Skill-Link|eCommerce is this century's new obsession

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Tuesday, September 07, 2010

eCommerce is this century's new obsession

	eCommerce is this century's new obsession
	Thre are very good reasons for that ... Read on

How and when was the idea of e-commerce introduced in Egypt? How did the local business industry embrace/deal with this evolution?
First a clear definition of what e-commerce stands for has to be introduced. E-commerce is this century’s black .. It is more than a slogan or a glib party line. It embodies a concept for doing business online. It is a paperless solution for conducting business remotely. Transferring and exchanging business information using electronic data interchange, email, electronic bulletin boards, fax transmissions, and electronic fund transfer. It is on line shopping, on line stock trading, bond transactions and the down loading and selling of soft products or merchandise and business transactions. It involves shipment, it involves credit cards for payment and a brilliant website that offers a range of products that meets the requirements of a certain market or target audience.
The whole thing is about doing business faster and easier. It is about having visitors visit your website look for merchandise and letting people do the shopping themselves. E-commerce is like traditional commerce, yet it is faster, cleaner and accessible 24/7.one click a way. I should also mention that e-commerce or e-business is not just about paying per transaction… the other model would be subscriptions and registration (to access content, research, CVs etc…) for example in Egypt www.skill-link.org, www.filbalad.com, www.careermideast.com www.msnarabia.com and many more.

I have to say the reaction to such evolution was immense and optimistic. E-commerce in Egypt started in the late 1990s .Around October 1997, an Egyptian society focused on internet was formed “the Internet Society of Egypt, E-commerce committee ( ISE/E2C) with a very important mission which was to build awareness of e-commerce in Egypt The first national e-commerce in Egypt seminar was organized around September 1998. Objective of seminar was to have key players (business professionals and government officials) in the areas of e-commerce under one roof, to touch upon and discuss critical national issues. The result was a white paper called “towards Electronic commerce in Egypt: a certificate authority for Egypt” several pioneer issue papers were also the progenies, one of those papers was used as a basis for declaring Egypt’s e-commerce initiative which was declared by the ministry of Trade. The committee played a crucial part in exploring e-commerce potential in the country, through conducting a number of interviews and lobbying with various government officials and banking professionals.

Things moved real fast at that time, around 1999 the national e-commerce committee under the ministry of foreign Trade was established. Lobbying continued in the form of “political messaging” and the idea of e-commerce was successfully sold to decision makers, secure ownership, and declaration and implementation of Egypt’s e-commerce initiative. The “100 – day plan “was initiated during the above mentioned seminar in which various stake holders came together to create the e-commerce action plan for Egypt.

How has e-commerce changed the way Egyptian companies do business locally and internationally? What kind of companies use e-commerce and why?
It saved time and money for those businesses. In terms of local companies conducting business (Business to Consumer) for the local market, they are still very few. Due to various legal issues and security requirements that are not met. Also traditional / cultural fears and resistance to change, however, I view www.rayashop.com as a very good example of how on – line shopping could be .why? Because it is a secured web site, Easy to navigate, Marketing lingo is provided on the web site, various on line and off line marketing communications activities have been and are still being conducted to guarantee marketing hype, An efficient updated database, an efficient call centre, Updated products, they are focused on products they know well (computers, lap-tops, cell phones and others) and It’s tracking system and security measures are extremely looked after.
In terms of Business to Business. In 2001, speedsend was launched, which is basically an e-procurement website. SpeedSend's aim is to reduce their customer's operating costs by offering them procurement tools & services that furnish them with both cost and process benefits. www.speedsend.com is more of an extension of any company's resources for managing their overall spend. All what customers need to do is to place requisitions via the Internet, and they do the rest. No software installations or systems purchases are required. Their system is available to customers with speedsend’s established E-catalogues, which is customized to meet customer’s specific needs.
As for other companies or businesses offering services internationally, I would say that oriental weavers’ the “sphinx.com” is also a very successful model offering a wide range of carpets and rugs that are tailored to cater to an international market like the US and Great Britain. On line trading also took it is share of the lime light , EFG Hermes is going on line again after the Arab finance pilot project that was launched few years back and later acquired by link holding . The stage is set for more.
We also can not overlook some serious government projects like The National Postal Organization (NPO), e-Agriculture, Employment Creation from the Integrated Migration Information System, and Application of ICT in the Petroleum Industry.
One of the most recent happenings that blew me away, was BRITISH Airways holding a trade event promoting e-commerce with key travel partners. The company started selling tickets online in 1997, and 75 per cent of its routes, covering 150 destinations, are now "e- ticketable". An impressive 63 per cent of British Airways passengers use e-tickets worldwide. According to company officials, online booking affords many advantages: tickets cannot be lost or misplaced, and bookings can be adjusted readily. Egypt Air is launching e-tickets this month. Also, tourism / hotel booking sites in Egypt are growing in popularity. Arabiyia.com are catching up by offering on line stock trading after a pilot project that took place in the past arabfinance.com
In terms of which companies need to use e-commerce. Any business that has to interact with consumers or customers needs to be e-commerce oriented. Any place and any way that a business communicates with its customers should have online presence. That is the power of e-commerce. Anyway I reckon that it would mostly be companies and business who would like to open markets abroad, this will enable them to export and bench mark their products against those in foreign markets. It is extremely cost efficient for small business and medium sized business. It is not only companies; banks as well are now on line with e- banking services being offered to Internet surfers and clients.

As a professional in the field, how would you say e-commerce has changed the way you do business?
Well, I am pretty much involved with a number of companies where information and content is king, no monetary transactions take place on line. On line advertising and on line recruitment could be looked upon as e-commerce. At www.skill-link.org we have been doing e-recruitment and e- advertising for a very long time. And it proved to be very lucrative on the advertising side of the business, yet very difficult to sell. As for recruitment on line, still a number of our clients are very skeptic with on line recruitment. Till now, they prefer to resort typical recruitment methods. A month salary is paid upon hiring kind of system. Though, at skill-link.org subscriptions rates for a one-year contract is cost efficient. We at skill-link.org do what is required in terms of the following: 1- filtering database on regular bases through (phone calls, emails sent to candidates to update their cvs) 2- we conduct face to face interviews with candidates prior sending them to any of our corporate clients. 3- matchmaking. This all is done on regular bases. At skill-link.org, we are more of a click and mortar company. Search and posting cvs are done on line. Actual face-to-face interviews and matchmaking is done off line. But due to market constraints we are going back to our old ways .
I see other companies such as rayashop.com, B-tech and many others in Egypt doing fairly well. In their case, it expedited the process selling and on a marketing level it provided them with endless consumer insights and consumer navigation habits that led them to personalize messages to their visitors. Still on the down side, clients are still skeptic of e-commerce due to a variety of reasons one of those is lack of education and understanding to what e-commerce.

Has the Egyptian consumer accepted and learned to use e-commerce?
I think that Egyptian consumers are very malleable, flexible, willing to tinker with new inventions and will be able to use it, if it proved of value to them. But internet penetration in Egypt is still growing, credit cards holders are still stuck in the thousands not millions bracket … I think with cardcoms, numbers will increase. Basically those who belong to the A and B strata are very well aware of e-commerce and on line purchases a Varity of them have been users of amazon.com, e-bay and other websites that are based in Egypt like rayashop.com. The government is exerting a lot of effort in educating masses in rural areas and C class. It is all about education and enhancing web site security. There have been a lot of government initiatives to educate users and customers. You can check it on www.mcit.gov.eg.

What kind of possibilities/technologies is currently available when it comes to e-commerce that have not yet been introduced in Egypt? How will they change the industry when they are eventually introduced?
The world around Egypt be it regionally or internationally is swiftly moving towards integration. A lot has happened and is happening. it would not be in favor of Egypt if bench mark and compare now. . But we can say is that we are getting there. It might take a bit of time though.

Can local companies compete globally now via e-commerce or is there a lot of improvement to be done first?
Oh yes, it is an amazing tool to introduce Egyptian products that have a comparative advantage in international markets. Improvements and tools can be offered to businesses, which have potential for growth and exporting. And will be able to compete, Via the industrial modernization program in Egypt and other funded projects. Just show interest and growth potential and you will find support. Many companies are now offering full-service electronic storefronts. These companies allow business owners to set up their Web sites, design a storefront with full ordering capability, host the site, and in some cases offer administrative functions that work with their existing accounting and administrative software. Companies like net wave, micro tech and a wide range of others, make the development and the running of their clients online stores .
What are some drawbacks facing e-commerce in Egypt today?
Are we lagging behind other countries and what can we do to catch up?
We are not lagging we are moving ahead but we take our time. In a nutshell, it is lack of awareness and promotion of what e-commerce is. Lack of proper human resources and skill development in the realm of e- commerce and the emerging digital economy, A bit of apprehension on the late majority side as opposed to the early adopters.

We have adequate National endorsement. The government is doing it’s best to increase awareness of e-commerce and rehabilitating Egypt’s legal environment. Take the launch of e-Signature Law as an example. We can look upon e - government initiatives as gateway to increase e-commerce initiatives in Egypt. Now a number of governmental transactions can be preformed on line Trust me if I can pay my phone bill on line and get my ID number issued, at the luxury of my house... Then we are moving towards a full-fledged e-commerce economy. We are getting there; it is a matter of time.

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