Adding an e-commerce extension is a must!

Businesses cannot survive without a digital sales component or a customer interaction component.

The hardware industry has seen an update in the e-commerce space in the last few years, with a growing number of e-commerce platforms appearing from various franchise groups and suppliers/wholesalers.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Many consumers have changed their behaviour already, and the trend is set to continue. In South Africa consumers are becoming more and more comfortable with buying online, but we also know that many

consumers use e-commerce primarily to do online research, compare products, prices from the convenience of their own homes.

The competitor field is changing, not only are direct competitors moving online, but indirect competitors are also growing and eating market share such as gigantic platforms like Takealot, online-only retailers or niche online stores. Geographical boundaries are also no longer as strong a safeguard for your market as it once was.

This leads to the next point, expansion. With digital expansion and reach into new markets is quicker and not limited to the neighbourhood of your brick-and-mortar store or factory. Scaling online happens faster, which helps with product launches, promotions etc.

E-COMMERCE

E-commerce allows for a shopping channel available to your consumers 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Your online store do not take

a holiday, call in sick or take family responsibility leave. It is a sales channel that is always on and attracting more customers and by extension ROI.

SECURE PAYMENTS

Online payments have come a long way in the past few years. Payment gateways are now safer, easier to use and smarter than before. There are many payment gateways to choose from locally, and this has become a more mature space with more competitors and options to e-tailers. e-commerce has been sighted as a growth segment for the banking and card industries, which means that safe payments online have enjoyed billions in investment over the last few years.

MANAGING IT

• Ensure your delivery, returns policies and procedures are clear, accessible, and easy to follow online

• Deliveries: Decide whether you would like to handle your own deliveries vs courier’s vs combination of these options

• Partner with a reputable third-party logistics provider

• Delivery times should be communicated up-front as much as possible

• Always communicate order status to customers through tracking and automated system-driven messaging for instant updates. Here automation and integration are important

• In terms of returns: Develop an online RMA to make it easier for customer returns management authorisation. Best practice is to develop an automated online experience that make it easy

• Decide on the type of returns you would like to implement. This includes return product, replace product, or offer credit note/voucher etc.

STARTING YOUR ONLINE SHOP

• Establish your capital investment and operational cost budget

• Find a suitable platform / tool / technology that meets your budget

• Take your time to qualify and partner with the right solution partner. Evaluate partners based on your budget, track record, maturity and culture fit

• Pioneer operational processes and systems architecture. Determine how do you want to handle this operationally inside your business. Build from there.

PRODUCT LOADING

It is hard work to get all your products online and update additional line items. Usually how businesses view product information is to create data in their ERP systems to help then buy the product, SKU, name etc. With the new reality of e-commerce, product information/data that sells also needs to be developed and managed as assets in the business.

THIS IS WHERE PRODUCT INFORMATION Management Systems (PIM) come in. A PIM system helps companies manage all product data and content, in one source. But this also requires a shift in priorities and culture of obtaining and continually maintaining data. At a very basic level, each supplier/product owner should develop the following online merchandising assets for their products:

• In pack, out of pack imagery – deep etched on white background

• User friendly product names, short and long descriptions

• Technical sheets/video content for technical products

• Meta data for SEO. There are various processes and tools available to help with this process from automation, third party services and integrations.

THE FUTURE

In the hardware industry especially, the sales representative interaction will never be completely replaced, instead, the purpose/nature of the interaction might shift. Our industry is very much a high-tech, high-touch environment.

Clients will no longer need reps for information, but rather, to help navigate clients in the new digital world through onboarding programmes, successful strategy sharing and on-site product training. Reps will also probably have to become more adept to help clients by providing or producing content for all the new digital channels opening to help clients succeed in these new channels.