Of late, there is a lot of debate in respect of the
following dimensions of E Commerce :
BUSINESS STRUCTURE
·
Domestic vs
Foreign Multinationals
·
Single
Product vs Multi
Product
·
Marketplace vs Inventory-based
·
FDI vs Domestic Investment
·
Selling
from own web site vs
from someone’s web site
·
Related Entities
vs Non-related Firms
·
Vendor vs
Platform
·
How much can be sold by one
Vendor vs Unlimited
Sale by any Vendor
·
Preferential
treatment vs Equal
treatment
·
Private Labels
vs Public Labels
I do not know if anyone
has also added to this endless debate , the dimension of “ Ownership “ , viz :
·
Single Person owned /
Partnership / Private Ltd / Public Ltd / Co-operative etc
Given these 11 variables , how many “ Permutations
/ Combinations “ can we get ?
If my math has not got too rusted , could these amount
to :
L 11 ( Factorial
Eleven )
= 11x10x9x8x7x6x5x4x3x2x1
= 39.92 Million
?
Next , let us consider the following dimensions of E Commerce :
BUSINESS PROCESSES
·
Nature
( a
“ physical “ product vs a “ virtual
“ service )
·
Geographic Spread
( “ within
a State ” vs “ across
India ”
vs “ across entire World ” )
·
Supply Chain / Intermediaries
( Mfr > Distributor > Dealer
> Retailer > Buyer )
·
Order Placement and Acceptance
( Shop / Store / Office / Factory / Home / Web site / Mobile
App / SMS / Email /
Phone
/ Video Conference for
a Service )
·
Delivery
( Personal pickup / Delivery Boy / Drone / Self 3D Printed at home )
·
Payment
( Cash / Cheque / Credit-Debit Card /
Payment Wallets – Gateways / Bank Transfer / Barter )
I am at a loss to calculate the number of “ Permutations and Combinations “ that these “
variables “ could generate , in conjunction with those 39.92 million mentioned
above
Quite likely , TRILLIONS !
It is simply impossible to structure a “ E Commerce Policy “ which can address all of these permutations !
So , how will the E Commerce game get played
out ?
Here is a hint :
Extract :
Industry
sources told Reuters the policy would delay or derail some investment plans and
push companies such as Amazon and Flipkart to create new, more complex
business structures
How complex can
these Business Structures get ?
I expect Shri Mukesh Ambani to conjure
up for Reliance Retail , a complex structure comprising
following elements :
·
Holding Company and Subsidiary
company Reliance Retail Ltd ( RRL )
·
A “ Cooperative
“ of 4 million Kirana Shops ( ala AMUL ) – KIRIL
·
Cooperative holding “ non-transferable / non-voting “ shares in RRL
·
Holding Company giving
loans to Kirana Shops to buy shares of
KIRIL
·
Manufacturers of Consumer Goods launching “
E Com Platform “
·
4 million Kirana shops listing their
inventory on this “ E Com Platform “
And here are some “ legit “ ways to overcome those
hurdles placed by DIPP
:
·
Instead of E Com platforms offering
discounts , Banks / Credit Card Companies / Mobile Wallet companies etc to offer
“ Discounts
“
·
Logistics / Delivery companies to offer “ FREE DELIVERY “
·
Manufacturers to make “ Exchange Offers “
·
Instead of calling it “ Cash Back “ , just say “
50 % off “ or “ Today’s Price “
I choose to envision the following :
·
“ E Commerce is as elusive as an molecule of Air
“ , that travels freely around the Earth – and unstoppable by national
boundaries or un-implementable laws ?
Neither its Origin , nor its Destination will be
apparent !
·
Someday soon , everything will be
displayed and sold “ Online
“
·
The only sensible ways is to
treat “ E Commerce “ as a “ Traditional Commerce without bothering to define its “Business Structures” and “ Business Processes” ?
REFERENCES :
Extract :
“The
new e-commerce platform will empower and enrich our 12 lakh small
retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat
………intends
to take on the world’s largest retailers by combining his JIO telecom service ,
mobile devices and a vast physical retail network
Financing > Interest
– free loans from 90 IT professionals to 98 farmers
Payment >
Barter system through groceries ( “ Return “ on investment ? )
Delivery >
From a designated outlet
Ordering >
Online
This e-commerce platform
will help connect artisans to buyers
directly, enabling them to expand to newer customers
and markets.
[ D ] Swadeshi
Jagran Manch urges govt not to go easy on e-commerce
Extract :
The SJM cited that
China-based sellers are selling Chinese products illegally on e-commerce sites,
and said it has identified 200,000
such orders being fulfilled on a daily basis via this channel in India.
These companies are
delivering goods via couriers and postal gift shipments, bypassing and evading a range of laws regarding
payment gateways, custom duties and GST
[ E ] Call it tech biz , or retail biz ?
(Debashish.Mukherjee@atkearney.com
)
Extract :
One,
the assumption that ecommerce is a technology business and not a retail
business.
However,
it is clear that any
entity that,
·
controls
or curates the assortment for sale,
·
has
pricing power,
·
acquires
customers and,
·
to
some extent, deals with inventory and other
services to the end customer ,
is a
retailer
Extract :
Laws
regulating E – Commerce
·
Drugs
and Cosmetics Rules – 1945
·
Packaged
Commodities Rules – 2011
·
Consumer
Protection Bill – 2018
·
Food and Safety Standards
Act – 2006
·
FDI Policy – Press Note 3
·
Foreign Exchange Management
Act
·
National
Telecom Policy
·
Draft
– National Digital Communications Policy – 2018
·
Personal
Data Protection Bill – 2018
·
IT
Act – 2000
·
Payment and Settlement Act –
2007
[ G ] MA
= DA x 4,000,000 ? [
17 July 2018 ]
Jio
Hubs : Entrepreneurs Apply [ 19 Sept 2018 ]
Mukesh
has the last laugh ! [ 31 Dec 2018 ]
Game
plan of how Reliance
Retail plan to make Amazon / Flipkart etc , irrelevant
===================================================
21 Jan
2019
Rsvp : hcp@RecruitGuru.com