MA = Mukesh Ambani
And you guessed it right . DA stands for Dhirubhai Ambani
Here is why
In 1990 , Dhirubhai was Chairman of L&T , I was GM (
Planning / Export ) at L&T
In Feb 1990 , I went to meet Dhirubhai in his office at
Maker Chamber IV and said ,
“ Sir , I have resigned from L&T after serving for 30 +
years “
I thought he would try to dissuade me from leaving a great
company like L&T (which, L&T continues to be )
Instead , he said :
Well done !
Despite being son of a Bania, how did you suffer to serve
someone else for 30 years ?
Do some dhandha ( business ) of your own . Start a factory
Then he went on :
I will supply you with Plastic Processing machinery .
My
Hazira factory will deliver plastic raw materials to you and trucks from my Patalganga
factory will pick up the processed goods from your factory
This way , you don’t have to worry about ( purchase ) of raw
materials , nor worry about ( sale ) of your finished products
And you will need very little ( working capital )
All you have to do is to manage workers ( human resources )
and ensure daily ( production )
In 1990, Dhirubhai had time to motivate a professional like
me to become self employed
In 2018 , Mukesh Ambani does not have to motivate 4 MILLION
“ Kirana Store “ owners to become self employed
They are already self employed !
He is trying to motivate them to join Reliance Eco System
So , in last AGM of Reliance ,
he told them :
If you join Reliance Eco System , here is what I will do for
you :
=================
SALES :
All of your merchandize will be available for selection / ordering on our ONLINE web portal
This online presence of your merchandize will expand / extend your " reach " to thousands of consumers in your neighbourhood
You will need to only focus on OFFLINE ( across-the-counter ) sales to consumers who walk into your store
For OFFLINE sales , we will install in your stores , all the necessary Computers / POS terminals / Routers / Internet Connections / Mobile Wallet Payment systems and an end-to-end , RETAIL MANAGEMENT software
All of your OFFLINE sales data will get transferred to our Central Server
===================
SUPPLY :
We will deliver to your store , all merchandize on " Consignment " basis
This means , you do NOT need to pay us for what we deliver to you store !
Till sold , all goods in your store will be our " stock "
This way , you do NOT need any " Working Capital " as far as your stocks are concerned
We will also tie-up with the manufacturers
You don't need to have any interaction / dealing with the manufacturers
===================
INVENTORY :
On a continuous basis , our web server will keep a track of each and every item of merchandize sold from your stores
Our Server will calculate , your " Stock Movement "
Based on this data , our Server will compute / set for each item :
# Minimum Stock Level
# Alarm Stock Level
# Stock Re-Order Level
# Re-Order Quantity ( Minimum Batch Size )
Based on this logic , our Server will instruct the relevant " Merchandize Manufacturers " ( or their dealers / stockists ) , to deliver the stipulated " Re-Order Quantities " to your stores
A " Re-Order Instruction intimation " , will get delivered to your computer
Upon arrival , you will need to update the data
From time to time , our Software will also figure out your current stocks of " Extremely Slow Moving " and " Obsolete / Expired " items , and arrange for " Return Delivery " , which you will need to enter in your database
===================
DELIVERY :
Not only we will deliver the merchandize to your store , but we will also pick up " Ordered Items " ( for ONLINE orders only ) , from your store and deliver the same to your customers !
Initially we will employ manual " Delivery Persons " for this but , before long , we will deploy a fleet of autonomous DRONES for this purpose
This fleet will cover " Kirana Stores " and " Online Customers " , located in pre-designated areas , covering 4 sq km ( 2 km x 2 km )
We are in talk with www.What3Words.com , to enable precise delivery through your 10th floor window !
These drones will get their " Delivery Instructions " directly from our Web Server , for all ONLINE orders
When these drones arrive at your Store to pick up the items ( to be delivered ) , they will transfer ( Blue Tooth / NFC ) and display on your Computer screen , following data :
# Online Order Number / time / date
# Items covered with description / value of each
# Customer Name / Address
# Mode of Online Payment / Bank Details
# Your online account CREDIT details , giving,
( Sales Value ) - ( Purchase Price )
" Purchase Price " of goods in your stock will be
based on FIFO method
========================
FINANCE :
As explained earlier , you will have a bare minimum need for " Working Capital " , since all of your stock will be on " Consignment " basis
We will collect the " ONLINE PAYMENTS " directly from the customers and " Credit " the same to your " online sales account " with us
Against same account , we will " Debit " the " purchase price " ( price at which you purchase the merchandize from Reliance ) of the goods sold
Our server will also take care of all GST payments and filing of GST returns
As far as OFFLINE sales is concerned , all the data captured through POS terminal will get transferred to our Central Server
=====================
MARKETING :
Not only will we carry out all marketing for your ONLINE sales , we will help you with your OFFLINE marketing , through introduction of the following technology-enhanced features :
# Arranging a better display of merchandize on your shelves / re-arranging of shelves
# Introducing Augmented Reality ( AR ) for clothes / fashion goods in " Trial Rooms " for giving the customers , an experience of " touch - feel - looks "
# Introducing Robots to answer customer inquiries
# Eliminating " Check Out Counters " , based on " Payments through Bio-metric Recognition " of customers
# Embedding RFID sensors in each item of merchandize and RFID readers embedded in Shopping Carts
# Improving your window display thru rotation
# Introducing music
# Eventually replacing " Physical " merchandize with " Holographic Display " of merchandize on your store shelves !
====================
Our 7500 Reliance Retail stores witnessed 35 crore footfalls last year
When all of the 4 million kirana stores join us , we expect this number to go up by more than 500 times !
And I am not restricting my invitation to the " existing " stores only
Reliance has plans to take on lease , thousands of premises and offer the same to " unemployed graduates ( preferably , tech savvy )" to set up such retail shops
Without need for " fixed " or " working " capital , we hope to be able to attract many to become our franchisees
Jai Hind !
============================
I have no doubt Shri Dhirubhai is proud and happy - wherver he is
===============
18 July 2018
www.hemenparekh.in / blogs
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Added on 10 March 2020 :
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Added on 16 June 2022 ;
Last month, Amazon launched Smart Commerce, an initiative that will help offline stores set up their own digital storefronts, in addition to selling on its India marketplace.
This is similar to what Canada-based Shopify does.
Amazon will enable these stores to sell on its marketplace and other platforms.
The Seattle-headquartered etailer said it was now looking to onboard more physical stores on its India platform to increase the number of goods that can be delivered quickly to customers.
Tiwary said Amazon could deliver within two days in 93% of the pin codes it is present in India.
“I strongly believe that to get to the next 500 million customers, we need a couple of million more sellers on this marketplace. And this set of new sellers will largely be physical stores,” he said.
Last month, Amazon launched Smart Commerce, an initiative that will help offline stores set up their own digital storefronts, in addition to selling on its India marketplace.
“If someone finds a sustainable way of delivering groceries in 10 minutes, we will learn from them,” he said
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Added on 21 Dec 2023 :
