Day: December 1, 2019

In Singapore where we are a nation of gift-givers, online shopping has become second nature due to increased convenience and affordability. We are also big on celebrations and gifting is at the heart of it all — anniversaries, house warming, birthday celebrations, weddings, you name it and we have it. In fact, e-commerce activity is booming in our nation with the likes of year-end sales and this Christmas season is no doubt the best time for online shopping.

As with shopping in brick-and-mortar stores where we get the pleasure of retail therapy once dopamine is released into our brains, we have digital dopamine that works the same for online shopping.

During a sale, as you have guessed it — we are all the more given a harder kick. Commonly called “shopper’s high”, this rush encourages exploration by rewarding us when we stumble upon something salutary. Moreover, the e-commerce market is gradually adapting to the concept of instant gratification as well, establishing the ultimate dream for consumers as they are able to get what they need with a simple tap on their screens, right from their comfort zone.

However, while shaping up ahead this Christmas, it is crucial to shed light on the underrated topic about the negative effects of rabid consumerism on the environment — caused by unwanted things, throwaway packaging and the overall destruction of natural resources.

Also Read: Here’s how global businesses could drive sustainable development

In fact, a study has revealed that Asia consumes 50 per cent of global plastic packaging, which could quadruple in the next three decades. Furthermore, with new consumption patterns, including the continent’s rising appetite for e-commerce and food delivery — up 84 per cent year-on-year — we are witnessing the increasing demands of plastic packaging.

Known to few, the higher the consumption rate, the more waste will be produced. While there is a growing desire among Singapore millennials to discriminate against consumerism and verify the sustainability credentials of products they purchase, there is still room for e-commerce players to be more eco-friendly in their day-to-day practices.

How can we leverage technology for good, while enabling customers to scout for good deals and enjoy a borderless e-commerce experience?

1. Sustainable shipping

Consumers prioritize the ability to receive their products quickly, and at a reasonable price when online shopping. In order to encourage consumers to choose a more environmentally-friendly shipping method, businesses can simply change the order of their suggested shipping method by putting the most sustainable option on top.

At the same time when doing so, companies can educate customers on the positive impact of their sustainable contribution, just by making small changes. Before, most customers would choose the fastest shipping, but after making that small change, businesses can expect to see more customers opting for the sustainable option. Sometimes, all it takes is a consumer education to raise awareness around the increasing need to be environmentally-friendly.

2. Smaller packages

Having big boxes for a small product, coupled with multiple layers of plastic and bubble wrap sure sound familiar for businesses and consumers alike. Shipping out oversized packages certainly comes with a negative impact on the environment as well.

Buyandship’s small contribution to this is by offering free consolidation of packages, which in turn reduces the use of plastic. This also allows users and businesses alike to satisfy their environmental responsibilities by reducing carbon footprint. Additionally, businesses are also able to fit more packages into the vehicle, thereby being able to increase the number of transportation vehicles moving out for deliveries and ship more effectively in a single trip — and going the extra ‘green’ mile.

3. Right delivery partner

Nothing is more important than choosing the right delivery partner when it comes to deliveries, as it forms part of the process which ensures that all products arrive safely in the hands of consumers. At the same time, this also means that our delivery partners are one of the largest contributing factors to the pollution caused by e-commerce. By choosing a partner that has green shipping alternatives such as owning a fleet of electric vehicles, for example, businesses can reduce their online stores’ greenhouse emissions.

Also Read: Want to succeed wildly? Adjust your attitude

If your delivery partner does not own an electric fleet, fret not! There are others ways which businesses can reduce the overall transportation frequency of products. Similar to the above best practices, by informing consumers that should they choose standard delivery (4 to 7 business days) upon the checkout process — as opposed to express (1 to 3 days) or same-day delivery — they will help the environment and save X per cent on emissions, thus reducing carbon footprint. By doing so, consumers may opt for standard delivery and deliveries will ultimately be optimized by engaging fewer suppliers to cover multiple needs, thereby reducing the number of shipments.

Whether it is about cost or environmental savings, sustainability is here to stay. It is crucial for businesses to satisfy its environmental responsibilities and optimize the overall customer experience through collaboration with partners in the ecosystem to develop sustainable practices that delight customers and eliminate waste, while at the same time maintaining quality products and services — by ensuring products arrive undamaged and intact.

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In the quest for the “hyper-productive” employee, tech companies have gone out of their way to create an environment to make employees stay in the office for long hours. To do so tech offices often have a more relaxed atmosphere and are equipped with everything from bean-bag lounges to video-game rooms and even chef-made free meals have become standard across startups worldwide. 

However, behind the glossy image of the “cool office” hides in plain sight an obvious truth. These perks and “benefits” are not meant as bonuses from companies that care about their employees, but instead, are blatant attempts to keep workers in the office for longer than is healthy or productive. The lounge area and couches while very comfortable are still only there to ensure employees leave the office as late as possible, disrupting their work-life balance and ensuring they’ll become burnt out somewhere down the line.

As corporations essence is to profit as much as is possible, often employee’s long term mental and physical well being aren’t company priority. Overwork at major companies across the world is not a new thing, in fact, Japan even having a term for it (Karoshi). The Asian powerhouse reported 189 cases of Karoshi in 2015, though many analysts place their estimates higher than that. It’s not unusual in Japan to see a businessman sleeping on the sidewalk, or while standing on the subway.  

Also Read: Is technology killing workspace productivity? how to switch that around

Even in the US, workers in investment banking and finance industries tend to average around 80+ hours per week. Though this has changed after high-profile incidents, including a Merrill Lynch intern who died after working for 72 hours straight, the corporate world remains a difficult, cutthroat atmosphere where long hours are the norm. 

The tech world has made its reputation as a disruptor in everything from the products they sell to the way they deal with “corporate” culture. However, the industry’s relative infancy results in a scattershot approach obsessed with “disrupting”  as opposed to fixing, looking for the short cut often without considering the long-term. 

Projects that are rushing to be first-movers, acquire funding, and breakthrough oftentimes result in work schedules that are both intensive and variable. Moreover, the speed with which projects change their direction, change their scope or are simply abandoned means that employees are working in incredibly uncertain conditions.

The standard response by companies to the long list of demands they have for their workers is to focus on keeping workers “happy” despite asking them to work longer hours during the week and to even routinely sacrifice their personal time.

Companies entice workers to stay at the office longer with seemingly innocuous and friendly perks—bringing dogs to work, in-office laundry services, free dinners, “relaxation rooms”—but these benefits are simply the bait businesses use to encourage an unhealthy work-life balance. 

The tech industry is contending with serious employee health issues and is doing so quite poorly. A survey launched by workforce app Blind revealed that of the thousands of users that responded to the question “Are you currently suffering from job burnout?”, over 57 per cent said they were. The same survey also revealed that 39 per cent of tech workers reported feeling depressed. 

No amount of workplace perks and benefits can make up for the fact that employees are feeling overworked. Consequently, the industry is starting to receive blowback for policies workers feel are deceptive. Tech exhibits the highest employee turnover rate at over 13 per cent and is largely driven by a culture that glorifies overwork as corporate loyalty. 

Things may be improving

Even so, it seems the industry is slowly coming around to the problem. Uber, for instance, continues to rank among the best places to work for tech employees, and that has to do with the company’s paid-time-off (PTO) policies which include unlimited paid days off and flexible sick days. Unlimited vacations are becoming a common trend across the industry as well, with companies like Riot Games, VMware, and Mammoth offering this to their employees.

Others have started emphasizing skills-based growth instead of offering physical perks. This also shows that companies are becoming more in tune with what their employees need. Some companies are starting to focus on demonstrating their commitment to a more reasonable work-life balance, which is a major deciding factor for employees seeking new jobs. 

Also Read: Top 3 opportunities in tech across Southeast Asia, according to business leaders

Tech workers finally getting fed up with the promise of “puppy days”, pool tables, and free meals. Instead, they are starting to demand benefits that allow them to be healthy and mentally sound, as opposed to overworked and depressed.

It’s time for the tech industry to think of their long term success and understand that a happy and healthy employee who isn’t burnt out or depressed is a long term benefit which is smart to invest in both for the company’s benefit and the employees. One less ping pong table won’t make such a drastic difference anyway. 

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Digital financial services firm Visionet International’s (OVO) is entering a new era as Lippo Group founder Mochtar Riady has sold 70 per cent of its stake in OVO to other parties.

Stating the reason is its high level of spending, Riady further explained: “We’re not letting go of our stake. We’re merely selling two-thirds of it. We’re retaining the remaining 30 per cent of our stake,” Mochtar said, as quoted in The Jakarta Post, during the 2019 Indonesia Digital Conference, an event organised by the Indonesian Cyber Media Association (AMSI) in Jakarta.

Rumours have been circulated since earlier this year that Lippo Group would sell its stake in OVO as the company could no longer inject more funds into the fintech firm. Lippo Group was paying around US$50 million to OVO per month.

On a different occasion, OVO President Director Karaniya Dharmasaputra denied the rumors, saying that OVO was originally founded and developed by Lippo Group. Dharmasaputra was firm on how the future of OVO has been discussed with Lippo Group director John Riady.

In Fintech Report 2019, it is stated that 82.7 per cent of Indonesians were aware of digital wallet platforms, while 62.4 per cent were aware of digital investment and 56.7 per cent of pay-later services. The report confirms that digital payment is indeed the most popular type of financial technology (fintech) service for Indonesians.

Also Read: OVO expands to P2P lending service by acquiring Taralite

The study, which involved 1,500 respondents nationwide, also found that GoPay topped OVO in terms of digital payment use even with OVO’s awareness being higher than GoPay.

Furthermore, Riady also shared his two cents about the technological development in the sector as the survival key. “Artificial intelligence would be the logical continuation of digital technology in the near future. Digital technology is not new. It began its life in 1946, so it’s now 74 years old, so I believe it will soon be replaced by AI, where everything is done by robots,” added Riady.

A little over a month ago, Finance Asia in its report cited a source that claimed OVO to have reached unicorn status through its latest funding round at US$2.9 billion valuations.
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Whenever you think about startups and entrepreneurs working together at a place on something exciting, what’s the first place that comes into your mind? Silicon Valley, right?

Silicon Valley is the global hub for startups which every other emerging startup ecosphere is trying to replicate. However, over the past few years, Southeast Asian (SEA) countries have topped the growth charts in terms of startups. 

With a population of over 650 million people and 330 million monthly active users, SEA provides a great avenue for investors and startups. Moreover, the increasing pipeline of customers as well as the revenue act as a motivation for entrepreneurs to expand their businesses there. 

However, just because the region provided entrepreneurs with troves of opportunities, it doesn’t mean that it’s easy to start over there. Several challenges make the process troublesome.

Some giants companies have found it difficult to gain a foothold over there and so chose to either acquire, invest, collaborate with a local business or simply quit the market completely. 

To understand the present scenario for startups on the SEA market, several companies have put millions in research, analysis, and surveys and have gathered a considerable amount of data. In this article, we will be sharing a few most important insights from the gathered data. To start with, let’s check out the challenges in detail first. 

The challenges with investing in Southeast Asia’s startup ecosphere

SEA’s internet economy touched 50 billion USD in 2017 which outpaced the previous expectations by 35 per cent and it is expected that by 2025, it will reach 200 billion USD.

Yet to start a business in the SEA region, investors, as well as entrepreneurs, should be aware of the major hurdles that the region possesses.

Understanding the local market scenario and competitors

How will you beat the competitors who already exist in the market? Your start may have a great user base in the USA or Australia but that won’t help you to gain users in Singapore or Thailand, right?

Also Read: Eating your way in the Philippines: These 6 food startups can kickstart your foodies journey in the country

Researching the present competitors in the market and understanding the workings as well as the target audience helps you to determine if it’s worthwhile endeavour to start a startup in the market and the resources needed to establish your business to provide the desired output and gain sufficient market share. 

For this, companies need to research everything itself because such an in-depth analysis can’t be copied or outsourced. 

Diversity of cultures

Startups that are trying to set up their base in Southeast Asia might find it strenuous to replicate their business because of cultural and language barriers.

The SEA region constitutes around 11 countries and every country has its own language, culture, a form of government, economic system, population age, and technical expertise. In addition to it, as per a report by McKinsey Global Institute, the per capita income may also differ up to 50x in the neighbouring countries. 

Because of the diversity in cultures and languages, the market seems too fragmented and complicated for startups. There are no one-size-fits-all strategies that can be applied here. 

Timing

Is it the right time to expand your business in SEA?

Is your product ready to serve a need? Is there any market need for your product? It’s common in the startup ecosystem to have a thriving business in their region, yet you might struggle to thrive in a foreign market with the same product. 

You need to understand whether it is the right time to start your business in SEA or not. In this case, you’ll need to check the product available in the market and survey if there’s any market need for your product or not.

Financial situation

To determine the financial status of your business is crucial before stepping in the SEA region. Unless you invested a substantial amount of dollars for building a business reputation in the international market, your brand equity overseas is trivial.

There should be a proper strategy along with considerable resources to set up a new business, boost brand awareness and create a business process that can help to backup new business contracts internationally.

A useful idea here is to collaborate with local investors and entrepreneurs for understanding and even cutting off some direct market entry costs as well as associated risk.

A clear and measurable strategy

Before making the leap, do you have a roadmap for success? It’s crucial to have a measurable roadmap. However, it isn’t possible to predict market dynamics in its aggregate, learning from other company’s successes and failures can help in the planning.

This will help you to anticipate possible market risks and checking their mitigation measures can boost your decision-making process. 

Also Read: Indonesian P2P lending startup Amartha snags Series B funding led by LINE Ventures, to grow lending capacity across country

These were the challenges of starting up in the SEA region and now it’s time to reflect some findings of the SEA market.

Growth stage investments are on the horizon

One of the common indicators of the ecosystem maturity is the enhancement in the growth stage capital when funding is needed for scaling the business instead of validating the idea or understanding the market scenario.

As VC investment money is shifting from seed funding to the later rounds, this landscape is showing that organizations are thriving. 

The region has witnessed some massive deals in the past few months including Grab’s USD$2B series G and Tokopedia’s USD$1.1B Series F and now is home to 8 tech unicorns. 

Singapore is the right place to start a business

Singapore has been listed as the most favoured place for starting a startup followed by Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. The main reason behind this is the strong public infrastructure and the quality of life there.

However, according to the survey, access to capital and the ease of starting and operating a business in Singapore is the reason why entrepreneurs prefer the place. Moreover, Singapore owns several VCs and a supportive government that is ready to invest significantly in small to medium-sized businesses. 

Gender diversity

As an important topic that has been discussed in Silicon Valley as well, gender diversity is a critical issue with a scope of improvement. In SEA, a report found that 40% of the respondents were working in all-male employees company. 

Additionally, when asked if gender should be considered while choosing an investment opportunity for a startup, the result was highly negative.

Founders had a strong opinion on this and the results were split by gender lines: While 35 per cent of female founders supported to consider the gender, just 2 per cent of male founders supported the same. 

Conclusion

As the number of startups, investors and entrepreneurs are rapidly increasing in the SEA region, the place has started to have the startup fever.

As the startup ecosphere continues to mature, the future too can be expected to have a bright view and there are also chances that SEA may outshine the other startup ecosystems in the world very soon. 

So if you’re planning to startup in SEA or expand your business over there, this time is the best one because of the exploding opportunities and available rooms for new ventures.

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Chatbots are all the craze. Just like blockchain, it’s something every business simply needs. Or do they? As for most of the chatbots I’ve seen, they do more harm than good. They drive me up the wall. It’s like dancing in a nightclub: Unless you really know what you’re doing, you’re going to make a fool of yourself.

Here are the 3 things to consider if you want customers to be dissatisfied with your effort on user experience:

1. Be emotionless

A chatbot is a bot after all, so who cares about personality or empathy? Just keep those automated messages coming. And definitely, don’t be funny. Singapore’s most successful chatbot (BusUncle) may be known for its jokes, but what do they know?

They are way too popular anyway. People probably don’t like your company to begin with, so why suck up to your audience with well-meant humour? If your users need a friend, they can talk to Siri or Alexa.

2. Keep it random

Why should customers know the reason for you to have a bot? Isn’t that obvious – you did it because it’s cool to have one (and because your competitor does.) So, who really wants to know its purpose or how it can help?

Just like having pepper the robot at your event booth awards you Centurion for your conference booth game, sandwiching bots between customers and your company to serve no particular purpose proves you care about what matters (being random) over the boring stuff (serving customer needs or solving their problems)

3. Make it nice and complicated

Simplicity and intuitive UX is boring. Make it really hard for your customers to figure out what your bot can do. Ideally, pretend like it can handle anything. Then, whatever your users say, make sure you reply with the same template message.

Next, it’s always advisable to ask people whether they have time for a short survey, as you value their opinion. By this time, you will have successfully wasted a few minutes of your customers’ time and sent them scrambling to find the hotline. Which is great, because we all love an overloaded contact centre.

By now, you’re hopefully beginning to understand just how important it is to have bots working for you. If you are also interested in achieving business outcomes as opposed to driving up your users’ stress levels, you may find it pays off to learn from the best bots in business.

In episode 2 of the Present To Future podcast, I co-host, BusUncle founder and CEO of BotDistrikt Abhilash Murthy joins us to decode the success of the most popular chatbot used (and proudly made) in Singapore. Most of all, we speak with him about his experience in helping clients build amazing conversational experiences that are fun to use and get the job done.

Watch the video here :

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