key is optimizing it by controlling various aspects of it.
ZopNow timeslot issue
• We operate on 4 slots – 9-12, 12-3,3-6,6-9• Orders used be maximum in morning slot• Since this slot was the first slot for maximum
duration of time• Leads to peaks and valleys in workload which
leads to bad people utilization• 9-12 has lot of traffic on roads
ZopNow timeslot solution
• Introduced 25% more Zoppies for 12-3 and 3-6 slot
• The customers behavior completely changed after that
• Changed customer behavior for business benefits
• In next stage we will make it dynamic
Massively Integrated Supply Chain
• Automation of all processes is just the beginning
• They key is in understanding their inter play
Hosting / BI
Ordering Platform
Inventory Mgmt
Content Mgmt
Supplier Relations
Marketing
Logistics Platform
Customer Service
Warehouse Mgmt
Ordering System
• AKA – website or phone• Understand what will work in your domain• Understand offline process, if any in that domain• Spend time in shops and see how customers interact with
products• If you are on web, SEO is key• Eg. We did a visible shopping basket because number of
SKUs is high’• Lot of eCommerce companies are already doing 10% biz on
mobile• Swayamvar Shopping
ZopNow Website
Content Management
• AKA – Tujh main rab dikhta hai• Needed for SEO• Combine text, images and videos• Sharable content
Inventory Management – Key Aspects
• AKA – Yahan wahan, kahan kahan, poonchho mat kahan kahan
• Stock correctness• Inventory Analysis• Pilferage management• Auto Purchase Order generation to optimize
margins and fill rates
Logistics – Key Aspects
• AKA – Mera kuchh saaman, kisi ke paas pada hai
• Outsourced vs Inhouse• Kms travelled per order and per Rs• Tell your customer where the order is
ZopNow Order Tracking
Marketing
• AKA – Mere Karan Arjun aayenge• Why so many black suits?• SEO is the key but it will fall flat without technical
depth• SEO is like walk-ins in off line world• Social – sharability of the content is key– Laziness Contest– Multi Tasking event
• Landing Page optimizations• Promotions platforms
BBG Page
Lazy Knight
Supplier Relations
• AKA – Arre tu boli thi, pichhle jumme ko• Understand who can supply how fast not just
prices• Long run decisions have to combine both the
factors
Warehouse Management
• AKA – Dhoondho dhoondho re saajna, mere kaan ka baala
• Just like mobile – incoming and outgoing• The idea is to stay for shortest period of time
ZopNow Picker Sheet
Hosting
• Once upon a time there used to be something called “Server Room”
• Cloud is like bachelors sharing a flat.• The rent gets shared and reduces cost.• All of a sudden some friends land up and you
can still squeeze them in – elasticity.• And you hire a maid to manage all the dirty
linen.
BI
• AKA - Costly Common Sense• Usually used to justify what you think with
data• Start with Excels• Excels can be connected to databases• There is a lot you can do with them• Use Google Analytics• Use online docs and forms
ZopNow Customer Map
BI Dashboard
Customer Service
• AKA – when the customer gets fruited• Use SAS solutions for tickets• Use cloud telephony – many numbers behind
one number• Do it yourself for angry customers• Write personal mails• Don’t outsource if possible
Key to Tech Decisions
• Don’t build a 10 lane highway and ride a bicycle on that
• The cost of the medicines is dependent on the doctor you choose
• You won’t learn things in conference rooms, be out there
• Use online docs/forms. • The best code is which is not written.• Spend money as you see revenue.
Four Stages of eCommerce Software
• Stage 1 – Market places• Stage 2 – Hosted Solutions• Stage 3 – eCommerce platforms• Stage 4 – Actually write code
Disclaimer
• All the characters depicted here are actual people I have met and advised and are not fictional. The people who have followed my advise are still cursing me and I am on the run.
Mrs Arora
• Homemaker of 18 year exp• Can spend 5 hrs in a apparel shop without
buying anything• Uses FB a lot but does not know much tech• Has very limited budget• Has lots of time as her kids take care of
themselves now
Tech solution for Mrs Arora
• Build FB community• Use online docs• Get into a niche• Spend time talking to your customers and
build relations• Cost - Zero
Nature In a Bottle
Second to None
Mr Gupta
• Runs a supari business for years• Inherited from parents• Knows all the suppliers in Rajsthan• Has deep relationship for them for decades• Does not use internet
Solution for Mr Gupta
• Check out marketplaces first• Get used to the concept of selling online• Understand how to convey your value
proposition• If market place gets traction, get into
readymade platforms ( SAS )
The Shah boy
• Rich father who has made lot of money • His father loves him enough that he can spend
1-2 cr on it• He knows a little bit of tech jargon
Solution for The Shah Boy
• Get a technical partner onboard• Value your dad’s money
Abhinav dude
• Passed out of NIT• Can generate 5 kgs of code in 5 mins• Knows so many buzz words
Solution for Abhinav dude
• Don’t write code• First see if existing options are good enough• Copy DB schemas if you decide to write code
from open source platforms• Remember the best code is which is not
written
Moral Science
• Don’t build a ten lane highway to ride a bicycle• Techies will convince you that a twenty lane
highway is needed• Wrong doctor gives costly medicines• Use online docs/forms• Use SAS – software as a service• Cloud can prevent you from a rainy day• Don’t take the crap from techies. Question it.• Don’t waste money. It takes a lot of effort to earn it.
ThanksDoors are open now
BirlaZopNow.com