#TECH: Succeeding in e-commerce

WORKING in the fast-paced e-commerce industry is very challenging, especially when you have to juggle between work and family.

For Commerce.Asia’s general manager, Aaliyah Soraya, her work requires her to constantly challenge herself every day.

“In all honesty, the stress levels are definitely high as managed services and e-commerce in general is still a very new industry and the upward trajectory is extremely steep,” she said.

“We learn new things every day, and there is seldom a break as e-commerce runs 24/7; for example, if there is an issue at 4am, we need to fix it,” said the mother of two.

Aaliyah’s main responsibilities are in overseeing the success of Commerce.Asia Enterprise, the managed services arm of the Commerce.Asia Group of Companies.

She also heads advisory for businesses and brands to sell online with its one-stop omnichannel e-commerce solutions that Commerce.Asia has developed.

“Think of it this way: If a brand wanted to outsource their online business to ensure it runs smoothly and successfully, I would then oversee the various processes end-to-end for them,” she said.

Hence, for businesses unfamiliar with e-commerce, they should seek out an outsource partner like Commerce.Asia Enterprise to help them with their various e-commerce processes.

“These processes include warehousing, payment, delivery, marketing and order management. When starting out, some businesses may be intimidated by the complexities of processes involved,” said Aaliyah.

“The best solution would not be to build everything from scratch, but to seek out an e-commerce enabler to remove the stress of working with technology,” she added.

HOW IT STARTED

2020 marks Aaliyah’s eighth year in the e-commerce industry.

“It all started in 2012 when I got a call from an Italian woman trying to explain about an e-commerce company that had just started and was hiring. When I walked into the interview, I saw people running around and everyone seemed so busy. The energy intrigued me so much that I decided to give the job a shot,” recalled Aailyah, with the company she was referring to being Lazada Malaysia.

Being a mother of a daughter (6) and son (4), she is thankful to have a supportive husband, Jwan Amran, and family.

“I must admit that, sometimes when I return home after a hard day’s work, I feel mentally and emotionally zapped,” she conceded. “That said, I am handling it much better now than when I first started eight years ago,” she said.

While at Lazada, she remembered how she was still running around while 9 months pregnant with her son, while her daughter was just a few months old.

“I remember pumping breastmilk in a storeroom and in toilets,” she shared.

“Today, I am extremely thankful for having an understanding husband who has also learnt to adapt to my demanding schedules while constantly providing understanding and moral support.”

During weekends, she makes it a point to have uninterrupted family time while frequent short getaways prior to the Covid-19 pandemic was always marked in the family calendar weeks in advance.

TODAY’S NEW NORM

The movement control order (MCO) implemented last March resulted in the e-commerce industry taking off in a big way; while also giving a glimpse into what Malaysian were buying.

“In April 2020, we conducted a study which revealed some surprising purchases made by Malaysians during the MCO. The top purchases made after essentials included ladies underwear and libido enhancers,” shared Aaliyah.

“We also noticed a surge of 149 percent year-on-year Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) growth in the first quarter since the MCO was introduced,” she further said.

“Even post-MCO, based on our records of the brands we had been managing, e-commerce transactions soared by 1,380 per cent in August 2020 compared with a year ago. Malaysians have begun to accept e-commerce as part of the new norm.”

HELPING E-COMMERCE COMPANIES

When asked as to what differentiates Commerce.Asia from other e-commerce players, Aaliyah replied that “Commerce.Asia believes in nurturing win-win partnerships with clients while helping them generate sustainable revenue and increase profits consistently.

“We uphold the philosophy of offering a unified ecosystem of opportunities that would create value and wealth for clients,” said Aaliyah.

This holistic approach centralises all the business operations for their clients, rather than requiring companies to hire multiple people in order to oversee different business processes.

She said Commerce.Asia incorporates best-of-breed technological innovations that range from core business operation management, automated dropship functionalities and big data analytics to on-demand fulfilment, one-stop delivery, and managed services.

“While other competitors rely on third party components, we are ‘all in one’ which makes us more cost-effective with superior operational efficiencies,” she explained.

“When starting out, some brands may be intimidated by the complexities of processes involved. They no longer have to worry if they partner with us due to our ‘omni-channel strategy’, and outsourced services,” she said.

Today, Commerce.Asia has a total of 12 e-commerce technology and service companies under its ecosystem.

The group had developed these solutions by integrating and making strategic investments in technology enablers such as its omnichannel e-commerce platform, SiteGiant; agent management platform, Bizapp; one-stop delivery solution, Shippop; automated dropship platform, Kumoten; on demand fulfilment solution, LetMeStore; print-on-demand merchandising platform, Famsy; and business operations suites platform, Salesminded.

Today, the Commerce.Asia group has a database of 8 million small medium enterprises spread across seven countries, coupled with 61,000 active merchants who sold more than RM1.5 billion worth of goods in 2019.

Aaliyah’s parting advice to aspiring Malaysians is for them to familiarise and learn about e-commerce and other digital-related industries as a career.

“E-commerce and the digital economy are the way forward for the country,” she said.

“Being a wife and mother, I can also attest that women can also thrive in this industry – if they want to, where there’s a will, there’s always a way,” she added.

Source: NST