The
eCommerce industry is leaving no stone unturned to reach its pinnacle of
success. It has given the consumers
umpteen benefits - to list down a few:
1. Hassle-free door-step
delivery – customers can get their requirements
served at their door step without having to put in the energy and time to go
out and search for items. With the help of Internet from the cosiness of home
one can place orders conveniently.
2. No geographical restrictions – Choices and availability does not get limited when it comes to
eCommerce. People can get goods delivered from across the globe.
3. Lower Costs
(Discounts/Offers) – With Sale going on round the
year offering huge discounts on products which are usually not available in
case of retail stores, people can easily shop a lot within their budget.
4. 24x7 availability – There is no chance of the online market getting closed unless
some technical issue pops up. Shopping can be done at any point of time in the
day.
5. Comparison Shopping – Endless options allow the people to do comparison shopping and
get the best deal of similar products by just typing the product name online.
All these benefits come at a huge cost. The
funds raised are heavily invested in providing these benefits to the final
consumer. The supply chain bears the highest cost leading to the profit margin
being reduced to a negligible level. The current process followed cannot serve
as a long-term source of earning.
Surrounded by cut-throat
competition it is a must for the eCommerce giants to come up with new and
innovative ideas every day. Although with such advance technology in place
where the charm of the retail industry seems to have vanished, people still
trust the retail stores for their day-to-day needs. They have come up with the
new mantra of store onboarding which would allow them to venture into offline
business hence giving them an opportunity of gaining higher market share along
with a number of benefits.
As the number of orders processed per day
has increased manifolds and is increasing with every single day, the costs
incurred in logistics and warehousing is huge. Venturing into the offline
business would reduce these costs and would also bridge the gap between the
retail and eCommerce industry, thereby helping both the industries to grow and
work in synergy.
With this new concept the following
benefits can be reaped:
1. Logistics costs reduced
to a great extent: With products to be sent to the
customers from nearby stores the costs involved in logistics will get reduced
to a great extent.
2. Delivery would become
quicker: Products can be delivered faster as
they can be picked up from nearby stores of the customers’ location.
3. Limited Warehousing: The need for building and maintaining huge number of small
warehouses which added to the operational costs will get reduced as the storage
can be done at already established retail stores.
4. Empowering store owners with
technology: The store owners can also take
advantage of technology and hence increase their network and business earnings.
Grofers can be taken as a great example in this case. It has ventured into this new process of store onboarding which has increased their market share and has reduced the operational costs involved thereby leading to a higher profit margin.
To facilitate this new venture of eCommerce
giants to foray into offline business, Isourse has come up with a technology
that would make the onboarding process of stores and delivery partners smooth
and completely paperless. Few of its features are listed below:
1. Smooth Registration Process: The store owners can be registered easily with the option of
uploading Aadhaar card, PAN card and other documents. Agreements can be sent
and shared digitally.
2. Adding executive details: Adding executive details can be a headache. With our technology in
place this will be a hassle-free affair where employees can be added before,
during and also after a store is onboarded.
3. Offline mode/Remote support: Work does not stop even in offline mode and can be accessed in remote
areas as well.
4. Digital Signatures: Agreements can be signed digitally through customized links even if
the store owners do not have the app in their mobile phones.
5. Invoicing: Invoices of the business done can be easily generated through the
app, hence helping both the parties to keep a track on the transactions made.
The eCommerce industry has disrupted the
landscape with the help of technology. The idea of store onboarding will place
the power of technology throughout the retail value chain. It will empower the
store owners hence bringing in more business for both the industries.
