AnyMind Group, a Tokyo Exchange-listed business process-as-a-service (BPaaS), e-commerce and digital transformation company, has agreed to acquire all shares of Malaysia-based e-commerce enabler Arche Digital, for an undisclosed amount.

Arche Digital’s operational expertise in e-commerce will be combined with AnyMind’s proprietary software for e-commerce and marketing to strengthen its BPaaS capabilities for domestic and international enterprises in Malaysia.

Also Read: AnyMind Group agrees to acquire Indonesian e-commerce enabler DDI

BPaaS is a business model that combines software and operational support functions across the business process.

Arche Digital is AnyMind Group’s ninth acquisition in seven years and its first in Malaysia. Earlier, the group acquired Indonesian e-commerce enabler DDI in September 2023.

Founded in 2015, Arche Digital provides a range of services, including e-commerce strategy development, e-commerce operations, warehouse and logistics management, online store operations, marketing and customer service. Since its launch, the company has served several enterprises, including global skincare brands and household brands, and claims to have amassed over 1 million orders.

Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group, said: “Arche Digital has a management team with deep expertise in the e-commerce field in Malaysia and a track record of supporting various enterprises.

Founded in Singapore in April 2016 and now headquartered in Tokyo, AnyMind Group provides two broad offerings to brands and businesses, publishers and influencers: Brand Commerce and Partner Growth.

Brand Commerce provides businesses with platforms for manufacturing, e-commerce enablement, marketing and logistics. Partner Growth delivers web and mobile app publishers, influencers and content creators with platforms for monetisation and optimisation.

Also Read: How AnyMind Group achieved profitability through its approach to human resource and leadership

In December 2023, AnyMind Group announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia by opening an office in Riyadh and appointed Rubeena Singh as Country Manager (India and MENA).

AnyMind Group has over 1,500 staff across 22 offices in 15 markets, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, India, the United Arab Emirates, and South Korea.

—

The post AnyMind Group sets foot in Malaysia by acquiring e-commerce enabler Arche Digital appeared first on e27.

Whether you are at a pre-planned meeting or a networking event, donning the Business Development hat may be quite a daunting task. Do you go for the small talk first? Or do you go all the way in and start hard selling to hit your KPI?

Everyone has their own style but here are some pointers from the industry on how to rock your sales pitch.

Justin Mah, Business Development Manager, MoneyMatch

 

“During one of my first sales encounters, I had to pitch to the MD of an MNC. I knew little on how to build rapport and the pre-meeting trepidation was immense. I started off with my pitch without asking any questions and went on for a few minutes, after which he interrupted at intervals and asked plenty of questions which I couldn’t answer. I was left dumbfounded, was asked to brush up on my knowledge, and to leave within five minutes.

It was a dreadful experience and took me a couple of days to let the emotions settle, reflect on what went wrong and how I would never let it happen ever again.”

Top Tip: Avoid fancy jargons and practise

“Articulate concisely on the Why/How/What of your business that others should get the crux of it quickly to start asking questions to know more. Build rapport from the beginning, keep listening, and assert your points accordingly, get an engaging conversation going. How to get good at doing it before your actual sales pitch? Practice a lot with different types of people and personalities to get feedback, your friends/family/colleagues/boss, everyone responds differently and helps you to be versatile.

Besides the usual notions of knowing your industry inside out and your product’s value proposition, there is a fine line between ‘believing in what you sell’ vs ‘selling what you believe’ and I strongly stand for the latter.

‘People don’t buy what you sell, they buy what you believe,’ said the infamous Simon Sinek. There has to be a deep sense of conviction within yourself and the purpose of what the company strives for. With that, the selling comes natural.”

Also Read: 4 businesses share their best sales generation techniques

Nicholas Gerard, Business Development Manager, Peatix

“To me, every sales meeting is unique. But some of the most exciting and fun meetings have been when I have sold to clients without ever opening a pitch deck. I have noticed that on these occasions, the clients were primarily looking to see, through initial conversations in the meeting, if I was someone they could feel comfortable with and could trust. I realised that usually that even before the end of those meetings, they have already made a decision whether or not to work with me.”

Top Tip: Understand the client and customise your pitch

“Keep in mind that people don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy. Most of the time, they are not just buying a product, they are buying you. Keep in mind that when people buy, they are usually feeling good about it. So you have to make them feel good about buying from you. So how do you make them feel good about you?

Once you have a firm understanding of the prospect based on your research and through asking them questions, tailor your pitch to show how you can add value or solve a problem related to their situation and only focus on those areas. Some make the mistake of running through every detail about how great their product or service is. This will put off your prospect and reduce the chance of them buying from you.”

Adrian Lim, CEO, VLT

“There was once a pitch that I went for in the past that was attended by all C-Levels of sorts. I started the presentation and everyone seemed tense and looked dead serious, and I would have thought, this is the end. ‘Let’s get out quickly,’ I thought, but I was only at my third slide. No one was engaging with me and no one even nodded or twitched.”
Top Tip: Relax and be relatable
“So, I decided to change my approach. I asked if I could tell a story and talked about my weekend food hunt. I started asking them questions, shared what I liked, how I found it, and how my friends enjoyed it as well (of course, all related to the presentation).

The entire team eventually started to relax and smile, being able to relate to my story. The atmosphere changed, the room lightened up and everyone smiled as they started sharing their stories and opinions among themselves. This time, I continued my presentation with a lot of engagement.

I finished my sales presentation but did not win the pitch. However, some of the people in the audience eventually became my clients in another organisation some time after. That’s when I realised that I must have made an impression with the story. Sometimes, it’s good to prove that we’re also human.”

—

Image Credit: haywiremedia / 123RF Stock Photo

This article was first published on August 4, 2017

The post How to nail your BD sales pitch –without hard selling appeared first on e27.

Smart speakers powered by AI chatbots are sprouting up all over the digital landscape. Consumers are increasingly relying on these bots to perform tasks such as e-commerce shopping or checking share prices.

This slideshare created by Tomomi Imura, Developer Relations at Slack, breaks down all you need to know about smart chatbots and the best way to develop them.

 

 

—

This article was first published on August 22, 2017

The post Why smart chatbots are the future of web surfing, and how to build them appeared first on e27.

Aatif Awan breaks down how LinkedIn grew into the go-to professional social network — and in doing so, tries to provide advice that startups can use in their companies.

 

 

 

 

 

—-

Image Credit: Gratisography

This article was first published on August 2, 2017

The post Learn from LinkedIn, how the company grew from 500K to 500M in 13 years appeared first on e27.

In the dynamic world of global innovation, Japan emerges as an alluring hub for startups, particularly within the energetic city of Tokyo. Japan’s economic strength and substantial government investment in the startup ecosystem positions it as a strategic destination for those seeking opportunities.

Why Japan now? Exploring market opportunities

Japan stands out as an enticing choice for startups, driven by several compelling factors. Economically, Japan is the world’s fourth-largest economy by GDP. This not only signifies a robust economy but also translates to a vast market, capable of catering to diverse consumer needs and preferences.

Also read: Empowering innovators: Prudence Foundation tackles disaster challenges

Underlining its commitment to innovation, the Japanese government has pledged substantial support, allocating a total of ¥1.5 trillion to startup initiatives. This financial commitment underscores the country’s dedicated effort to foster entrepreneurial growth.

The Japanese government’s strategic “Five-Year Startup Development Plan” aims to elevate annual startup investments to ¥10 trillion by FY2027, envisioning the creation of 100 unicorns and 100,000 startups. The plan focuses on crucial aspects such as building human resources, strengthening funding avenues, diversifying exit strategies, and promoting open innovation.

Startups: Why Tokyo?

Tokyo, as a startup destination, offers distinct advantages for entrepreneurs:

• Hub for Advanced Technology: Tokyo ranks as the world’s third-leading city in research and development, making it a hub for cutting-edge technologies and innovation.
• Corporate Powerhouse: Hosting a concentration of major corporations, Tokyo provides startups with ample collaboration and partnership opportunities.
• An upswing of VC Investments: Tokyo is witnessing a positive trend in venture capital investments, showing a thriving startup ecosystem.
• Urban Sustainability Opportunities: Tokyo Bay ESG, a project aiming to create “the world’s first ESG city” by 2050, presents huge opportunities for climate tech startups. In the future, Tokyo plans to meet all energy needs through renewable sources and achieve zero emissions in buildings and transport systems.
• Government Support: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government extensively supports market entry, offering assistance with procedures, funds, and subsidies.
• Quality of Life: Beyond business, Tokyo provides an excellent quality of life and a diverse culinary culture, making it a prime destination for entrepreneurs.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government support

Tokyo aims to become the world’s most startup-friendly city, with plans to grow the number of unicorns and new businesses launched in the capital by 10 times over the next five years. This vision, known as the ’10×10×10 Innovation Vision’ aims for a tenfold increase in the number of unicorns, startups, and collaborative projects within the specified timeframe. Governor Yuriko Koike highlighted four key elements:

• Global: Creating global startups
• Growth: Supporting the growth of young people willing to take on challenges
• Collaboration: Creating collaboration between startups and established institutions
• Connect: Establishing a platform to connect everyone in the startup ecosystem

Aligned with this vision, the “Tokyo Innovation Base” (TIB) was established, aiming to create a hub for global innovation, where startups and supporters can connect and collaborate.

Also read: Application to PepsiCo’s Greenhouse Accelerator 2024 is extended!

Tokyo Innovation Base: A hub for startups

Tokyo Innovation Base (TIB) is a new startup campus and business networking hub in the heart of Tokyo, accelerating the local startup scene and positioning Tokyo as a global hub for innovation. TIB offers:

• Concierge Services: Personalised support tailored for startups, encompassing guidance on various aspects of business development. TIB’s concierge services extend access to over 50 experts across diverse industries for one-on-one consultations. These services cater to early-stage startups, later-stage startups seeking a foothold in Japan, and aspiring founders exploring business opportunities in the country.
• Mentorship: Mentorship at TIB extends beyond industry-focused advice; it also includes general assistance such as pitch training sessions, business ideation, and the facilitation of partnerships with Japanese corporations.
• Events and Training Programs: More than just a physical space, TIB stands as a beacon for aspiring entrepreneurs, visionaries, and innovators worldwide. The hub organises a variety of events designed to foster networking opportunities among startups, creating a dynamic environment for collaboration and idea exchange.
• Corporate-Startup Collaboration: TIB actively facilitates partnerships and collaboration between startups and established companies. With over 140 corporate partners having established ties with TIB, the hub aims to foster ecosystem collaboration. This involves connecting startup ecosystem builders and investors with key stakeholders in Tokyo and Japan, creating a robust network for mutual growth.

SusHi Tech Tokyo

SusHi Tech, short for Sustainable High City Tech, stands as one of Asia’s leading startup conferences, dedicated to addressing global urban challenges through technology happening on May 15th and 16th, 2024, at Tokyo Big Sight!

Take the first step towards global opportunities! For more details, visit Sushi Tech Tokyo 2024

Also read: 9Unicorns to facilitate $110M funding for 20 startups at DDAY 5 with 1500+ investors

Learn more about TIB

Explore Tokyo’s vibrant startup ecosystem, driving innovation and entrepreneurship! For more details about Tokyo Innovation Base, visit their website or follow them on the accounts below:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tokyoinnovationbase/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TIBTokyo 

Come by anytime if you’re around Tokyo – TIB is looking forward to collaborating and growing together!

– –

This article is produced by the e27 team, sponsored by Tokyo Innovation Base

We can share your story at e27, too. Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. Visit us at e27.co/advertise to get started.

The post Gateway to global innovation: Tokyo Innovation Base appeared first on e27.

The post Shield your business: A guide to common scams targeting small businesses appeared first on e27.

In the ever-evolving retail landscape, retailers are grappling with mounting pressure to meet customer demand for discounted deals and swift delivery, particularly during sales seasons. Despite this, a notable decline in holiday season sales in late 2023 prompted certain retailers to question whether shopping seasons have passed their prime.

In Singapore, it was reported that some retailers along Orchard Road have noticed a quieter year-end, with thinner crowds and the traditional holiday season spending splurge missing in action. Half of the sales representatives reported a decrease in December sales compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, while labour shortages are becoming less common, they still remain a persistent problem for many retailers in Asia-Pacific (APAC). In Singapore, an overwhelming nine in 10 retail employees expressed concerns about a shortage of labour, with 48 per cent ‘somewhat agreeing’ and 45 per cent ‘strongly agreeing’ to the issue.

Retailers today must navigate the challenge of accomplishing more with limited resources. This includes efficiently managing returns, providing top-notch customer service, and optimizing available inventory.

Meanwhile, a new era of omnichannel commerce challenges retailers to seamlessly manage multiple fulfillment channels to keep up with consumer expectations. Shoppers increasingly combine online and offline shopping, blurring the lines between online and offline retail. While omnichannel shopping causes challenges for retailers, most shoppers prefer options.

According to Zebra’s 16th Annual Global Shopper Study, nearly eight in 10 shoppers globally and in APAC favour a blend of online and in-store shopping, while 75 per cent of global and 72 per cent of APAC shoppers choose to shop with online retailers that have a brick-and-mortar location.

Other surveys also show that around 48 per cent of shoppers browse in physical stores before buying online, while around 49 per cent browse online before buying in a physical shop.

In tandem with this evolving retail landscape, consumer expectations have also ascended to new heights. Today’s shoppers expect a seamless omnichannel experience where they get to enjoy the convenience of easy returns and self-checkouts no matter where or how they shop.

Also Read: How Pomelo tackles the problem of high product return with its O2O retail experience

To overcome headwinds such as labour challenges and shifting consumer expectations, it is key for retailers to invest in cutting-edge technologies to help sustain profitability while providing positive shopper and associate experiences.

Surpassing shopper expectations: Navigating the omnichannel experience

Shoppers today seek a seamless experience in-store — this includes favouring digital payment and checkout options for convenience. The COVID-19 pandemic and a national drive for a cashless society have accelerated the adoption of electronic payments in Singapore — a growing majority of consumers are opting to pay for goods and services using their cards or mobile phones.

According to the same Zebra study, 28 per cent of APAC shoppers prefer pay/checkout anywhere, and 74 per cent of APAC shoppers say that self-checkouts help improve their experience.

Managing online and in-store returns adds another level of complexity. As omnichannel shopping continues to grow, the volume of returns increases along with it. Around seven in 10 global and APAC retailers surveyed in Zebra’s study say the pressure is mounting to improve the efficiency and expense of managing online orders, returns, and the fulfilment process.

With technology, retailers across all categories can monitor sales trends to better prepare for surges in consumer demand and cope with returns. Prescriptive analytics, real-time inventory visibility, and workforce management tools are vital to retail operations, helping stores and warehouses ensure they have the right people and inventory in the right places at the right time to offset the impacts of uncontrollable industry disruptions, such as the current omnichannel squeeze that retailers are facing.

Also Read: The canary in Singapore’s retail coal mine is ‘kiasu’

Keeping up with retail

The speed of change in the retail landscape is not slowing down anytime soon, but the technology available to retailers is also quickly advancing. As retailers add more digital channels that require fulfilment from store shelves, such as buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS), having an accurate inventory count becomes imperative.

By strategically investing in the right mobile devices and software, stores can complete smart cycle counting on a more regular cadence without increasing headcount or diverting associates from delivering exceptional customer service.

A growing trend among retailers involves deploying technology once reserved for the warehouse or back of the store to the front of the store. For instance, Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been gaining popularity among apparel, sporting goods, and electronics retailers. Employing RFID tagging, helps streamline inventory management for weekly or even daily counts and can also help facilitate faster returns processing and inventory reshelving.

In order to enhance store productivity, it is crucial for intelligent inventory and workforce management solutions to work together. This visibility into sales data and the movement of goods across the supply chain allows retailers to leverage data to assign tasks to the right associates at the right time.

Ultimately, these solutions help merchants make better procurement and labour scheduling decisions to ensure they can always keep up with consumer demand, whether shopping online or in-store.

—

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Canva

The post Revolutionising retail: A blueprint for future success appeared first on e27.

It is a hard truth that nine out of 10 startups fail. You may have a great product and a huge customer base, but it does not stop your startup from failing.

The following video is discussing 1o things that contribute to the failure of startups. You may take inspiration from this video and avoid any possible missteps, and eventually lead your venture to a a huge success.  

—

This article was first published on August 10, 2017.

The post 10 reasons why startups fail appeared first on e27.

According to a recent survey of 2,000 UK-based workers by HR firm Robert Half U.K., employees start hating their jobs when they turn 35. In fact, workers over the age of 35 are twice likely to be as unhappy as workers aged between 18 to 34. That’s a very sombre statistic.

So how can bosses or managers reverse that trend? Well, they can check out this useful employee management slideshare by HR firm Hppy, and apply the recommended advice. Enjoy!

 

 

—
Image Credit: hemeroskopion / 123RF Stock Photo

This article was first published on August 25, 2017

The post Employees start hating their jobs when they turn 35; here’s how bosses can prevent that appeared first on e27.

It will be almost impossible to talk about Indonesian e-commerce scene without mentioning Bukalapak at some point.

With the market’s status as a mobile-first market, it is not surprising that 70 to 80 per cent of the platform’s transaction is contributed by its mobile app.

As one of the leading online marketplaces in the country, the Bukalapak mobile app has secured 13 million total installs with two million daily active users for Android, with 700,000 total installs and 300,000 daily active users for iOS.

Both customers and sellers are using a single mobile app to shop and manage their business. This is a decision that the company made after a period of research in its users’ behaviour; it has previously considered launching two different apps for sellers and customers.

Apart from preparing the launch of its train ticket booking service in the mobile app, Bukalapak is getting ready to include its newly launched fintech features (such as a marketplace for mutual funds and gold) in the mobile app.

“When it comes to developing new features, we try to not take it easily. Let’s say that there is a new feature on our desktop [platform], you might notice that it will be a while until it shows up on [mobile] app. This is because we would like to maintain the quality of the app,” explains Bukalapak VP Engineering Ibrahim Arief.

Also Read: Alibaba reportedly in partnership talks with Emtek Group, opens possibility of Bukalapak investment

Out of the startup’s 800 employees, 200 are working in its engineering team, which are being divided into seven division: back-end, front-end, system engineer, mobile developer, site reliability engineer (SRE), quality assurance (QA) engineer, and data engineer.

The mobile development team is the biggest with almost 40 developers on board.

Mobile Apps Product Manager Bayu Surya revealed that within the last quarter, almost 10,000 engineers applied to join the company, but only 35 applicants were accepted.

To search for talents, Bukalapak also hosts hackathon events, with many participants ending up showing their interests in joining the company.

So what are the secrets to building and maintaining a team of high-performing mobile app developer?

Let Arief and Surya take you through the journey:

Sharing is caring

For the Bukalapak engineering team, knowledge sharing process plays an important role in helping the company produces a high-performance mobile app.

When asked about the criteria that the company is looking for in potential candidates, apart from technical skills, a Bukalapak engineers also need to be eager to learn, share knowledge, and help their peers.

“Senior level engineers at Bukalapak are defined not only through their skills, but also through how they share their knowledge to less-experienced engineers … It’s part of the responsibilities we set up for senior-level engineers,” Arief says.

“We are looking for engineers with a passion to help their peers grow,” he adds.

Apart from a bi-weekly internal event, the startup also regularly hosts talk shows for fellow industry players, to share the best practices in mobile development that it has acquired.

Also Read: Indonesian e-commerce startup Bukalapak offers scholarship for students

No punishments for mistakes

For many startups, making a mistake is seen as a crucial part of learning and experimentation, and Bukalapak is not exempted.

The company stresses that it does not believe in penalising mistakes made by its engineers; this is the reason why they put emphasis in having the passion to learn for their engineers.

“Mistakes happen, but we consider that as a learning experience, even though the journey might be difficult. We try not to finger-point at people,” Arief says.

Work with the flow

Bukalapak likens the process of introducing new features into the mobile app to adding a new passenger carriage in a railway train; in fact, the process itself is aptly named “release train.”

“We can compare the app to a moving railway train that keeps on moving as it is adding new passenger carriages. Let’s just say that the new carriage is a new idea. Once the new carriage is ready to be deployed, you just have to add it into the train,” Arief says.

When developing a new feature, Bukalapak is going to assign a small team to research and build a new idea. The idea will only be implemented into the mobile app when it is fully ready.

Before it is being released, a new feature needs to go through different stages of automated testings with over hundreds of test case. Once it passes all the tests, the feature will then be rolled out gradually to some users.

The team will then look forward to any report about bugs; once all the reported bugs are fixed, the feature will then be launched to all users of Bukalapak app.

“Within the mobile app development team itself, we have a core team for research and development. These are the best people working in the company, and they are the one determining how the best practices should be like,” Arief says.

Also Read: Bukalapak CEO receives prestigious award from Indonesian President Joko Widodo

Ready when it is

While many startups live by the principle of “Don’t ask for permission but ask for forgiveness,” Bukalapak believes that a product or feature is ready to be released — when it is ready.

As briefly explained in the previous point, there is no such thing as an arbitrary deadline which dictates when a product has to be launched, whether it is ready or not.

“Feature development might take a longer time, but when it is finally released, the result is as expected. It is much better than being in a hurry to release it, but it ends up having many bugs and disappointing our users, which will cost us a lot,” Arief says.

Battle preparation

The high season for online shopping in Indonesia tends to happen during religious holidays such as Ramadan or shopping holidays such as Harbolnas.

To anticipate a sharp increase of traffic and its possible impact to the mobile app’s performance, Bukalapak team starts its preparation months before the actual event.

Apart from intensifying testing on both mobile app and back-end, the team will also perform deployment froze, which is the decision to not launch any new features around Harbolnas to ensure the stability of the system.

“We will focus only on bug fixing … and this method has been proven to help maintain stability during Harbolnas,” Surya says.

—

Image Credit: Bukalapak

This article was first published on August 15, 2017

The post Bukalapak spills the secrets on building a high-performing mobile development team appeared first on e27.