Spotlight: How We Turbocharged Happily Unmarried’s Business

Happily Unmarried – a leading lifestyle brand

Established in 2003, Happily Unmarried is a leading lifestyle products company based out of Delhi.

The anti-establishment (by their own admission) develops content, products and services using popular culture, emerging trends, design & cultural insights as inspiration. Happily Unmarried’s underlying philosophy is to be irreverent, desi, fun & forever young. It sources its designs from local artists and craftsmen from all over India and delivers them at exceptional value to its members. It is present in major regions, offering its services in countries like USA, UK, and India.

This is how we worked with them to help them grow.

The bottlenecks

Happily Unmarried – in its initial stages, handled all the orders and inventory manually. There was no sync between the stores and warehouses which led to mismanagement and chaos. The key issues were –

• Unreliable merchandising system which led to mismanaged SKUs across stores/warehouses.
• Lack of sync between store and warehouse operations.
• The absence of barcoding practices which made the organization prone to inventory issues.
• Manual inventory management made it difficult to fulfill orders on time.
• Differences in pricing management for different customers.

As the organization scaled, it needed a complete solution that would allow it to manage their operations efficiently.

How we helped

Vin eRetail is our SaaS-based suite– that includes features such as orders fulfillment, merchandising management, warehousing management, inventory and returns management, to enable multi-channel retailing for businesses.

Our system helped them scale up their business operations, by delivering on the following values:

• Real-time inventory sync: Syncing the Vin eRetail software with front-end systems resulted in inventory accuracy.
• Setup of their physical kiosks: Cloud-based POS for physical stores enabled real-time visibility of sales and inventory for physical stores, leading to improved planning and forecasting.
• Low TCO: SaaS-based software helped them to access the system with no installation.
• Increased operational efficiency: Integrations with handheld devices increased efficiency.
• Introduced automated processes which optimized their order fulfillment, reducing manual errors.
• Delivered the ability to generate KPI reports, enabling our client to keep track of productivity and inventory.

Find out for yourself. Request a demo today!

Any tips or questions for us? Leave them in the comments below.

O2O Transformation: A retailer’s Imperative Part II

This is Part II in our O2O series

Until a few years ago, ‘showrooming’ (shoppers researching in-store and purchasing from online competitors) gave retailers the world over sleepless nights.
Since then, things have changed, as retailers realized that the reverse behavior is actually more prevalent. Now more than ever, shoppers are indulging in ROPO or ROBO (Research online Purchase/buy offline).
What is ROPO?
In our blog post on the 2^nd of March, we spoke of how providing customers with fulfillment options such as click and collect, reserve and collect as per their convenience was bound to enhance their customer experience.

ROPO/ROBO allows a retailer to provide a seamless, fantastic shopping experience to its customers.

Simply put research online and purchase offline is a trend in consumer behavior where shoppers search relevant information to qualify their purchase decisions.

How does it affect you?
Consider the customer experience you provide to the customer as a cycle of the shopper decision. In this cycle, the customer passes through different phases which are – the research phase, trial and demo phase, buy phase, and the post-purchase phase.
Digital has a tremendous influence on the purchases made, throughout the customer’s buying cycle – across all channels.

So what is the big point?

While retailers are focusing on the in-store experiences of their customers, they are missing out on one crucial fact – that customer experience begins from the moment your customer begins to look online for your products.

How to give your customers what they want?

It’s simple – manage your information.

Information availability is absolutely critical to enabling ROPO for your customers.

• Inventory data availability – Retailers need to push their stock information and catalogs online. Customers should have the complete view of what all inventory is present and in which store. Is the product they are looking for in-stock, out-of-stock at the store of their choice? Is it available at another store? Will it be available in the coming future? Retailers should ensure that their inventory information is available across all channels – mobile apps, online stores and physical stores, which increases convenience to the customer. Here, for instance, the customer can see that their order is available for store pickup.

Also, Best Buy provides a list of all stores that have the order, giving the customer the freedom to choose whichever pickup location suits him. 

• Accurate, relevant data – Give your customers clear, accurate information that they can use. For example, if your customer is looking for a Nike shoe – mention specifications – size, color, etc. Additionally, the customer should be able to see clear pictures of the product, find out about discounts and post/ share reviews. For example, if a customer is looking online on your retail website for the shoe in size 10 and the color green, this what he should see –

It’s important that the customer finds the product with exact specifications in-store. Taking this shoe example, if the customer goes to the physical store and finds his order in size 12 and the colour green, it is bound to give the brand and the retailer a bad reputation, and prompt your customers to leave.

Technology can ensure that your product information is consistent across all channels by providing a single version of truth. PIM software, Order Management software and real-time view of inventory solutions can streamline your data and ensure that your customers get the experience they desire.

Here’s how one of the largest Retailers in SEA enabled a fantastic shopping experience for their customers. (Page 8 of our newsletter #DaVinningCode) Download here.

Any tips or comments for us?  Let us know in the comments below.

eTail Asia: Vinculum talks collaboration opportunities in the eCommerce ecosystem

The 4^th Annual eTail Asia held in Singapore on 2nd and 3rd March highlighted the latest innovations and investments in the multi-channel retailing channel, with the agenda dedicated to helping the Asian eCommerce industry leverage consumer behavior to create compelling customer experiences.

The event was attended by eTailers, retailers, wholesalers, entrepreneurs and manufacturers looking to optimize their operations, multi-channel sales and share insights about their businesses.

Vinculum Group CEO, Mr. Venkat Nott moderated an exciting discussion on ‘Unlocking new revenue streams for the e-commerce ecosystem: New opportunities for eTailers, Retailers, Marketplaces, 3PLs, CPGs & Online Sellers’– which highlighted the avenues for collaboration in the eCommerce ecosystem.

The dignitaries on the panel were Ms. Jesrina Arshad of PurelyB, Mr. Irwan Suryady, of Ralali, Mr. Ashish Wadhwani of IvyCap Ventures and Mr. Vipul who represented Fabelio at the event.

Opening the session, Mr. Nott spoke of Multi-Channel Retailing today, and how players in the eCommerce ecosystem had multiple opportunities to partner for growth.

Elaborating on these opportunities, he said “Recent trends show that multiple opportunities exist for all players of the eCommerce ecosystem. Sellers have the ability to sell on multiple marketplaces, easily and simply. Etailers have the opportunity to partner with retailers, to make sure their goods are picked up from store, and to sell on marketplaces, as long as their sales are not getting cannibalized. Additionally, they both have a great opportunity in cross-border commerce.”

He cited the example of Jaypore when he said, “Jaypore is an online retailer based in India, which sells to over 30 countries via its tie-ups with 3PL companies such as Enchanto and Aramex.”

“CPG companies have the opportunity to reach customers in multiple markets by working with marketplaces– to reach customers they never reached before. Retailers have the opportunity to look at online as a strategic channel. If they do that, they have a lot of opportunity, as customers expect multiple channels in terms of convenience. To unlock new avenues for revenues, retailers can fulfill marketplaces orders or brand orders through inventory in the stores. Marketplaces want to work with sellers and retailers easily – they want an easier way to go from offline to online.” He said.

Ms. Jesrina Arshad supported this point of view when she said, “Lots of brands from Australia, US and UK reached out to PurelyB. They all wanted to tap into the Asian market and but didn’t understand enough about the market or have the means to build their reach into the market. Working with us was a natural fit for them. So for a lot of really renowned international brands, it makes sense to partner up with marketplaces, with no hassles about order management, order fulfillment since it is all taken care of.”

Mr. Irwan Suryady of Ralali spoke of how technology was changing the landscape in B2B. “A lot of B2B sellers  are very comfortable in the space they are in right now. By giving them new technology it helps them optimize their daily operations and sell more across the country. They get more visibility in a marketplace like Ralali, and also leverage their bargaining power.”

Taking the discussion further, Mr. Vipul explained how Fabelio is leveraging partnerships. “Fabelio is a marketplace which is collaborating with other marketplaces like Lazada, etc., to publish their products and reach out to more customers”

Mr Ashish Wadhwani from IvyCap Ventures observed “This is just the start of the big wave of collaboration for the eCommerce industry. Add to that fact that all players need to differentiate. The whole point is how do they differentiate themselves? For that a lot of transformation is required on the supply chain side, customer analytics, and logistics side.”

Wrapping up the discussion, Mr. Nott mused, “Essentially what we showcased here was perspective of etailers, marketplaces, and the investors, and the collaboration opportunities and how that can drive unit economics and help the various parts of the ecosystem to succeed.”

Watch the complete discussion here –

Any tips or questions for us? Leave them in the comments below.

The Ultimate 5 Reasons Why You Need Inventory Management

Read more about how we help retailers here.

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The Big O of Retail – Part I

This is the first post in a guest blog series.

Our guest blogger, Amit Thapliyal, is currently the Head of Marketing and Digital Initiatives, Vinculum.

Glad this caught your attention (and yes the pun was intended!).

Part 1: What Customers want
When it comes to Retail, the Nirvana of customer experience is still a long way to be discovered. Not that we can blame the retailers for  lack of trying, the Omnichannel approach is still being tinkered with.

Let’s go back to basics, what do customers really want?

• Is the Omnichannel approach for everyone?
• Given that technology is an enabler for Omnichannel approach, can everyone afford it?
  & the whopper –
• How do you fund your Omnichannel journey or ensure you generate enough revenues to make it feasible?

Let’s try & address the first two and cover the latter in the next post in this series.

What Women (& men ) want!
According to Seth Godin, the new definition of brand is “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another”

Let’s add one more dimension to it – that of experience.

Customers buy brands, not channels- and hence customer experience is paramount to building customer loyalty, add-on revenues & …profits. Lines between the online & offline channels are blurring and it will soon not matter where you buy but only how you are buying and if you are happy once you have bought!

Customers expect from Retailers:
a) Know Thy Customer (What do I like, dislike…& how!)
b) Let me know Thee (reach out to me, tell me what you got!)
c) Make it worth my while- engage me, woo me
d) Let me date (research) before I commit (shop)
e) Make it convenient for me

Know Thy Customer, Let me know Thee:
Customers may shop through any channel & may have shopped with you through multiple channels already. But the customer is the same, regardless of the channel he buys from. This becomes 10X more complex when he shops from all across the channels & uses dissimilar credentials & payment modes.

Consider this – a customer named ‘Amit Thapliyal’ can have multiple data across multiple channels – eg. “AMit Thapliyal” buying online, “Amit” visiting store & “Mr. Thapliyal” ordering on a mobile app. A single name, across 100s of transactions, may be residing across thousands of records in multiple permutations & combinations.

So do you recognize him when he visits your store? When he visits online, do you know what his preferences are? What his buying history is & what brought him to your store? Also, are your marketing campaigns “channel ” specific? Do you do cross-channel loyalty programs effectively? Can you ensure your promotions prompt him to “cross-buy”?

If your answer to most/all of these is NO and you ask can all this be ensured, the answer is YES, by maintaining a “Single Version of Truth”

Customer data may reside in different silos, scattered throughout the enterprise systems & across sales channels; this data can be aggregated to derive a relationship between purchases made by the customer from different departments. A combined and trusted view of a customer’s information can help organizations improve their cross-sell & up-sell offers for a specific customer, improving sales and marketing initiatives.

Engage Me! Woo Me!: The customer wants to search before he makes a buy, which is why you should allow for options such as inventory lookup, intelligent search, product availability information, etc. – 

Make it convenient for me: The customer wants convenience and ease of shopping. As a retailer you can allow him to choose where and how he wants to shop –

Here’s a case study of how one of the largest Retailers in SouthEast Asia enabled a fantastic shopping experience for their customers. (Page 8 of our newsletter #DaVinningCode)  Download here.

Watch this space for the next in this guest series.

Any tips or questions about this post? Leave them in the comments below.

eTailing Mumbai

February 17-18, 2016 – Booth#24, Sahara Star, Mumbai

eCommerce Africa Confex

February 17-18, 2016 – Cape Town International Convention Centre Convention Square, 1 Lower Long St, Cape Town

Vinculum Showcases Multi-Channel Retail Options at eTailing India 2016

The leading order management and fulfillment solutions provider participates in India’s largest eCommerce event, eTailing India 2016, to be held at Mumbai.

E-tailing era set to revolutionise SME sector in India

eTailing sector promises to revolutionise the business model of small and medium enterprises in every district and village in India.

eCommerce Africa Confex, 2016

Vinculum Group, a global cloud-based order management and fulfillment solutions company today announced it will be participating in the eCommerce Africa Confex, to be held on 17-18 February 2016 at The CTICC, Cape Town