eCommerce for Import Export Companies by Nowshade Kabir
This year, according to eMarketer, one billion people worldwide will have
Internet access and nearly 250 million households will have broadband.
Although, Asia accounts for 56 percent of world population, but only 10 percent
has access to the Internet at present. With the rapid economic development of
Asian countries this figure will increase dramatically in the coming years.
This ubiquitous presence of the Internet is forcing companies to embrace the
Internet as a marketing and sales channel aggressively. Many companies have
adopted Internet based technologies to streamline their crucial business
processes and benefiting enormously from it.
Import Export companies are no difference! Most export import companies are
using the Internet to augment customer base, tap into new markets, research
competitors, find new products and evaluate country opportunities. However,
many of these same companies are still slow in implementing eBusiness features
in their daily business activities and, as a result, fail to garner true value
from the use of the Internet. Trading companies - those which are still not
doing online business transactions - should follow the examples of their retail
counterparts and adopt eCommerce strategies.
According to a recent study conducted by Forrester Research, retail sales are
expected to rise 20 percent to US$ 211.4 billion - a two fold increase from
only three years ago. Whether you are in exporting or importing business it
does not make any difference, by using eCommerce and adding some of the basic
eBusiness functions to your website you can also profit from this trend.
Electronic commerce is the process of selling products through the Internet.
There are two distinct segments of eCommerce - Business to Business and
Business to Consumers. Retailers are mostly involved in B2C and import export
traders are often more in the B2B sector. That's why you need to realize that
the components of eCommerce you may need in your website will be based on your
business specifics. In general, all eCommerce sites are a combination of some
of the following business functionalities:
-
An eCatalog so that buyers can browse through the products you have to offer
-
Product specification that gives detailed technical and delivery information
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A feature that allows sending request for quote online (RFQ)
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A product order placing system - normally a shopping cart
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Ability to view order status
-
Sending a notification if a new product added to the catalogue which was
requested by a prospective buyer
-
At least one payment method. For small orders you should have a merchant
account.
-
Purchase order sending ability. Buyers should be able to send PO for the
products readily available or the contracts already negotiated with you.
-
Billing system should generate invoices automatically
Once you implemented these features there is virtually no geographic restriction
on where you can sell your products. If you are an export company you may
consider translating your eCommerce site to the language of your targeted
market.
This gives you an extra ability to leverage your sales endeavour.
Benefits of eCommerce
Increase revenue: By implementing eCommerce you are opening a new sales
channel. Study shows, a well prepared eCommerce strategy can increase sales
from mere 10 percent to several times within the first six month of
implementation. There is a possibility that order size per customer will also
increase thanks to some eCommerce functionalities like advanced eCatalog,
Notification service, order status viewing system and ability to offer related
products.
Expand client base: Depending on the exposure of your site, you can
acquire customers from every corner of the world. You are no longer confined to
any geographic area.
Reach niche market segments: You can market your eCommerce site by pin
pointing a specific market segment with the help of the Internet.
Lower operating costs: Your eCommerce site will eliminate or reduce
workloads of sales and support force. Marketing on the Internet is
significantly cheaper than in offline world. You will also benefit from lower
telecommunication costs, losses incurred from document errors, inventory and
sales management costs. This will have direct impact on your company bottom
line.
Better customer service: The ability to provide decisive information,
real time interaction with customers and customer relationship management
functionalities allow you to serve your customers better and help increase
customer retention.
Enhance your company image: A well-managed, robust and user-friendly
eCommerce site enhances positive image of a company.
Are you ready for eCommerce?
Before you implement an eCommerce plan, you need to figure out as an exporter or
importer how viable it is for you right now? Are you going to receive the
benefits mentioned above? Will the customers from different geographical
locations benefit from your new service channel? How critical is a
well-described product specification for your customers?
Any company how small or big it is from an eCommerce site no doubt it will
benefit immensely. But the question is, are you ready to commit enough time and
money to make your new venture successful?
Developing your eCommerce site
Depending on the type of eCommerce site you are planning to build it might take
somewhere from three months to over a year.
There are several ways of starting an eCommerce site.
Building in house: You should consider developing your eCommerce site in
house only if you have significant experience in this field. In order to build
a successful eCommerce site you will need a team of experts in programming,
designing, copy writing, and, most importantly, a project manager with the
knowledge of your business model, enough technical proficiency and experience
so that the system gets developed on time with expected business
functionalities.
Outsourcing: There is no doubt that outsourcing is more cost effective
and less time consuming for most of the companies. The only thing is you have
to choose the organization which will build your site carefully and
professionally.
Using web stores: If you are constrained by time or would like to take
advantage of eCommerce immediately you can also get eCommerce site from online
service providers. These web stores have all the needed functionalities for a
true eCommerce site. Some of them are also capable of providing supply chain
management and other key business automation abilities. Check out sites like
Rusbiz.com.
While implementing eCommerce strategy you need to remember that eCommerce just
enhances and complements your present business model but the fundamentals of
your business remain the same. However, eCommerce with it's innate flexible
nature may open new business horizons for you with all the risk and reward
implications.
About the Author
Nowshade Kabir is the CEO of http://www.rusbiz.com,
a leading B2B portal with many unique B2B functionalities. On
http://trade-leads.rusbiz.com you can post export import related trade
leads. For outsourcing your eCommerce website requirement check out
http://www.rusbiz.com/design_package.html
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