Cross-Border Magazine

CROSS-BORDER

MAGAZINE A Salesupply initiative

All about international e-commerce, edition 5, spring 2018

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ECRA S O O G

ING A P O L E DEV NNEL A H C I MULT G : USIN D N A BR ETECT D O T DATA CES CHAN

SUCCESS STORIES GOOSECRAFT, GETIR, ISKN, RAJA // CASE THIS WORKS, JOSH V, SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY, THE CONSEQUENCES OF BREXIT TIPS & INSIGHTS WECHAT, THE GDPR, GETTING RETURNS RIGHT 3

~ Welcome ~

FOREWORD tion flawlessly on mobile, with professional videos and personalised content, have become essential for long-term success. In 2017, 52% of users said that a bad mobile experience made them less likely to engage with a brand. Similarly, consumers have now become accustomed to being nurtured through the sales process, with 70% of consumers learning about a company through their online blog rather than ads. These preferences are just the tip of the iceberg. In the last couple of years, we have seen Machine Learning and AI emerge as the driving force behind personalisation. According to the E-tailing Group, omnichannel personalisation can increase overall consumer spending by up to 500%. We can expect that throughout the next year, omnichannel UX’s will be very high on lists of priorities for e-commerce businesses. No less important that maintaining a solid UX is ensuring that your fulfillment infrastructure is properly optimised to reach customers. Last year, online sales were expected to reach more than $420 billion by the outset of 2018. 48% of retail CEOs have stated that they will be incorporating ‘buy online, pickup in-store’ services to increase their efficiency. If anything is clear on the road ahead, it is that the world of e-commerce is going to undergo a massive transformation as UX mobile optimisation and omnichannel personalisation coincide with the push for fulfillment efficiency. Although significant challenges lie ahead, this is an exciting time and there will be plenty of rewards for those companies who take the time to listen to the needs of their customers.

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aving been part of the e-commerce community for the past ten years, if there’s anything I noticed about 2017, it is that consumer expectations have reached an all-time high. We live in a digital age where customers not only expect dynamic marketing, but websites with solid desktop and mobile user experiences, alongside fulfillment strategies that deliver products ASAP.

I hope you enjoy this month’s issue, and I wish you all a successful 2018. Yours Sincerely, Conchi Garcia

In this issue we are looking at UX and fulfillment, as the focus point of the next year. As leader of ClubEcommerce, I encounter an incredible number of decision makers relishing the challenge of optimising their UX’s for the coming year, and it is in this sense that we should view the massive transformations facing the industry as an opportunity to progress. Last year, most brands started to go back to basics, cutting the extravagant web designs down and opting for minimalist designs with simple navigation. However, few of those brands managed to meet consumer expectations across the board. Sites that func-

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Conchi Garcia is Co-Founder and CEO of ClubEcommerce, a private club for executives of major online shops operating or wanting to operate in Spain.

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~ Cross-Border Magazine ~

~ Founder ~

INDEX

COLUMN

3 5 6 10 12 14 18 20 22 28 32 36 38 40 42 46 48 52 54 58 60

Setting standards for delivery

FOREWORD COLUMN JEROEN LEENDERS INTERVIEW: GOOSECRAFT CASE: A SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY COLUMN: WIJNAND JONGEN INTERVIEW: RAJA CONSEQUENCES OF BREXIT CASE: THIS WORKS INTERVIEW: RANPAK CASE: JOSH V INTERVIEW: ISKN A COFFEE WITH ALEXANDRA VARLA INTERVIEW: ECD COLUMN: LORNA BEAMENT CASE: CROSS-BORDER FULFILMENT INSIGHTS: HOW TO GET THE RETURNS RIGHT INSIGHTS: A GLOBAL ECONOMY PANEL INTERVIEW: GETIR INSIGHTS: WECHAT SPOTLIGHT ON: THE GDPR

These days, everything is about customer experience. It is the consumer who is in charge and expects a high service level when he or she buys a product from your online shop. You as a merchant must perform well to keep your customers satisfied. Smooth and fast delivery and an easy return process are key factors when it comes to good customer experience. Big online players understand that and set high standards for delivery. An example of this would be the website Amazon, who deliver next day and even same day (within one or two hours(!)) in big cities. Lots of companies are following this example, like the Turkish company Getir, who deliver food and beverages within ten minutes in every part of Istanbul. That becomes more incredible when you realize Istanbul has 15 million inhabitants and the city is over 1600 km2. They seem to have created a simple solution, working with small, local retailers divided all over the city. For them, the next step is to conquer other international cities with this business model. What does this mean for the future of e-commerce deliveries? First of all, the consumer is getting used to free shipments, returns and fast deliveries. So far, so good. However, what do you need as a cross-border online company when you see that this is becoming the standard in all the countries you sell?

COLOFON

Sounds familiar? In your home market, you will be able to compete with your local competitors when it comes to fast delivery. But what about cross-border? Imagine you are a UK based online retailer and you have to send your packages from the UK to Spain. You will not be able to deliver next or same day. That’s without the consequences of Brexit being taken into account, as they are unsure yet. At this time, costs are simply too high and standard deliveries are too slow. So, it is there you will lose track with local Spanish players.

PARTNERS

FOUNDER & PUBLISHER JEROEN LEENDERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NICO HOEIJMANS EDITOR PHOEBE HARDING GRAPHICS DESIGN & LAYOUT FEMKE HOOGLAND

Interesting case, right? I believe so and that is why we will pay special attention to the future of cross-border delivery in this issue of Cross-Border Magazine. As always, I will say “read and learn” to be prepared for the next step in international deliveries.

WEBSITE: WWW.CROSS-BORDER-MAGAZINE.COM If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship or advertising opportunities or you would like to discuss creating a customised plan to meet the needs of your company, please contact: [email protected] The Cross-Border Magazine is owned and published by Salesupply Holding BV. No person, organisation or party can copy or re-produce the content of the Cross-Border Magazine or any part of this publication without a written consent from the editor-in-chief or publisher. The publisher, authors and contributors reserve their rights with regards to copyright of their work.

Enjoy reading! Jeroen Leenders, Founder Cross-Border Magazine [email protected]

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~ Goosecraft ~

DEVELOPING A MULTI-CHANNEL BRAND: USING DATA TO DETECT CHANCES Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Femke Hoogland

Leather: a beautiful, natural product used by Goosecraft to create unique jackets. Each product is unique in its own way, making it a very fashionable product. Located in Amsterdam in a brand new office, this brand has been working on their cross-border expansion. We talk to Goosecraft’s Co-Founder, Vincent van der Weijden, and Rob van Gent, E-commerce Manager, about a multichannel brand that focuses on using big data.

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wholesale retailer

stores is falling, online is getting bigger every day. Despite that, Goosecraft only recently opened a mono-brand store in Amsterdam, believing it to be an important physical contact point. “It operates as an extension of our web shop as well. Besides, in your own shop, you are really capable of showing what you have to offer; to show what and who you really are,” explains Van der Weijden, “We are currently trying to create our own community, The Hidden Rebel Society, which shows our image and who we want to be. A little rebellious and tough. Our own shop helps people to identify with our brand even more. When they do, the step to making a purchase is a lot smaller.”

When Goosecraft was founded in 2006, it was a leather brand that wanted to distinguish itself from other, tradition leather brands. Up until then, most brands using leather were founded from a product specialism, making leather jackets and selling them. “We wanted to work with leather as well, but it had to be fashionable, unlike the traditional leather store. With our ambition and our unique view on fashion, we wanted to be available in the better denim stores and high-end boutiques,” says Vincent van der Weijden. In the following years, Goosecraft developed itself into a wellknown brand in the Dutch multi-brand wholesale market, becoming visible in shops. As well as that, it hopped on the online train, getting their platform ready. “This was necessary as customer behaviour was changing. The whole customer process, from orientation to purchase, was influenced by the growing online possibilities. A whole new source of information was available and even with a unique product like ours, consumers no longer needed to go to their local hero. It was no longer a necessity,” explains Van der Weijden.

Going abroad: steps beyond the Dutch horizon For Goosecraft’s Co-Founder, going cross-border was a no-brainer. The brand started selling internationally at a very early stage, as it was growing with the upcoming importance of the internet. “Naturally, we have made some errors with this, as when you are passionate about what you do, you sometimes want too much all at once.” However, the fact that the world got smaller and smaller because of online developments presented lots of opportunities.

With an established name in the Netherlands, new business, in general, is generated online. As the amount of brick-and-mortar

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Aside from the online opportunities, Goosecraft focused on the B2B wholesale market at that time and started selling in

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~ Goosecraft ~

multiple countries. Here, mostly cultural aspects were challenges. “These days, we only ship size XXS to S to Japan. Did we know from the start? Of course not - in the Netherlands we produce up to size XXXL! Another thing we had to deal with was the different trading culture in, for example, southern European countries. We had to get used to that,” says Van der Weijden. “When we go abroad these days, we know what we can expect.”

enthusiastic about our product but in the end orders on Amazon, that is fine by us. We reached this customer and he provided us with some useful insights.”

A step-by-step approach Currently, Goosecraft is focusing its expansion mostly on the German market. “We have chosen one region to sell, to see what happens here and how sales are generated from other regions. This way, we can predict our next move. Our turnover is mainly generated through organic and social traffic, newsletters and paid advertising. We know that there is search volume in the German market, which indicates that we will be able to sell here. We have learned from campaigns we held in last year which makes it possible for us to act faster and with less mistakes than before. It is like piloting.”

Focus on B2C In the beginning, Goosecraft’s focus was mostly B2B, selling to third-party sellers. It has changed from a wholesale company to a multi-channel organisation, focusing on B2C much more as well. “One of the main questions was whether we needed a web shop. How would we do that? What would be the impact on our logistics department? For us, it really meant we had to define our customer’s needs and translate that to what our developers should create,” explains Rob van Gent. “As we were starting our B2C activities through our web shop, we needed to focus on B2C logistics, which is completely different from B2B. Besides, an online shop requests a lot of attention from the available personnel - it was all very new. These days, we are in control and we can work on our content, making the online store a brand experience. We shifted from a wholesale brand to a multi-channel brand.”

“IT IS OUR GOAL TO TARGET OUR CUSTOMERS THROUGH A CHANNEL OF THEIR CHOOSING, IN THEIR TIME, THEIR PLACE IN THEIR MOMENT”

“As the German market is eight times bigger than the Dutch, it is quite the challenge for us. We have learned from rushing in the past, as we are taking things step-by-step now. Analysing what we should do to keep things right. We have got all the data for it, a lot of companies do. For most brands, it is a matter of how to collect, process and use it. The data makes it possible to make accurate predictions on turnover, for example for the coming year. It is great science,” says Rob van Gent. Vincent van der Weijden: “Besides expanding, our future will be more and more about creating a brand experience, it is no longer telling customers what a nice product you have. The entire ride for the customer has to be covered. They should be provided with content at any moment in time they wish, showing who you are. That’s why we work with ambassadors, people who our customers can identify with. Luckily, in the Netherlands, there are some celebrities who like our products and wear them.”

Van Gent explains how he started using data to expand the Goosecraft business. “Lots of fashion retailers might underestimate the importance of data. They might not be as cross-border developed as they think. Our cross-border online channel provides us with data to expand cross-border as a multi-channel brand. Currently, we focus on Germany, specifically on a few regions. We hired a country manager who will be in charge of setting up our brand. Gathering data from this region will help us predict whether, and where, a brick-shop will be beneficial. It will become part of our brand, just like our online channels, outlet and every retailer that is connected to us.” “Data helps to detect chances; helps us decide where we should invest first and how we should do it. Of course our web shop can perform on the side, in a supportive role. But it will be providing the brand experience more than it is a shopping platform. This way, it might be the case that we expand in Japan in full focus on wholesale, while we will be a pure Amazon player in the USA,” Van Gent continues, “We have rebuilt our online channel for this only recently. Our web shop runs on a Magento 2 platform now. Its sole purpose is not to generate sales. If a consumer is

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One of the biggest challenges remaining will be keeping all these channels in the multi-channel environment in line with the brand story. According to Goosecraft, eventually everything will become custom-made. “As you get to know your customers better and better, we will be able to provide our customers with a custom made story,” says Van der Weijden. Van Gent ads: “It is our goal to target our customers through a channel of their choosing, in their time, their place in their specific moment. It does not matter whether that is in the Netherlands, Germany, Japan or the USA. It might be difficult, but we will get there. It will all be about the user experience, and the interpretation of available data will help us.” ••

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~ Trusted Shops ~

A PERFECT SALE INCLUDES A SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY Text: Tim Heinen, Trusted Shops // Photos: Rivièra Maison

Logistical challenges

of furniture. Furniture is best shipped with other furniture; other products tend to damage the goods and flat pack furniture allows to be stored in a way that the packages interlock, to prevent shocks from bumps and fuel stops. “For the retailers who do not ship their furniture flat packed like us, it is important to know that furniture is best handled manually, as forklifts and cranes are likely to damage the furniture too,” states Hendriks.

The supply chains of furniture companies are complicated and extensive: retailers get their inventory shipped from the manufacturer to a warehouse or storage unit and then ship it out to customers, involving (inter)national and local shipping companies. Especially when shipping to customers abroad, retailers not only have to consider the practical implications of shipment, but also take legal implications into account. When shipping products cross-border, furniture companies have to abide by state laws, whether it be tax regulations, customs or packaging restrictions. Depending on political issues, retailers might face disruptions in the supply chain like port- or airstrikes, which likely disrupt the delivery process in the long-run, which results in late delivery or worse case, loss of goods.

Logistical opportunities A successful product delivery is just as, if not even more, important than good customer service. When the furniture has made it through the entire supply chain in a perfect state, this logically leads to more recommendations and positive reviews. Successful shipping results in increased consumer trust. The last part of the supply chain is also crucial for this positive customer experience: the home delivery. Rivièra Maison offers, for instance, the so-called white glove delivery service in the Netherlands. The delivery experts handle all furniture manually, carrying the furniture upstairs and placing the furniture on the desired spot in the house. “Quality furniture should be handled by specialists throughout the entire delivery process. Our delivery experts are trained to set up, level and maintain our furniture. We value our customer’s enthusiasm and happiness,” concludes Hendriks.

On the more practical side, retailers must ensure that products are shipped safely, so that the furniture arrives in one piece, without scratches, tears or dents. Sophie Hendriks, E-commerce Manager at Rivièra Maison recognises these challenges, as they operate and ship internationally. Hendriks explains: “Our handmade furniture is shipped internationally in its original shape, from the supplier to our warehouse. Because our furniture is not flat packed, it is shipped in large containers by boat. We then ship it to the customer from our warehouse in Amsterdam.” Although a lot of furniture is made by real craftsmen who use prime quality materials, the process of loading and transporting always involves a risk. Rivièra Maison has a fluent and wellmanaged supply chain, but inevitably it has dealt with occasional logistical challenges. “Our in-house designers once designed a beautiful wooden cabinet, which was literally one inch too large to be shipped on a single pallet. It had to be shipped on two pallets instead, increasing the transport costs immensely,” explains Hendriks.

Another opportunity to increase trust in the logistics process lies in offering customers the option of buyer’s protection. Buyer’s protection from Trusted Shops provides extra security so, in case something goes wrong with the logistics process and the parcel does not arrive, the customer receives a new product or refund. Online furniture retailers are likely to benefit from this extra security option. Customers tend to hesitate more when it comes to purchasing larger and more expensive goods like furniture. Trusted Shops’ buyer’s protection provides the extra insurance that the purchase is safeguarded. ••

Logistical solutions

Recent furniture fairs such as imm cologne and Stockholm Furniture & Light have inspired many people to change their interior with new furniture. This furniture is often ordered online, and it is of great importance that all parts get to their destination damage-free. Although this shipping process plays a crucial role in the customer experience and therefore affects the webshop’s reputation, the logistical aspect of e-commerce is often forgotten about.

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Fortunately, most of these challenges are preventable. First and foremost, it would be advisable for smaller retailers to consider drop-shipping as a fulfillment model. Drop-shipping allows retailers to buy products individually from a wholesaler and ship them from the wholesaler directly to the customer. This shortens the total supply chain significantly and saves the small retailer from duties that are inevitable when holding inventory, such as keeping track of the inventory, stocking up and renting a warehouse or storage unit. For larger retailers, it may be more cost effective to manage the inventory themselves, especially when design and/or production is carried out by the company itself. “Although drop-shipping holds many advantages for other retailers, we manage our own inventory for two reasons. The first reason is quality control; we like to check the furniture before we ship it out to our customers and secondly, our products are also sold by large resellers. These resellers also need to be able to access our inventory, without having to contact our suppliers,” explains Hendriks. In terms of practical challenges, there are some rules of thumb that need to be taken into consideration to ensure safe shipment

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~ Column ~

June 19 - 21, 2018

COLUMN

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London

ARE WE READY FOR THE END OF ONLINE SHOPPING? We can expect the next decade to be an important one for retail. The changes that are coming to the retail sector are unprecedented in its history. To understand these changes, we have to recognise that they are part of a wider pattern of transformation. Traditional retail business models and boundaries have begun to blur, and will disappear altogether in due time. Offline and online will become one with consumers both buying products and services online and online in store. With a term borrowed from the Italian philosopher Luciano Floridi, I call this onlife.

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ffline and online become onlife

The blurring of boundaries between online and life, between offline and online and between work and home, make everyday life an onlife experience. The way we work, learn, maintain our relationships, care for others, serve as politicians and even fight wars have all been altered profoundly. The onlification of society hugely impacts the way we shop. Retail is being transformed. Analogue becomes digital, vertical becomes horizontal, centralised becomes local, top-down becomes bottom-up and bureaucracies are replaced by networks. These are all manifestations of how the structure and the balance of power of retail are changing completely.

ETUK18CBM

Onlife retail The retail and service sector will be swallowed up by onlife retail, a new economic order. Consumers will see shopping turn into a full-blown onlife experience, where it is no longer relevant that there are online and offline sales channels. For businesses, online and offline sales channels will merge as the boundaries between sectors and fields of business start to crack under pressure. All the participants within retail — retailers, producers and consumers alike — will be enticed into new roles.

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Over the next decade, millions of shops and service providers will change from traditional business into connected shops, serving as places for inspiration, experiences, showcases and service centers. New 24/7 shop concepts and smart apps are going to provide the consumer with ways to scan and buy anything and everything they encounter in their everyday lives. At the same time, millions of web shops and online service shops will have to transform from old fashioned 21st century middlemen to shopping environments that provide added value to consumers in their daily lives.

In ‘The end of online shopping’, Wijnand Jongen describes the future of retail in a world that is always connected. This is the first of a series of columns for Cross-Border Magazine in 2018, where Wijnand will describe four global retail trends. Wijnand Jongen (1959) is one of world’s foremost authors, speakers and futurists on retail and e-commerce. His book was nominated best management (2016) and best marketing book (2017). He is founder and CEO of Thuiswinkel.org and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Ecommerce Europe.

The instant consumers are able to complete the online retail experience they started at home, on the road, in the shopping street and online in-store – that is when the end of online shopping is truly near. The big question is, are they – are we – ready for it? ••

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[email protected]

~ Raja ~

THE POWER OF A SMART PLATFORM Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Raja

As a retailer, you inevitably need packing materials for your products. Whether it concerns boxes, bags, tape or another kind of packaging, you cannot go without it. Raja, a French based company, provides packaging solutions in seventeen European countries to make sure you can ship all your products well. Emmanuel Faux, e-commerce and IT manager at Raja, speaks to us about their smart platform.

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Catalogue Company

Getting Sm@rt

Raja was founded almost 65 years ago, selling cartons and other packaging solutions. With an eye for the B2B market, Raja created and distributed catalogues among prospects and companies that would, and could, be interested in their range of products. Without the easy to go internet solution to present all available articles, this was a clever and inventive way of presenting your collection of products. It was something that worked advantageously and generated sales. Since that time, a lot has changed. These days, Raja is an international omnichannel retailer in packaging materials, with a wide international presence covering seventeen European countries via twenty-one subsidiaries, and is offering a wide range of over 10,000 products. With 190,000 m2 storage space and over 500,000 B2B customers in Europe, Raja is one of the key players in the European packaging business.

In the early days, the Raja site was not as developed as it is now. The online shop offered an online catalogue and the possibility to order online. As the international expansion grew, the shop expanded with it, adding new languages and multiple new features. “Our first platform was more of an online catalogue. As the B2B market in general is slower at implementing demands and wishes that are the norm in the B2C market, we developed later. Big online institutions, like Amazon, set new norms here. Since our first platform, we have rebuilt it multiple times. We started the first real platform on an IPROX-solution. As offline and online expansion moved forward, we added more and more countries to the system solution. The platform got bigger and bigger and got a little obsolete. We had to add each new country manually, as well as each feature - build it from scratch,” explains Faux, “Once our service contract expired, we decided to start from the beginning. By that time, Intershop and its business partner Datasolution supported us and we decided to build the platform provided with software from them. It took us nine months to build the French version, and another nine months to deliver a solution for all other countries.”

As the importance of internet rose, Raja stepped into the online business as well. While in the early days, customers usually ordered through the catalogue or by phone, this shifted to the online website. As the extensive range of products grew even more, the online platform was the easiest way to display all products. “These days, the e-commerce platform has become an important aspect of our business. Currently, direct sales from this channel are up to 40% of all sales, being about 30% of all turnover,” says Faux.

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The biggest difference for the new platform, called the Raja Sm@ rt-site, was the vision Raja developed using their old platform.

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~ Raja ~

They developed a broad idea of how they wanted to work with the new e-commerce platform - bringing stable architecture to the main ‘blank’ version. Emmanuel Faux: “This way, adding new features only requires a developed core model. We can implement this to the platform and adapt it for every country we manage. For example, we could round prices the way customers in the United Kingdom are used to, which differs from consumers elsewhere in Europe. That’s the benefit of the core model, it allows us to add specific services we can activate for specific countries.”

providing an excellent service. When you call us, we try to find a solution for every possible packaging problem.” This is also why customers can order the way they prefer. Emmanuel Faux describes that there are differences between customers: “E-mail is used more by our very big customers, with whom we have signed a contract. They are used to buying from our platform on a large and frequent basis. They trust us so much; an email is sufficient for them to place an order. New customers in general come in through our e-commerce platform or call to gather information on the possibilities at Raja.” says Faux. “Other customers have tailor-made deals and wish to set up a connection between their own ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and our ERP, or they prefer an own account manager. We now are really flexible in offering these tailored solutions.”

UX Having such a modular version of the Raja Sm@rt-site comes with more benefits, for example when looking at User Experience (UX). It helps developing what customers want. “As digitalisation is an ongoing process, this will never stop. Just look at new payment methods that can be added! We are running a chatbotservice at night in the UK and, becoming more popular every day, are thinking about a required voice interface so our customers can order their packaging solution through their Google Home device. We do not know what is coming yet,” says Emmanuel Faux.

As the global market is growing and economic welfare is rising, the packaging market grows as well. European consumers buy more and more online, which makes the demand for Rajaproducts higher than ever. With Raja’s Sm@rt-site e-commerce platform, users become self-sufficient, making their only moments of contact the placement of the order and the delivery of it. What easier can it get? “We will follow new trends and will see which are useful to them. The B2C market provides great insights. We’ll see what happens. Lots of great features are there to make the lives of online retailers easier,” says Faux. ••

Raja is working a lot with UX these days. “Paying attention to the customer journey is what we are really trained to do now. We can identify what our customers want. This way, we can build and implement features they want to use. You do not come to the Raja platform to buy an iPhone or look at clothes for a whole afternoon - they differ from B2C features. Our customers have specific needs and we must work with that. We work with the principle ‘What would make our user’s lives easier?’”.

“Raja presented many complex but interesting demands for their B2B-webshop to us. Having over 500.000 customers to serve, coming from 14 countries, buying well over 10.000 products it was clear to be a challenging and demanding project.”, says Toufik Boudellal, Country Manager France of Intershop. “After a thorough selection process, we demonstrated that Raja and the Intershop are a perfect match, mainly as a result of the extensive standard B2B-functionality of our Commerce Suite and the ease to manage this centrally and expand to new countries easily.”

The future of packaging As the international B2B customers are demanding more and more, Raja has a domestic international strategy to provide their service. Warehouses are stationed all through Europe and call centres are mainly domestic. “To be competitive, Raja does not try to be the cheapest, we try to offer the best service. Our service is where we can impress our customers. Local support and being close to the customer is what matters. It is when our customers have a problem that we can help them most by

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~ Brexit ~

CONSEQUENCES OF BREXIT FOR THE LOGISTIC SECTOR Text: Marjolijn Uringa, Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Stock

that you only pay import duties when the goods will ultimately leave the warehouse for delivery. If goods are delivered from a customs warehouse in the EU, and ultimately go to the UK, paying import duties in the EU will be prevented. The same applies to distribution from the UK.

possible to benefit from a duty exemption which is currently available for shipments up to €150. However, from a VAT perspective the question would be whether an import in the name of the individual consumer (to which the €150 does not apply) would allow for a refund of the VAT paid at import in the case of returns. Since this is unlikely, that would require the seller to import the goods and therefore to register in the UK.

Local Hero concept: Maybe the most promising alternative is the Local Hero concept. In this concept, local network partners are linked to Bleckmann, making it possible to make deliveries on time. Distribution is ensured from warehouses and delivery to the final customer is in time. It is a solution in which you are not bothered by the limitations that arise from Brexit.

By extension it follows that it might be beneficial to start shipping from a warehouse in the UK – also to avoid increased lead times. A separate (additional) warehouse location of course also means additional costs, not only the location and its services, but also related to the additional stock required and the consequences of return shipments.

E-commerce

The UK leaving the EU will have a big impact on many. This also applies to the logistics sector and it is important to keep a close eye on developments to prepare for what is coming. The most important thing for logistic companies is that the consequences that customers may face remain as limited as possible. The new year has only just started, and March 2019 still seems far away. However, Bleckmann and partners are already fully anticipating for the changes Brexit will bring. As a provider of full supply chain management solutions, we understand the major consequences of Brexit for the logistics process. The irreversible growth of e-commerce, the market (and customer) demands for 24/7 delivery and service mean that it is time to take measures.

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hat are we dealing with?

There will be important changes in law and regulations. Enforcing these new rules lead to uncertainty, both in terms of legal aspects and practical implementation. Is there sufficient manpower in the government services? Are there enough physical accommodations available? In the UK the existing customs sites (i.e. Dover) were sold, this means that there are currently no customs locations. That is an operational challenge for the UK. However, there are also challenges on the European side, because for example in Hoek van Holland, the Netherlands, there is no longer an active customs post either.

Within the EU, there is a customs system that does not allow a refund of once-paid import duties (wrongly delivered goods excluded), so additional payments have to be prevented (goods returning to the EU and UK and already paid duties). It is expected that the UK initially will take over the EU customs legislation, as a result of which this problem plays equally well with goods that are first imported into the UK. To ensure that import duties are not paid more than necessary (so only once), there are a number of possibilities.

Additional complexity on returns

It is clear that the consequences of Brexit for the e-commerce market could be substantial, as e-commerce is typically a high volume, low value business. A vast number of transactions are performed and, especially for garments, the level of return shipments is considerable. This is already an issue within the single market of the EU and is expected to become even more cumbersome for cross-border EU-UK trade.

Within a single market or a customs union, return shipments are not to be a major problem. Returns can be re-sold anywhere within the single market without additional duties becoming due, making effective use of the available economies of scale. With the UK becoming an own market, the EU market will only become somewhat smaller and will still offer considerable economies of scale. However, the question is whether the UK market would be large enough to offer this scale needed for companies to operate profitably. Because of the decreased market size, prices are likely to increase in the UK, and in some sectors, there may be a new focus on ‘homegrown’ for a number of categories that were previously imported from the EU.

As indicated before, the EU customs legislation which is likely to be copied in the UK after Brexit does not include an option for refunds of duties paid other than situations where goods are defect or do not meet the contractual agreements. This means that once goods have been customs cleared for free circulation and without a customs union in place, the goods will be subject to duties upon arrival in the UK again. For example, duties have been paid (a common rate for this is 12%) for circulation in the EU upon arrival from the manufacturers in the Far East. However, there is no option to claim these duties back when the goods are sold and shipped to customers in the UK. It means that these rates have to be paid again upon arriving in the UK, effectively another 12%. In order to avoid the initial duty payment at arrival in the warehouse, a customs warehouse would be required. Even though a customs warehouse is merely an administrative process, it will result in additional compliance costs. In addition, logistics expenses related to the export and import formalities and waiting time for customs clearance are to be considered, not to mention the foreseen increases in lead-times and potentially associated decreased client satisfaction.

The impact on UK e-commerce business that do low value shipments might be limited at the beginning due to the low value import VAT (€22) and customs duties (€150) relief. However, as the EU envisages abolishing the VAT exemption under its Modernising VAT for e-commerce plans, this would only be a temporary relief. Due to the added cost of customs declarations and additional time required for goods to reach their destination, certain e-commerce models which include the UK may no longer be viable. This article was created with the help of Jos Verstraten, Senior Director of Customs and International Trade at PwC. ••

Managing the logistic consequences of Brexit There are some ways to deal with the results of Brexit.

Customs controls by the authorities will have a direct impact on lead times. Now, logistic companies can accurately indicate a lead time almost up to the hour, checks and extra customs formalities will lead to less grip on the supply chain. Checks will be timeconsuming and must be carried out directly at the border. As a result, the entire chain can suffer from this and speed will fall. The changes in the field of customs require smart solutions in the supply chain. The irreversible growth of e-commerce means that a continuous flow of goods crosses national borders from and to the UK. Within the European Union, passing customs borders is mostly a formality. With the UK leaving the EU, the free circulation of goods ends, and an extra customs border is added.

Inventory management, a local hub: A solution to keep lead times manageable is to create a local hub in the UK. Investigating the possibility to arrange warehousing in the UK and on the main land allows a quick, and efficient delivery to e-tailers, retailers and wholesale. It would mean that extra stock is in the books and research for a separate, local hub is necessary. You need to wonder whether there is enough critical mass to justify local warehousing commercially. Customs storage: The main advantage of storing goods in a customs warehouse is

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In an effort to combat the fraud in e-commerce and programmes for reduction of the administrative burden, the European Commission has proposed a plan that combines VAT payments and a fast-track procedure for customs in a One-StopShop system. This will ease some of the administrative burdens on the EU side post-Brexit. However, this proposal by the Commission still needs to be approved by the member states, after which implementation is only foreseen in 2021.

Supply chain consequences of Brexit • • • • •

For an e-commerce business, an additional aspect would be who to use as importer/consignee for shipments. If the importer would be the individual consumers, there would be a significant increase in declarations. However, in this scenario it may be

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Customs controls instead of free circulation Possible doubled import duties (1x EU and 1x UK) Increased logistic expenses and lead times Profitability of reselling returns Price increase

~ This Works ~

THIS WORKS: FACING THE CHALLENGES OF A HIGH DEMAND IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: This Works

Joe Fletcher is E-commerce Director at This Works, a skincare brand founded in the United Kingdom, providing intelligent, targeted skincare solutions that work with your body clock 24 hours a day. As the brand is growing fast and has an international focus, it deals with new demands from customers all over the world. How does This Works meet this increased demand and what are the main challenges This Works face in doing so?

T

his Works sells its product direct to consumer and to third-party sellers all over the world. With their own web shop and the channels from these thirdparty sellers, expansion of the business goes fast. These days, the B2C channel approximately accounts for 25% of the total business. The other part is a combination of brick-and-mortar shops and retailers like John Lewis and FeelUnique.

getting the product to the end consumer. eShopworld helps us by providing us a checkout solution that removes difficulty in different countries. Localising all these consumer touchpoints, for example in the field of pricing, currency, language, and address capture, makes it possible for our cross-border consumers to have a friction-free purchase. Removing these barriers to conversion for our international consumers was one of the key elements of our collaboration. This way, it is possible to have the local end-consumer pay with their relevant payment methods for example. From that point, we can build.”

Being able to sell cross-border isn’t always easy. “It is about understanding the needs of your consumers and meeting those needs. What do they want?” explains Fletcher. “Our key drivers of growth today are the UK and the US. The UK accounts for 80% of turnover online. To continue to grow at this pace, it was important to investigate international (e-)commerce. With traffic on our web shop coming from over 130 countries, we can conclude there is a demand for our product.”

The Deep Sleep Pillow Spray Working with a partner offers This Works an opportunity to reach a new international customer. Determining the potential value of a new market often comes down to testing and finding the appropriate routes to market. “Our Deep Sleep Pillow Spray is often the first to gain traction. We position it as the first step in a skincare regime and it has excellent cut-through for customer acquisition. Based on this product, we build our full 24hr skincare story. So, this product is a great way to get our brand in front of a new consumer whether in the UK or internationally. The focus then shifts to how we meet that demand, which can be more challenging internationally. That’s where a solution like eShopWorld comes in. We are a problemsolving brand, at least in the field of skincare, and this strategy to enter new markets requires us to remain innovative across the business, from the science behind our products to the supply chain and e-commerce technologies.” ••

Entering new markets So, how do you enter a new market? Fletcher: “Our thirdparty distribution and direct sales are growing significantly, both in the UK and particularly overseas in this case. There is an opportunity for the direct channel to harness the growing awareness. We are expanding into China, focusing on big European countries, like France, with growing demand in the Middle-East and into East Asia. Collected data from our online channel and third-party sellers gives us valuable intelligence we’re able to use.” On This Work’s channels, traffic is generated from over 130 countries. Up to this moment, it hasn’t always been possible to provide the necessary services to meet the demand in these territories. “We currently still have too much of a one-sizefits-all model for that. To continue to grow, it is necessary to be able to deliver services in more countries.” says Fletcher. This Works started to work with eShopworld to make this possible. “We have all data available, both from our B2C channel and our third-party sellers, to decide what markets are currently interesting for us. What we learn from our third-party businesses is very valuable and makes it easier to decide to what new territories we want to expand. It would be foolish to ignore these opportunities. With the help from eShopworld, we can offer our products in these new markets without the need of having extensive resources and taking unnecessary risks.” says Fletcher. “They facilitate the trade with these new territories, the underlying infrastructure and

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~ Ranpak ~

THE STRENGTH OF PAPER:

THE NEXT LEVEL OF SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Richard Driessen, Ranpak

Are you selling fragile products in your shop? Or do you have to ship larger, heavy products? How do you pack these products when a combination of the two types is ordered? Packaging isn’t as easy as it may seem. Andries Bolding, Key Account Manager E-Commerce and Erwin Methorst, Manager Packaging Engineering at Ranpak talk to us about the advantages of paper and the developments in packaging.

P

lastic Soup

The Power of Paper

Ranpak differed from the start. The product that was used for packaging should in the first place be useful, but just as important was to not harm nature. As the power of paper is not commonly known, it has given Ranpak both advantages and challenges. “People are so surprised to see how flexible paper is and how well it performs that on first sight it is almost too good to be true. That can make it difficult to convince them to choose this packaging solution. However, when they see how well it protects, and that is something we can make visible, they are most often quickly convinced,” says Erwin Methorst. “People really gain insight into what wrinkled paper can do for their products. Often a switch to paper and some simple packaging tricks improves a whole packaging operation, but more importantly, the quality of the packaging.”

For some, paper might not look like the strongest or safest way to pack products. There seem to be more typical solutions like foam, (polystyrene) chips, or bubble wrap. The vision of

Ranpak invested in a packaging lab, to find the best balance between performance and cost. “Here, we measure the protective

Ranpak was founded in 1972 with the goal to create environmentally responsible packaging material. At that time, most materials used had proved to be useful as packaging materials but were harmful for the environment, examples of which include polystyrene chips and plastic. The new packaging material had to be the perfect cushion and protection for products during shipment and not harm nature. As discussions about the plastic ocean and the environment continued, Ranpak developed a friendly packaging alternative: a paper solution. Ever since, Ranpak has developed its product to protect all goods that need to be shipped in an effective, environmental friendly way.

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~ Ranpak ~

performance of the paper cushion pads that we use, as we have different kinds of paper. We have developed so many package designs that meet, or in most cases exceed, the set requirements, they can come at a lower cost.”

Testing whether paper packaging is working well for a product is important. As Methorst is explaining how drop testing works – a small accelerometer is attached to the packed product and sends data of the impact of the shock to a computer – he points out that it is statistically proven that the bottom of a box is usually its most vulnerable side. During the drop, the accelerometer measures the force of the shock as well as the duration of the shock. “The impact will differ in relation to the packaging material that is used.”

The Test One of the most important tests executed at Ranpak is the drop test. The drop, and the impact it has on the packed products, is measured. Imagine you are selling products like glass bowls. Fragile products, often with unusual shapes that do not always fit into any available box. Currently, your first thought might be to fill all empty space within the box so the object is no longer able to move. This can for example be done with foam, chips, bubble wrap or plastic. A sustainable alternative is wrinkled paper and a simple technique that makes it impossible for the bowl to move. “When using a simple trick to keep the product in the box still, placing the paper in a certain shape, for example a cross, means you need less filling material - while you get even better results,” says Methorst.

“RANPAK DEVELOPED A FRIENDLY PACKAGING ALTERNATIVE: A PAPER SOLUTION”

As we test this with a headlight for a car and two different packaging materials (foam and paper), the outcome is amazing. The impact of the drop was much lower on the package where paper was used. “This is a typical result when we do testing for our customers. Our paper solution does extend the duration of a shock. This results in a lower impact on the packed product. It creates a valuable buffer that other materials do not provide in the same way,” explains Methorst. “We have provided solutions for many of our customers, from small and extremely

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Exceeding Customer Expectations Intershop’s Order Management System enables enterprise wide visibility of inventories and omni-channel routing of orders. This will result in the perfect omni-channel customer experience in all touchpoints. Intershop, the e-commerce pioneer, provides the highest rated commerce solution in the market. We advise and support businesses in the digital transformation of their sales and transaction processes. On the basis of our leading commerce suite and synaptic partner technologies we develop tailormade strategies and solutions driving the online success of you and your business. www.intershop.com/order-management

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~ Ranpak ~

fragile items like glassware, all the way up to heavy industrial products like pumps and drives. We even succeeded in finding a perfect solution for a Porsche engine in paper.”

unpacking experience,” says Bolding.

Changes in commerce As the online and offline markets are changing continuously, so is the business of Ranpak. “What we see is that e-commerce is stirring up the market, requesting quicker delivery every day. The need to provide easy going processes and solutions is higher than ever. Especially the speed of packaging is increasing. This asks for machines and automation processes we can provide,” says Bolding, “Our machines have a high output, and we provide every new customer with decent training and setup of their packaging department. This way, machines and materials are used in the right manner. Most of the time they can speed up their processes and use less materials than they did before.”

Taking advantages to the next level The strength and buffer effect are only two of the advantages of paper packaging. “Paper in general is recycled up to seven times before it is disposed of. Paper is one of the first things to be recycled, ever since individuals began separating their waste,” says Methorst. As more retailers are aware of their environmental footprint, they are looking for more sustainable solutions. “A great example of this is a big furniture company like a Swedish furniture company,” says Andries Bolding, “When you take a look at them now and a few years ago, they have changed a lot.” Before, they used a lot of plastic and foam packaging for products. As e-commerce got more important, delivery got quite a boost for them and the need for a sustainable packaging solution became more valuable. “They have shifted almost completely to using carton now.”

Another important aspect is the automation of certain processes. Packaging tables will disappear more to the background of companies. Boxes will be provided with less extra, empty space. And while there will be less packagers, they will always remain connected to the process, guiding the machines to do their work properly. “There will always be big boys who have the resources to go for full automation. But it is more likely a hybrid model will come up, where packing will remain the main focus,” concludes Andries Bolding. ••

Another benefit from the use of paper is that it comes with a more natural, uniform look. “Bubble wrap for example has a kind of industrial look. It does not sparkle when someone receives a package this way. Paper is available in multiple forms and, if you wish, colours, giving you the possibility to give your package a more uniform, less industrial, balanced look.” This is becoming increasingly more important for e-tailers. “It benefits the

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~ B2C Europe ~

B2C EUROPE THE PERFECT FIT FOR DUTCH FASHION BRAND, JOSH V Text & Photos: B2C Europe

Dutch fashion and lifestyle label JOSH V was founded by Amsterdam-based fashion designer and entrepreneur Josh Veldhuizen in 2011. Josh launched the brand with the aim of producing highly accessible, yet still luxurious clothing that ‘make women’s hearts worldwide skip a beat’.

O

ver the past six years, JOSH V has become one of the fastest growing fashion and lifestyle brands in Europe, with collections available in nine countries. While the Netherlands remains the brand’s primary market, demand is quickly increasing, particularly in Belgium and Germany.

ing a local returns address added to an already costly process. Without the strong negotiating position which larger, more established players enjoy, the JOSH V team needed to look elsewhere for bulk-buying power. E-business manager Bob Jaspers Focks said: “Our delivery partner at the time was failing to be cost-effective for us as a growing brand. We also felt that we were unable to create a personalised experience for our customers in each country using the services we had available. We wanted the last-mile courier to be recognisable to the recipient and to ensure that the returns address was a local one. Ultimately, we wanted to create a perfectly localised experience for consumers in each country, at a reasonable price.”

The challenge To respond to the new interest from Belgian and German consumers, JOSH V wanted a cost-effective way to ship an increasing number of parcels to these markets, as well as to other European countries. As an e-commerce seller, the company initially struggled to make shipping across borders cost-effective. The brand simply didn’t take enough orders to make bulk deliveries feasible and the requirement of provid-

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~ B2C Europe ~

JOSH V needed a specialist, adept at managing the varying levels of delivery-friendly infrastructures in place for e-commerce in each region. Jaspers Focks continued: “Each country varies in terms of how customers want to receive deliveries, whether that’s collecting from a drop-off point or receiving their parcel at home. We needed a delivery partner who had experience and could negotiate these differences on our behalf.”

Full implementation of the service, which included a tracked service and returns services across Europe, was completed within three months.

The benefits JOSH V has benefited from the local power and presence of B2C Europe. The team no longer needs to be in contact with each of its local delivery suppliers to ensure parcels are delivered in each of their customer territories, freeing up time as well as removing logistical headaches. JOSH V has also made significant savings through B2C’s bargaining power to obtain good rates from suppliers. These savings have been invested elsewhere in the business to drive it forward – helping JOSH V significantly increase the volume of parcels it can manage.

The solution JOSH V engaged with B2C Europe, following a review of the distribution services provided by a number of different companies. The fundamental reason behind JOSH V’s selection was the framework of warehouses and international delivery partners. This would provide the fashion label with a local hub in each country.

“ULTIMATELY, WE WANTED TO CREATE A PERFECTLY LOCALISED EXPERIENCE FOR CONSUMERS IN EACH COUNTRY, AT A REASONABLE PRICE”

Bob Jaspers Focks commented: “We have a complete solution now. The service has matched quality with affordability and has been exactly what we needed to overcome the cross-border delivery challenge we were presented with as a growing business. During peak times, JOSH V now has days when thousands of orders are received. With the business picking up, the JOSH V team is confident that we have a solution that will scale up as we continue to grow and expand internationally.” ••

Bob Jaspers Focks commented: “It was clear that B2C’s international structure would provide us with a cost-efficient solution and mean that we could provide a truly localised service for our customers no matter where they are based. What’s more, the European hubs and the vast number of carrier contacts available to the organisation means they’ll always find the right price and will deliver on exactly the service we need. It was a straight-forward decision really.”

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~ ISKN ~

TO THE DRAWING BOARD:

EVOLUTION OF A KICKSTARTBRAND Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: ISKN

Clément Rosset is Head of Product at ISKN, a French-based tech company which created a product called the Slate, a drawing pad with which you digitally draw on paper. It is an ambitious project that is executed with a global view. Rosset talks to us about how ISKN was founded, how they target their audience and how ISKN is dealing with growing pains.

K

ickstart

was launched to gather funds to make their dream-project reality. While the initial goal was to gather $30,000, the campaign raised almost $350,000 after its first month. Starting on Kickstarter was making an obligation to your investors; ISKN had to deliver a product to all people who contributed.

ISKN was founded by Tristan Hautson, Timothée Jobert and Jean-Luc Vallejo. They met at the French research institute CEA-Leti where the idea for the technology used in the Slate was developed. “They wanted to do something with their idea, not just letting it remain a project forever,” says Rosset. Therefore, in September 2013, a Kickstarter campaign

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“That’s when we really had the urge to create our product, it is

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~ ISKN ~

why ISKN was founded,” comments Rosset. After working for more than a year, at the end of 2014, all Kickstarter-contributors got their first product.

work, sales are rising. The popularity of the Slate is growing. This comes with several, practical challenges. For ISKN, the biggest challenge was dealing with the logistic department. “As demand was pretty high, and we shipped all our products from France, we could not always deliver to the expectation of the customer. In 2017, we changed our fulfilment strategy. We decided to create local stock in Europe (France), the USA and China. These changes in our supply chain gave us multiple advantages. Firstly, shipping stock to the USA is faster and cheaper than it is to ship everything to Europe. Secondly, we can ship orders in China and Asia directly from our warehouse in China. Finally, during peaks, like the holiday period in November and December, pressure on our logistics department is divided among the warehouses where we keep stock.”

After this successful start, ISKN continued with the development and optimisation of the Slate. Initially, production took place in France, but as the demand of the product grew and certain fabrication components were harder to get, production was moved to China. Here, these components were available. “For us, it was great that we met a French manufacturer who produced in China. It was very convenient for us to move to China with him, while there is a big difference between Chinese and European management. This way, we would be dealing with a European management while our production costs and times were reduced when producing in China,” says Rosset.

“FACEBOOK MARKETING IS BIG BUSINESS”

B2B ambitions While ISKN is growing rapidly and will always be active on the B2C market, the company will focus itself more on the B2B market too. Rosset: “We are currently selling the Slate 2+. We will develop this product even further, launching new generations. But we have other ambitions as well. Recently, we have started to sell through Amazon, which is a delightful surprise. We even implemented an Amazon button into our UK website, as we noticed that most customers in the UK buy on Amazon anyway. We’ll be starting with Amazon USA soon. Besides that, one of the projects we will be working on focuses more on the B2B market. Our technology lends itself well for educational purposes and we are starting up an innovative project in China.” ••

“Upscaling in production made it possible for us to start selling through more channels. We started selling worldwide, which is necessary with a niche product like ours.” In 2016, the Slate was available in retail for the first time. “We started collaborations with retailers like Moma design store, FNAC and Saturn,” continues Rosset, “It resulted in a change in sales. In the early days, about 90% of all turnover came in through online sales. In 2017, this shifted to about 70% online and 30% retail. Our early adapters, mostly artists and people who are looking into new tech, functioned as ambassadors for our products as well. That definitely helped and helps selling our product.”

Facebook conversion As a target group may be large, it is always a quest to look for those consumers who are interested in buying your product. ISKN started with advertising on a few different platforms. “For us, Google Advertising didn’t live up to our expectations. Facebook marketing however, is big business. When people have visited our site, we can specifically target our ads to them and to people like them. Based on the principles of awareness, consideration and purchase we sent different commercial messages to our target groups. Conversion is really well.” “For us, this means that in the first step, awareness, we really show our product. This way, we aim to get the interest of the consumer. Once he or she has seen the video, or at least a large part of it, we show them another video. This video goes deeper into the product, explaining more about the technical aspects of the Slate. This way, in step two, consideration, people really start to think about the product. For our product, it is a great tool,” explains Rosset.

Fulfilling challenges As the concept of the Slate and the marketing strategy of ISKN

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~ Coffee Corner ~

Coffee or tea? When and how?

How do you know you are all set for the new regulation?

Black coffee. First thing in the morning to kick-start a productive day.

100% compliance with the GDPR is one challenging (if not unrealistic) task. In any case, compliance with the regulation must commence long before this May’s deadline. Businesses must firstly conduct a data-flow mapping which must illustrate in detail the processing and its purposes, and then perform a gap analysis which allows for pin-pointing the parts of the processing which do not comply with the regulation’s requirements. Following the gap analysis, companies must work on integrating policies and implementing specific measures and procedures for the purposes of complying with the new provisions. The aforementioned process, to be carried out by the coordinated work of the legal, IT and business team, is an ongoing task, as the data processing conducted by a business must comply at all times with the requirements introduced by the GDPR.

Why are retailers and SMEs struggling with (implementing) new regulations like the GDPR? The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will overhaul how businesses process and handle their data. For the purposes of complying with the new data protection regime by this May’s deadline, organisations are struggling to integrate policies and initiatives to safeguard the individuals’ data and prevent information getting into the wrong hands. This has not been without its challenges. The GDPR is more than just conforming to certain rules and obligations. It is about a shift of mindset and radically changing the company’s mentality and strategy for managing and handling personal data, which represent the businesses’ core and principal source of income.

Who will benefit most from the new regulation, and how? The most obvious answer would be the data subjects, as they are placed at the centre of attention and their rights are significantly reinforced. However, it will give businesses the incentive to ensure better visibility of data storage and management, enabling them to better handle and (legitimately) exploit their data.

What are the consequences of the GDPR?

A CUP OF COFFEE WITH… Alexandra Varla, Associate at Zoulovits-Kontogeorgou (ZK) Law Firm We like to have inspiring discussions about cross-border e-commerce over a nice cup of coffee (or tea). This time we talk about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with Alexandra Varla, Associate at Zoulovits-Kontogeorgou (ZK) Law Firm, a team led by the pioneers Mina Zoulovits and Penny Kontogeorgou, specializing in the field of e-commerce, IT & Innovation, Digital Transformation and Data Protection.

SUBJECTS’ RIGHTS: THE RIGHT OF ERASURE (“RIGHT BE FORGOTTEN”), THE RIGHT OF DATA PORTABILITY, THE RIGHT OF DATA RECTIFICATION, THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO AUTOMATED INDIVIDUAL DECISION-MAKING, THE RIGHT TO OBJECT TO PROCESSING, THE RIGHT TO RESTRICT PROCESSING, THE RIGHT OF ACCESS AND THE RIGHT TO BE INFORMED

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In an increasingly data-driven world, the GDPR introduces a new set of rules which will undoubtedly affect all businesses that collect and process EU citizens’ personal data – i.e. practically every company in the world. The GDPR requirements will force all companies to change the way they process, store, and protect customers’ personal data. The regulation is undoubtedly set to form a new data protection landscape in Europe, one that seeks to strike a delicate balance between the necessity of protecting the individuals’ rights and the challenges and opportunities introduced by the current digitally enriched environment.

Important features regarding the regulations that should not be forgotten? • Broader territorial scope Contrary to the existing regime, the regulation is applicable to any organisation or entity that collects, holds or processes the personal data of EU citizens, irrespective of their geographical location. This is particularly interesting for non-EU businesses that are involved in cross-border e-commerce, as they undoubtedly target, inter alia, EU consumers and will, therefore, fall under the GDPR scope.

What are the most important changes for retailers and SMEs? An important change brought on by the GDPR relates to marketing and commercial communication which targets consumers and particularly profiling, which is now specifically addressed by the regulation.

• Reinforcement of the data subjects’ rights In conformity with one of the core objectives underpinning the GDPR, i.e. enabling data subjects to take control of their own data. The regulation has granted a new set of rights, which re-balance the interests in favour of the individuals: the right of erasure (“right be forgotten”), the right of data portability, the right of data rectification, the right to object to automated individual decision-making, the right to object to processing, the right to restrict processing, the right of access and the right to be informed, thanks to an enforced principle of transparency.

Retailers and SMEs obtain personal information about consumers from a variety of different sources: buying habits, internet browsing, lifestyle and behavior data collected from social media, mobile and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Such information is analysed to classify consumers into distinct groups or sectors. The analysis identifies the links between different characteristics and behaviours, in order to build consumer profiles. Although profiling can be beneficial to both the businesses and consumer, as it allows for better market segmentation and tailored services, it may involve significant risks for individuals, who might not be aware of the profiling and might as well be restricted into specific categories and preferences. Such risks are acknowledged by the GDPR, which introduces new provisions to address the caveats arising from profiling and automated decision-making and ensure that profiling does not have an unjustified impact on consumers.

• Penalties To ensure compliance with the legal framework for data protection and the implementation of the new provisions, the regulation has introduced an enforcement regime of heavy financial sanctions to be imposed to violators, up to 4% of the annual worldwide turnover of the business, or €20,000,000 – whichever is higher. ••

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~ Tradebyte ~

TRADEBYTE (ECD) Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Tradebyte

Alexander Otto is Head of Events and PR at Tradebyte and oversees the ECD. He coordinates, creates and communicates about topics connected with the ECD and its related topics like marketplaces, digital transformation and so on. Tradebyte plans to further develop the ECD as an independent power brand for platform stories. He talks to us about the dynamics of e-commerce and the added value of the ECD.

M

arketplaces are facing revolutionary transitions at the moment. The marketplace as a place for contemporary retail business is reinventing itself with breathtaking velocity. When defining a marketplace ten years ago, the whole industry only spoke about “Amazon” and “eBay”. The fundamental principle of connecting third parties to trade autonomously and directly with consumers (D2C) has since been absorbed by the entire e-commerce business. A lot of new digital platforms like ABOUT YOU, Otto, SportScheck and Zalando, to name just a few, have evolved and redefined the characteristics of a marketplace business. By the way, it is an utterly successful development – we assume that a relevant part of the total turnover in retail will be generated through such digital platforms.

brands. With our standardised and scalable solutions, our routine and expertise, we dare to claim that we are a reliable partner for all retailers who are thinking about starting a digital platform.

How does Tradebyte connect marketplaces to vendors, brands, manufacturers, etc.? What is Tradebyte’s role in this process? We provide the relevant systems and offer standardised or customised interfaces to the relevant IT systems of our customer, for TB.One and TB.Market. TB.One has fully integrated interfaces to over eighty attractive channels. So, once connected to Tradebyte, a brand or vendor can open up a D2C business simply by connecting their own brand shop to TB.One. Our out-of-the-box-solutions open the world of e-commerce with an extremely short time-to-market. Our whole network of channels, over 650 vendors and partners, is called the Tradebyte ecosystem; this is where it starts to get really interesting. With our partner network within the ecosystem, our clients do not have to worry about the implementation of SAP or Salesforce systems, fulfilment or content creation. And for those who strive to start a platform themselves: Once connected to Tradebyte, we bring over 650 vendors to them just by being part of our ecosystem.

So underneath this general evolution, there are some major trends that are preoccupying brands, vendors and retailers right now. Be it the growing verticalisation amongst vendors of marketplaces or the increasing number of features and opportunities for optimising and really steering business. Some years ago, being on a marketplace just meant ‘sending offers and receiving orders’. Now it’s a whole lot more and business is becoming more and more demanding and complex – for both sides of this growing industry.

What is the future of marketplaces?

THE DYNAMICS OF E-COMMERCE AREN’T GOING TO SLOW DOWN ANY TIME SOON. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT MARKETPLACES AND WHAT ARE THE CURRENT TRENDS THAT YOU SEE?

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The ECD is a congress organised by Tradebyte, focusing on vendors, brands (retailers) and marketplaces and platforms. What is the main objective of this congress and why should people attend?

Marketplaces will have to revive and refresh themselves continuously, providing connected vendors and brands with more transparency and features. Today, marketplace business in most cases is still a black box; brands are missing relevant information to really steer business and understand their consumers. For example, the brand doesn’t know anything about the customer (besides the address), doesn’t know about the background, basket sizes or conversion rates of the article detail page. So, the technological challenges will increase almost infinitely. Marketplaces must define even more precisely what they offer their clients and vendors. This has to correspond to the brand’s image and vision – which makes it a highly strategic issue. Topics like the transparency of the D2C channel of commerce, processes for faster time-to-market and the opportunities of marketing promotions and brand storytelling will be crucial factors for the success of a platform. That, in turn, requires highly developed technological expertise and a well-defined set of processes and strategic steps.

Our solutions connect vendors with marketplaces. The ECD modifies that approach a little – by connecting vendors and marketplaces in person. The ECD humanises the technologicallydriven e-commerce business. We create a space for people to talk about themes and topics, or even to do business in our meeting lounge. The ECD is kind of the analogue touch in a growing digital business world.

The ECD stands out as a networking event as you mentioned. What is the biggest benefit of getting in touch with merchants/marketplaces (whichever side you are on)? It is the exchange of knowledge and best practice from one person to another. We consider e-commerce to be a huge lab. Everything we all do is new – we are all pioneers, digital pioneers. There is no standard way to succeed like there may have been in commerce business for a long time. So, we bring those pioneers together to talk and use synergies. For this we have a meeting lounge with more than sixteen cabins where guests can arrange 30-minute one-to-one-meetings. Brands are able to get in touch with many relevant stakeholders on the marketplace side. Without the ECD it would probably take more than a year to have all these appointments. ••

What is the added value of Tradebyte in this respect? Tradebyte is the only integrator which has been offering solutions for both sides of the marketplace business for years. On the one hand, we provide a solution for vendors and brands to connect to channels which is called TB.One. On the other hand, we enable retailers to establish a digital platform via TB.Market. Working on both sides and covering the process “end-to-end” represents the major benefit. Since we have known the marketplace business from its very beginning, we consider ourselves as early adopters and specialists in this field. We detect trends before they spread and are able to implement them into our solutions from an early stage. As early as in 2016, we started the first ship-from-shop pilots with major

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~ Lorna Beament ~

COLUMN MARKETPLACE SELLERS – WHO ARE THEY? Unless you have managed to live in a world without internet for the last twenty years, you’ll have heard of the marketplace giants Amazon and eBay. There are now over 400 marketplaces globally and with 40% of all global e-commerce estimated to take place on a marketplace by 2020, it is not surprising that marketplace sellers are on the rise.

I

Growers typically start offline, like a family business, but recognised marketplaces could help them reach new customers and reinvigorate their business.

t would seem ‘How to sell on Amazon’ is now more popular than the previous Google search for ‘How to get rich quick’. We are aware of the urban myths of ‘sofa CEOs’ - making a fortune by selling goods online or reselling cheaper products bought in China. However, the reality of being successful on online marketplaces is not that simple.

Pioneers have lots of experience using marketplaces, but use them selectively based upon product type. Leaders were the smallest group and these might be large omnichannel businesses but despite their size, marketplaces still represent an important channel, especially as they represent opportunities to sell internationally.

So why does GS1 UK care about online marketplaces - we’re just the barcode guys, right? We have seen a 300% year-on-year increase in members joining GS1 UK, just to trade on online marketplaces. Given that our history comes from the more traditional retail and supply chain side, we decided to take a deeper dive into this emerging sector.

Our market research also highlighted that while online marketplaces provide opportunities for businesses to sell, grow and expand, there are also many challenges, and these will be different for each of the six groups.

In 2017, we conducted some market research and the outcome was the discovery of six distinct types of online sellers – contrary to the belief that a marketplace seller is likely to be someone working from a bedroom stocked high with boxes of stock and a daily post office run.

For example, Creatives need to seek out advice on how to best use marketplaces, such as listing items, and require guidance on marketplace regulations and barcoding. In comparison, the Leaders require a bespoke product management system that sits across all sales channels to drive success and overcome challenges.

We found they all have different strategies and reasons they use marketplaces, along with different needs to help take the business to the next level. Let’s take a look and get to know them all better: Creatives tend to operate from home, and have turned their hobby into a business and focus on a single marketplace.

Online marketplaces also offer an opportunity for businesses to access international markets. These are typically businesses with larger revenues and tend to have their own websites. However, their needs are complex, and they require integration with existing software. They will have to be compliant wherever they are selling in the world and will be sensitive to challenges around the international supply chain.

Traders have an eye for the latest product trends and crazes, which they buy in bulk and sell quickly using multiple online marketplaces . Innovators focus on a niche idea or a smaller range, often invented by themselves, and start online, looking to increase awareness.

Delivering on your promises since 1862 Once a transport supplier in the textile industry, we have evolved into a world class partner of choice by continuously developing supply chain innovations for world-leading fashion and lifestyle brands. The dynamic environment of our customers and their focus on e-commerce activities require very agile, flexible and fast solutions. We enable them to fulfil their customers’ needs by providing omni-channel fulfilment services. Whatever the market, whatever the channel and whatever the services, we deliver.

Lorna is an experienced ecommerce professional working for GS1UK, the standards organisation behind the barcode. She managed multiple marketplaces for several global brands over the years giving a well rounded background in international and cross-border trading before moving to a non for profit to focus on helping SMEs to grow their businesses through online channels.

Multi-Modal Transportation Management

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Customs Solutions

www.bleckmann.com 41

Omni-channel Distribution Management

CROSS-BORDER FULFILMENT ACHIEVING PERFECT DELIVERY EXPERIENCE FOR INTERNATIONAL SELLERS Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Devlinn van Loon

Competition from local sellers: it can be a pain for cross-border sellers all over the world. Unless you have a unique product, which almost doesn’t exist, you have to deal with this local competition. How do you cope with competitive shipping rates and, more important, competitive delivery times? Henning Heesen, Chief Product Developer at Salesupply, talks to us about the importance of international fulfilment and how the Salesupply Fulfilment Solution was created to provide cross-border merchants with the possibility to fulfil internationally at a local level.

D

elivery Experience as key driver to online sales

“This immense pressure on the delivery experience will kill cross-border merchants who deliver internationally in the future. For obvious reasons, local merchants deliver faster; there is no way international retailers can compete with these expectations,” Heesen notes.

These days, it is essential to focus on a perfect customer experience, and this includes a perfect delivery experience. Customers have been spoiled with faster and faster deliveries and now they are demanding it. A couple of years ago, it was common sense that you had to wait for two or three days for something ordered online. These days, the cut-off and delivery time makes or breaks the conversion. Big online players like Amazon have raised the bar to a very high level - Amazon Prime made sure any product would be delivered the next day, Amazon Prime-Now tops even that. Consumers can schedule their own delivery, the same day.

“CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN SPOILED WITH FASTER AND FASTER DELIVERIES”

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The battle of the cut-off time

The acceptable time between customers’ demands and getting the product is decreasing massively. Logically, the alternative is to go to the city and get the product yourself right away. However, that comes with the hassle of driving, parking and even the possibility that the product is not available.

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10%

~ Cross-Border Fulfilment ~

“In a couple of years,” says Heesen, “this latter problem will be solved when retail stores on a big scale start connecting their checkout systems to local city marketplaces. But for now ecommerce retailers can and should have the answer for that.”

from a local hub to a local customer. Domestic shipping in Germany and France is somewhere from around €3. Crossborder deliveries in Europe demand a line haul that will raise those prices up to €5 - € 9. • Lower return costs: local returns are cheaper then shipping them cross-border. Return handling can be quicker as well. • Lower costs in customer service: shorter delivery and returns refunding time will decrease customer service inquiries as there is a smaller time frame to ask them.

Henning Heesen strongly believes the answer lies in the cut-off time; the latest time a customer can order for a next day, same day or time scheduled delivery: “This battle between retailers that is already going on and will continue in the next couple of years, will be that of the cut-off time to fulfil customer’s need of getting the product as fast as possible to the demand,” he states.

According to Henning Heesen, these advantages have one very important thing in common for cross-border activities: crossborder fulfilment is creating a growing and competitive business model for the future. “Cross-border fulfilment is nothing more than a better customer experience. We call this the Delivery Experience, accompanied with lower costs. Salesupply developed a technology platform that makes it possible to get connected with our multiple warehouses. Integrating a new warehouse is often very difficult, so we created the technology to make this a fairly easy process, accessible for any merchant.”

“In the Netherlands this is already happening. Large players like Bol.com, Wehkamp and Coolblue offer customers a next day delivery when ordering before 23:59h. As this is a standard offer, a standard service, this is the benchmark for all retailers, including international players.”

The need to stay on top of the game The Salesupply Fulfilment Solution is an answer to remain competitive, but also international. “In the last two years, we have set up a network of warehouses in eight countries. With hubs in the USA, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, we make it possible for international merchants to store their product internationally on a local level.”

Big Data What does the future hold? “The fulfilment program will be optimised and our warehouse density in the current markets we offer this solution for will be higher. A commonly trend is that 50% of American retailers are already using more than two warehouses to provide a next-day delivery service in high-density regions. The next step will be the data development part, so we can provide our customers with more information regarding fast- and slow movers and what stock to put where.” ••

This service comes with multiple strategic advantages for crossborder selling merchants: • Faster delivery: having local stock offers the possibility to deliver faster. • Lower shipping costs: in general, you can save money sending

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2018

~ Pixi ~

HOW TO GET RETURNS RIGHT TIPS AND TRICKS Text: Gregor Walter // Photos: Pixi

Returns are a fact of life in e-commerce. Despite that, many retailers are still not putting enough emphasis on developing and implementing efficient return strategies. A customer’s return experience is as important as their sales experience; today’s customers expect flexibility, convenience, and transparency in their returns. Return policies are no longer just part of a company’s back-room logistics strategy—they’re now a valuable lever for brand equity. Amazon and Zalando are largely known for leading the way with return policies that are as simple as their purchase process, and shoppers have taken notice. In today’s highly competitive retail market, hassle-free return policies and quick processing are essential to win over new customers, keep existing ones loyal and, ultimately, turn a profit.

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H

ow to Get Returns Right

4. Use automation Two areas where retailers can speed up the returns process using automation are reimbursement and inventory management. After a return is processed, the amount owed to the shopper should be automatically reimbursed or credited to the credit card or PayPal account. Also, new inventory should be updated immediately via a warehouse management system in the online store and all sales channels to establish the opportunity for the next sale.

In addition to providing a personalised return slip and a prepaid return label when the shipment goes out to the customer, here are five tips from Descartes pixi* online retailers need to consider to reduce the friction of their returns process, as holiday returns begin to escalate. 1. Make the return process as transparent as the order process Even today, there are still e-commerce players who make the return process as difficult as possible for shoppers by hiding (or not even listing) their return policy for orders, not providing status updates immediately by email, or not notifying the customer when the returned goods have been received. Customer service cannot be deliberately neglected, and constant communication of status should be on the forefront of retailer’s minds, no matter what stage the order is in.

5. Consider returns as an important customer service practice One could argue that the ‘return burden’ has been lifted from consumers’ shoulders. Today, it’s become the responsibility of the retailer to offer convenient and simple return options for customers. The bottom line is that customers care about returns. Retailers that provide a complete end-to-end customer service experience incorporating flawless returns processing are more apt to see repeat customers and increased revenue.

2. Speed up your return processing To build confidence and rapport, the shopper should be informed immediately when the returned item has been received. Speed is on the side of the retailer as well; goods need to be seen as available in inventory and approved for sale to generate revenue. The quicker the returned item is checked for integrity and re-introduced into the system, the faster sales soar.

More information regarding returns can be found in the Complimentary e-book: Countering the Cost of Ecommerce Returns The piece includes an overview of returns trends by the numbers, hot topics including customer-driven disposition management, how to avoid unsorted returns piling-up in the warehouse and why it’s critical to use technology to manage the flow of information and returned product. ••

3. Keep goods handling and customer service separate If most returns are managed using a standard process, they won’t need to be reviewed by a customer service agent. The small number of returns that do need special treatment can then be kept separate for customer service attention. By splitting the returns process this way, most returned goods can be put back into inventory much faster, and even shipped more quickly if ordered by another customer. For example, by providing an online portal where consumers can initiate a return, the retailer knows from the moment the return is created what items to expect to receive and when.

Gregor Walter, Vice President, Product Management  As VP Product Strategy eCommerce, Gregor Walter guides Descartes’ strategy for its suite of eCommerce WMS and fulfillment solution on the Descartes Logistics Technology Platform in the German and European market. Gregor Walter is a featured speaker on the topics eCommerce strategy and technology.

www.pixi.eu/en/returns

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~ PayPal ~

FOSTERING A GLOBAL ECONOMY AND CROSS-BORDER TRADE Text: Bill Ready, EVP, Chief Operating Officer, PayPal // Photos: PayPal

Small businesses play a critical role in the global economy, contributing to economic opportunity, diversity and the overall health of our communities. If current trends continue, however, we may soon wake up in a world where many of these businesses have closed and only a few of the very largest players remain open. This could have a dramatic impact on innovation, jobs, the widening income gap and communities around the world. If, however, we partner together across the public, private and social sectors, we can provide access to affordable tools that will enable businesses of all sizes to grow and thrive, fostering a vibrant, global economy.

C

ommerce is consolidating globally

these businesses account for 60 to 70 percent of jobs in most OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries and a disproportionately large share of net new jobs. In India, the 46 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (or MSMEs) reportedly account for nearly 30 percent of the country’s total employment4. And recent studies show that in China, MSMEs make up 97 percent of all businesses, 80 percent of urban employment and 60 percent of total GDP5. The success of these businesses is critical for the economic health of their communities.

We’re already beginning to see consolidation of commerce in the form of businesses closing storefronts, cutting workforces and filing for bankruptcy – unable to compete in this new commercial environment.

“WE COULD ROUND PRICES THE WAY CUSTOMERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM ARE USED TO”

This trend is impacting markets globally. In the U.S., it’s estimated that about 10,000 retail jobs are lost monthly1 and more than 8,600 stores closed their doors in 2017 – the highest number on record2. And a recent study by The Economist3 found that nearly two-thirds of the 900 sectors covered by the economic census were more concentrated in 2012 than they were in 1997.

Countering these forces with technology and partnerships

This consolidation has hit small and medium-sized businesses particularly hard, which is troubling considering that

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Several factors have contributed to this consolidation, including economies of scale, often technology driven, that allow

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~ PayPal ~

a few of the largest businesses to have offerings that smaller players simply can’t match. But there are two key areas in which we can innovate and partner to help support a diverse set of businesses:

The Paper Packaging Experts™

trade associations can invest in educating local entrepreneurs about the importance of digitizing their businesses and selling internationally. Local businesses looking for ways to grow, impact investors interested in financing social good projects, and fintech companies that can provide the needed technological and financial tools, should work together to expand access to these capabilities. This will help drive commerce to millions of the small and medium sized businesses that are responsible for so much economic growth and employment.

1. Democratize access to mobile technology and seamless commerce tools One important factor leading to the consolidation we’ve seen in recent years is the rapid rise and adoption of mobile technology. Consumers are turning to their mobile devices as their primary channel for engaging in commercial activity. This shift to mobile is happening all around us – from Kenya, where more than half of the population6 reports having used their mobile phones to make a payment, to Sweden, where the country is rapidly converting into a cashless economy6. As smartphone adoption continues to drive increased internet connectivity and usage, this trend will only accelerate7. Over the next several years, this shift to mobile will be responsible for increasingly larger percentages of commerce globally. Mobile is unlocking new opportunity and enabling businesses and consumers to connect at the point of discovery. But it is also consolidating commerce in the hands of a few who have the resources to build seamless commerce experiences on a global scale. As business shifts into new contexts – from mobile to social, to things like virtual and augmented realities – this consolidation will likely only increase.

We have the opportunity to build a more vibrant economy – one that inspires entrepreneurs to get started and supports small businesses as they grow. ••

Companies like PayPal and Facebook, for example, are partnering to enable digital commerce in new contexts, like on social media. Through partnerships like these, even the smallest of businesses can open their doors to global consumers in the new contexts in which commerce is emerging.

Sources: 1: http://www.businessamlive.com/emerging-markets-nexte-commerce-frontier/ 2: https://www.fastcompany.com/40491567/the-future-ofretail-in-the-age-of-amazon 3: https://www.economist.com/news/specialreport/21707838-dearth-competition-among-firmshelps-explain-wage-inequality-and-host-other 4: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/03/ The-new-wave-Indian-MSME.pdf 5: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/ financing-smes-and-entrepreneurs-2016/china-people-srepublic-of_fin_sme_ent-2016-12-en 6: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/14/business/dealbook/cashless-economy.html?rref=collection%2Fsec tioncollection%2Fbusiness-dealbook&action=click&content Collection=dealbook®ion=rank&module=package&vers ion=highlights&contentPlacement=8 7: http://news.ihsmarkit.com/press-release/technology/moresix-billion-smartphones-2020-ihs-markit-says 8: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/ en/896971468194972881/pdf/102725-PUB-Replacement-PUBLIC.pdf

2. Help small businesses transform into cross-border businesses Brick and mortar businesses today are limited in the customer base they can reach. Yet reports show that people increasingly want to shop across borders to find unique goods and competitive prices. According to Forrester, cross-border shopping will make up 20 percent of all ecommerce7 within the next five years. Despite this, the World Bank reports that only about nine percent of small businesses and 16 percent of mediumsized businesses8 in low-income countries sell online. Even in upper-middle-income countries, less than 30 percent of small businesses and less than 40 percent of medium-sized businesses sell online. Small businesses need access to digital tools that open up their businesses to global audiences. The financial, technological and logistical tools that can help small businesses enter global markets, exist today. The public sector and

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~ Opinion ~

PANEL “Marketplaces offer a compelling route to market, especially into new markets”

Tophatter

YES

Many marketplaces focus on a buy-now experience where shoppers come to search for particular items. This means, instead of browsing or window shopping for items, they typically default for a search-driven experience that focuses on one or two items. On Tophatter, the user experience is all about discovery -- and closer to an Instagram feed, where approximately 100 products are being auctioned at the same time. Each auction is fast – about 90 seconds – creating the fun and engagement of a mobile game. By combining shopping with a gamification experience, Tophatter is targeting the Zeitgeist audience of a mobile-enabled shopper demographic. It offers experience and excitement – both things that are in short supply over and above the other more ubiquitous and utilitarian platforms.

Malcolm Scovil – Director of Marketing at Tophatter. Malcolm Scovil is an entrepreneurial leader with 12 years of experience in technology start-ups, venture capital and finance. He founded two revenue-generating companies, built a team of 25 and raised multiple rounds of capital. He is passionate about discovering and implementing innovative ways to help individuals and companies grow.

ePrice

YES &NO

“Developing cross-border is critical to growing and diversifying revenue streams for online business. Traditionally the route to market involved a considerably higher level of investment and risk on the ROI of that spend. Market research was undertaken over a lengthy period and when demand in a region was potentially clarified the whole process of localisation began to bring the product to market. Marketplaces, like ePrice, with their no fixed cost model ensures the level of financial risk and investment is minimal and can be increased when there is a confirmed level of GMV being driven from a given region.”

Anthony Meierruth - Sales Manager at ePrice. As Sales Manager for ePrice’s Marketplace, Anthony Meierruth manages a team of more than 10 direct reports. He takes care of all the commercial and operational aspects for the business unit. ePrice Marketplace was shaped in 2015 and is now growing triple digits and rising.

TradeME

YES

Breaking into a new market is never easy. Time and investment needed to establish your brand can quickly escalate. Marketplaces offer cost effective access to large volumes of instant traffic. Moreover, marketplace customers are most comfortable when shopping on a platform they understand and enjoy. Paying for goods online is still a sensitive area and being present on a reputable marketplace gives consumers confidence to complete transactions. From a crossborder perspective marketplaces are a no brainer. Apart from instant access to audiences, they allow you to leverage cross seasonality, reducing the need to discount goods coming out of season in one market by selling them in another. Any reputable marketplace should provide you with in country customer support providing access to data and assisting you to optimise yours.

David Swift - Global E-Commerce Manager at Trade Me. Trade Me is New Zealand’s most popular online marketplace, focused on making life better for Kiwis through online experiences they love. David Swift works with international retailers providing integration, cross-border trade and specialist marketplace advice to ensure they maximise the growth potential of expanding into the New Zealand market.

Newegg “For one thing, managing a marketplace is more cost effective since a majority of the services offered are bundled into commission rates. Essentially a commission is taken out only when a sale takes place. Aside from cost, marketplaces’ customer base are accustomed to purchasing online regularly. They begin their search via online or social channels and within a short time frame, purchase an item without leaving their doorstep. Convenience is what they value more, and so marketplaces are heeding that call.”

YES Gareth Lloyd-Jones - Head of Europe Acquisition at Pivot. Gareth Lloyd-Jones is a proven leader having been both a Sales and Publishing Director for two of the leading Lifestyle Publishers in the Middle East. He has worked for globally recognised brands such as Time Out, Hello, OK! and Women’s Health. Latterly he has moved towards a digital focus and with digital media, content marketing, e-commerce and project management skills, as well as being a Google partner with inbound marketing and AdWords certifications he is now empowering the growth of Pivot as the Head of Acquisition across our Marketplace Channels.

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~ Getir ~

Q&A TUNCAY TUTEK

GETIR

Y R E IV L E D E T U IN -M 10 A ! T A BEAT TH

Are you hungry? Ordered food has been a successful business for a long time. Tuncay Tütek, co-founder at Getir, takes this business model to the next level. Getir is selling Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMGC) in Istanbul, Turkey, through the Getir app, delivering them in 10 minutes to their customers. Ice cream anyone?

T

ütek spent his career at FMCG companies like P&G and PepsiCo, where he learned that a direct touch and feedback mechanism with consumers is vital. When starting Getir, it was a must for him that there would be such a mechanism available. “It is a way for customer to directly contact us,” he says. Getir is an experience that starts by using the app and that extends itself to the moment you are using the FMCG product you ordered. “We train our couriers, as they are an important extension from our company. We think that the way you sell something is crucial. We believe that with about 1000 items in the Getir app, there are more than 1000 reasons to use it.” Tütek gives us an insight of the success of Getir, how it was created and what its place in the market is.

wants to order ice cream online and wait two days to consume it. People rather want to order it and get it delivered right then and there.  

What is Getir’s place in this FMCG market? Getir is actually creating a new market for the consumption of FMCGs because of our one-of-a-kind model that currently doesn’t exist anywhere in the world. Now, there’s a completely different way of getting FMCGs at unprecedented speed. As a tech-company, our infrastructure was built so that it could be used around the world. Technology isn’t limited to only the user’s experience, but to the logistical side of Getir as well. Our machine-learning algorithms make sure the right FMCGs are available at the right quantity and quality at all times.

“WE TRAIN OUR COURIERS, AS THEY ARE AN IMPORTANT EXTENSION FROM OUR COMPANY”

Text: Nico Hoeijmans // Photos: Getir

Where do you believe the Turkish online market currently stands?

Could you tell us something about the Getir concept? It’s benefit and how it works in Istanbul?

While e-commerce is arguably crowded, a new market is emerging in the form of ‘m-commerce’, which we are pioneering. There are many ‘brick and click’ players that deliver in two days or more. While it may seem like the market is crowded, e-commerce and m-commerce still has a very small market share. Mobile penetration and credit cards are commonplace but mobile payment still has room to grow. Considering there are few deep-pocketed international e-commerce players in the Turkish market, local players have the potential to start and scale localised businesses.

What Getir actually sells is time. Our product is ‘10 minutes’. Everything that comes along the core product of 10 minutes is actually a side product. We are ‘almost now’. Cities like Istanbul are great, but they have their challenges. Time is the most valuable thing in high-tempo cities. The benefit of Getir is that it saves consumers time. They don’t have to spend their time on shopping, going to a shop, picking a product and going back, but can spend it elsewhere.

What is the role of Fast Moving Consumer Goods in the market? Before Getir, the most common players either delivered hot food or more conventional e-commerce items, such as clothing and electronics, which at best they deliver next day. Thus, FMCG does not constitute a considerable share because when people need something, they need it at that moment. With Getir, FMCG became a much more important part of the market because we deliver in an average of ten minutes. No-one

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~ Getir ~

May 3, 2018 – WAPPENHALLE MUNICH GET YOUR TICKET NOW!

For retailers and marketplaces: Get in touch with merchants and brands. Getir is a success in Istanbul, Turkey. Can you tell us what plans for the future hold?

We provide a seamless experience because we have our own inventory and we monitor it through technology. Great technology results in optimal stock accuracy and minimum waste, which is the company’s benefit, allowing us to reach our users at nearmarket prices.

For brands and online-shops: Discover new sales opportunities and expand your marketplace network.

Istanbul was just the beginning. Once you experience ten minute delivery of FMCG items, it becomes a habit and you want it wherever you go. Cities throughout Turkey are already demanding that we start service in their cities! We believe that when a city has a large population and life isn’t that easy, time becomes valuable. Getir is thus valuable for people who opt to pay for time. This is why we are interested in tech-savvy cities like London, New York, Shanghai, and Dubai. ••

“OUR COURIERS ARE THE SMILING FACES THAT REPRESENT US AT PEOPLE’S DOORSTEPS”

ECD’18 Sponsors

How important are small warehouses and carriers in the Getir concept? Getir is made possible because of proximity. Small warehouses are intelligently placed across the city according to location data by our users. We are basically an arm’s length away. Our couriers are not fast by any means, it is rather our system that is fast because of short trips to the customer and back. Our couriers are the smiling faces that represent us at people’s doorsteps. They all undergo safety and sensitivity training during their orientation.

hosted by

www.ecd.de 56

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SPAIN 2018

~ WeChat ~

6, 7 and 8 de March | Barcelona

5th Edition

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WECHAT Text: Joanna Perry // Photos: WeChat

WeChat is part of daily life for more than 700 million Chinese consumers. Global digital strategy consultancy Practicology explains how the mobile app is increasingly a sales channel for forwardthinking Western brands too.

Social commerce is still very much in its infancy in the West, but Chinese consumers’ shopping habits are changing quickly, and one of the most interesting trends is shopping via the mobile phenomenon that is WeChat.

• Link to your JD.com store: WeChat’s alliance with the second largest online retailer/marketplace in China – JD.com – means you can link your OA with your JD.com store if you already have one.

The app is a mixture of Facebook, WhatsApp, ApplePay and Uber, providing its users with messaging, content, mobile payments and digital coupons among its many functions. It’s also a marketing and sales platform, allowing brands to directly engage with their customers and even build an online store within the app.

The functionality of the app allows brands to market themselves through paid in-app advertising, and to drive customers from offline marketing to their OA using iBeacons and QR codes. Many brands also choose to work with bloggers and other social influencers – or Key Opinion Leaders as they are known in China – who tend to have their own Official Accounts and can drive huge volumes of traffic to a brand’s OA.

31% of users say they are happy to make purchases through the app, and iResearch estimates that the gross merchandise value of items sold through WeChat will hit $147 billion a year by 2019. So how does it work?

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Illustrating the success of this strategy, items sold via WeChat during the past year with the assistance of bloggers include 100 MINI Copper cars, and 80 special edition Givenchy bags (which sold out within 12 minutes).

For brands who want to use WeChat as a sales or marketing channel, it’s crucial to establish an Official Account (OA) – the WeChat equivalent of a Twitter or Facebook verified account. This gives brands more visibility in search results, allows them to make use of functionality such as WeChat Pay, and even build an ecommerce store within their account.

To understand more about selling online in China and how WeChat could help you reach Chinese consumers, you can download Practicology’s China Report at: https://goo.gl/gjvTr9 ••

There are three different options for creating a WeChat store: • Build a store within your Official Account: you can create a simple html-based webstore within your OA as a complement or alternative to a Chinese-localised mobile site. • Build a store within a Mini Program: Mini programs are simple apps within the app (and named Mini Programs as Apple will not allow WeChat to become an app store in its own right). They allow a business to create a store with additional functionality and have been adopted by several high-end Western brands including Longchamp, which created a Mini Program to allow Chinese consumers to order customised bags.

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~ Spotlight on ~

Spotlight on ...

Non-EU businesses

silence, pre-ticked boxes or inactivity do not represent valid consent. Furthermore, digital operators should avoid making user consent to processing a pre-condition of a service. Moreover, withdrawing consent must be made easy as it is to give it.

Under the GDPR, many non-EU businesses that carry out processing of personal data subject to EU privacy law are required to designate a representative in the EU.

Data portability Children’s personal data

WAITING FOR… THE GDPR

Data portability is the new right of users who have supplied a data controller with their personal data to receive a subset of such personal data and/or to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance.

The minimum age for providing lawful consent to the processing of personal data in relation to online services is now set at sixteen. When a child is below that age, personal data processing will be lawful only if parental or guardian consent is given. The GDPR enables EU states to lower such age threshold, but only down to a minimum 13 years.

Privacy by Design

The GDPR has acknowledged the right of data subjects to have their personal data erased or their processing restricted at specific conditions - in essence where the processing activities fail to meet the requirements of the GDPR.

The GDPR postulates that data controllers must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures (pseudonymisation, etc.) designed to implement data-protection principles, both when they determine the data processing tools and when they subsequently process personal data. In doing so, they should account for the nature, scope, context and purposes of data processing and the risks that data processing activities pose.

Breach notification:

Automated decision-making

When any data breach is likely to “result in a risk for the rights and freedoms of individuals, the data controller’s notification to the national supervisory authority becomes mandatory.

As already under the Data Protection Directive, the GDPR includes restrictions on decisions based only on automated processing (including profiling or not), when the decisions produce legal effects (or similarly significantly effects) that affect the data subject. Automated processing is allowed when: • necessary to enter into, or to perform, a contract between the data subject and the controller; or • authorised by the applicable law; or • based on the individual’s explicit consent.

Right to be forgotten and right to the restriction of data processing

Data Protection Officer (DPO) Text: Alan Rhode, Co-Founder Taxmen

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Extended territorial scope

rom 25 May 2018, a single body of European privacy rules will replace the current patchwork of 28 national privacy laws. On that day, indeed, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will replace the current Data Protection Directive and become directly applicable in all EU states, without the need for implementing national legislation.

EU privacy law will now expressly concern the processing of personal data by all EU-organizations - regardless of whether the processing takes place in the EU or not - and the processing of data by non-EU organizations, when relating to the offering of goods and/or services to EU-based individuals and/ or the monitoring of their behavior, as long as such behavior takes place in the EU.

The GDPR introduces various, important changes regarding the protection of personal data (the latter meaning any information relating to an identified or identifiable living natural person).

Under the GDPR, organizations are called to designate a DPO in in three specific cases: 1. if the data processing is carried out by a public authority/ body (regardless of what personal data is being processed); 2. when one or more of the organization’s core activities require regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale; 3. when one or more of the organization’s activities consists of processing on a large scale special categories of data (sensitive data) or personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences.

Automated decision-taking based on sensitive data is further restricted and it may only take place: • with the individual’s explicit consent; or • where the activities are necessary for substantial public interest reasons and on the basis of the applicable law. Failure to comply with the new legal framework may prove rather costly and detrimental for businesses. First, any person suffering damages caused by a GDPR-infringement holds the right to receive monetary compensation from the controller or the processor, businesses should ensure to be GDPR-compliant. Furthermore, GDPR infringements may lead to the application of administrative fines of up to €20,000,000 or, in the case of undertakings, 4% of global turnover (whichever is the higher) by the competent supervisory authority.

Even when the GDPR does not require to appoint a DPO, organizations can opt to designate it. In this case, yet, the same strict requirements governing the activities of mandatory DPOs will also be applicable to the voluntary DPO.

Increased information duties Under the GDPR, digital operators will have to inform the concerned individuals about the envisaged personal data retention period (or, if this is not possible, at least about the criteria used to determine the retention period), the right of users/customers to “being forgotten”, to restrict data processing and to lodge a complaint to the competent supervisory authority. Other information duties do apply.

Under the new legal framework, thus, it has become even more important for businesses to verify whether their privacy policies, contractual arrangements with partners and organizational practices are consistent with EU privacy law. In most cases, changes to the organization’s policies will be needed.

Consent In a nutshell, here is an overview of the main changes brought in by the GDPR:

The GDPR sets a higher standard for data subjects’ consent. Consent shall be given under a clear and affirmative act:

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Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) In those cases when processing activities are “likely to result in a high risk” to data protection rights, the data controller will be now mandated by law to carry out a preliminary assessment of how the envisaged processing operations may impact on persona data protection: this is the DPIA. A DPIA is a fundamental tool to comply with the requirements set down by the GDPR. Accordingly, many businesses have already completed a DPIA in cases where it is not compulsory.

Alan Rhode is a co-founder at Taxmen, the one-stop-shop for legal and tax services to the e-Commerce industry.

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