The rapid global digitalisation and access to the Internet and mobile technology have resulted in the exponential growth of digital buyers, making e-commerce an indispensable part of many industries, especially the retail sector. With COVID-19 restricting the movement of people and goods, online shopping has been one of the most popular online activities worldwide.

In a report by London-based research, consulting, and events company GlobalData, Singapore is one of the fastest-growing e-commerce markets in South East Asia estimated to reach S$9.5bn (US$9.5bn) in 2020 and registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} between 2015 and 2019 to reach S$8.3bn (US$6.2bn) in 2019.

Singapore Post Limited (SingPost), has experienced a surge of e-commerce transactions during the COVID-19 outbreak last year, recording a 40{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} year-on-year surge in e-commerce deliveries. As Singapore’s national postal service provider and pioneer of international e-commerce logistics, SingPost aims to better understand consumer preferences and changing behaviours to continue to deliver enhanced customer experience even beyond the pandemic.

Leveraging Qualtrics’ Customer Experience Management Software 

SingPost selected Qualtrics, the world’s No. 1 Experience Management (XM) platform, to get the pulse of the customer and enable the company to act on the increasing demand on fast, resilient, and reliable delivery systems. In partnership with Kantar, a Qualtrics Partner Network member and a leading data, insights, and consulting company, SingPost will deploy the Qualtrics solution to create a scalable listening platform.

Mao Gen Foo, Head of Southeast Asia at Qualtrics shared:

“After 12 months of unprecedented disruption and change, in Singapore and across the globe we are seeing a new type of customer appear with different behaviours, preferences, and attitudes. This change is happening at a time when businesses and governments succeed or fail based on the experiences they provide, meaning the ability to rapidly listen, understand, and act on customer feedback is key.”

“The capabilities and support provided by Qualtrics will help SingPost build and cultivate the experience-centric business needed to succeed in fast-moving markets,” he added.

The Qualtrics CustomerXM platform will enable the e-commerce logistics company to gain visibility across the entire customer journey by gathering feedback online, in-branch, and at delivery operations. By having access to real-time, actionable insights on the evolving customer behaviours and preferences, SingPost will be able to redesign and enhance the customer experience based on current needs and expectations. 

Furthermore, SingPost can leverage the platform’s deep analytic capabilities to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative feedback in real-time as well as segment data per customer type and channel in driving specific improvements.

The Ultimate Listening Platform

Qualtrics offers world-class CX products built for business impact for every stage of the customer journey, including digital, customer care, in-location, and account management.

The Qualtrics Experience Management Platform ultimate listening engine provides the most comprehensive suite of listening tools to deliver experience data from any channel. Through the XM platform, organisations can identify experience gaps and receive automatic recommendations to resolve issues.

Here are some of the key features of the XM platform that can help organisations listen across every channel:

• Video and emotion analytics
• Voice calls in customer care centers via Qualtrics iQ 
• Conversations from SMS and chat applications like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, and Twitter DMs
• Website and App feedback
• Team collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack
• In-moment feedback through Device/IoT engagement

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Virgin Megastore, Sundiro Honda, and GPP will now be able to provide seamless omnichannel buying experiences for their customers using SAP Commerce Cloud. The cloud-native solution will fulfill the growing e-commerce needs of the entertainment retailing chain, motorcycle manufacturer, and Jin Jiang International Hotel’s supply chain platform, respectively.

Part of the SAP Customer Experience portfolio — which integrates different solutions for sales, customer relationship management (CRM), and marketing — the e-commerce platform helps enterprises develop solutions to allow for smooth buying experiences and streamlined processes, from search to sale.

Many retailers are now looking into their supply chain efficiency and digital competence as the demand for personalised shopping experience and attentive online customer support increases significantly. The e-commerce platform powered by SAP enables businesses to shift to digital commerce now that restrictions are still in place for in-store shopping amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In addition, the solution offers a smooth-running digital approach to retail operations worldwide so that customers can save time and enjoy convenient buying experiences online.

Nuno Pedro, Head of Commerce at SAP Customer Experience, has stated in the announcement that:

“Retailers today have an incredible opportunity to understand, engage and transact with consumers if they greet their customers with a robust e-commerce platform from the moment the customer signals interest.”

Moreover, Pedro explained that by providing the same outstanding service and ambiance that shoppers value in physical retail stores, the e-commerce solution gives respect to the consumers throughout their online shopping experience.

Delivering Exceptional E-Commerce Experiences Through SAP Commerce Cloud

Joining other retailers that have decided to shift to digital commerce by utilising SAP’s solution, the following companies can now take advantage of the e-commerce platform:

GPP is Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotel Group’s one-stop hotel material purchasing platform. Aiming to innovate a new business and source of revenue for hotel supplies, GPP has decided to implement SAP’s solution to develop an automated platform. By utilising the e-commerce platform, GPP consistently managed the Chinese hotel tourism giant’s business operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Established in 2018 by Deloitte China Consulting to support their client’s vision, GPP is a project made possible by SAP’s technologies and Deloitte China’s top-quality services.

Another company that has adopted the e-commerce solution to manage its rapid business growth is Sundiro Honda, a joint venture between Chinese private capital company Sundiro Investment Ltd. and Honda. The Shanghai-based electric vehicle and motorcycle manufacturer has built a digitalised platform to develop its dealership services, improve customer engagement, and enhance the new business model in the automotive sector.

Virgin Megastore is an international entertainment lifestyle retailer that currently operates over 35 stores across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The retailer has implemented the solution to address customers’ preferences for convenient shopping experiences. With the expansion of its online sales operations, the company has attracted a new generation of tech-savvy shoppers by providing a compelling omnichannel experience. Additionally, the retailing chain maximises other SAP applications such as SAP ERP ECC 6.0 – Controlling (CO) and SAP ERP ECC 6.0.

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Singapore-headquartered Anchanto, a global B2B SaaS product company, has been tapped by Panasonic to be its technology partner as the electronics conglomerate expands its e-commerce capabilities in the Asia Pacific. The strategic partnership aims to unify and streamline Panasonic’s e-commerce operations across different countries in Southeast Asia by leveraging Anchanto’s omnichannel Order Management System (OMS), SelluSeller. 

Speaking about Anchanto’s platform that seamlessly integrates with SAP system, Jake Hirose, Managing Director at Panasonic Appliances Marketing Asia Pacific, said:

“Our infrastructure and priorities vary from one country to another. Anchanto’s ready-made and powerful solutions with most web stores and marketplaces pre-integrated added to their ability to implement a customised solution integrated with SAP at lightspeed, and their unique strong presence within the APAC region were driving factors for us to select them to accompany Panasonic in the long term.”

“Panasonic enters this new decade with great objectives and ambition. We want to be at the forefront of the growing e-commerce trend with every part of our business,” Hirose added.

Panasonic’s omnichannel retail strategy, leveraging Anchanto’s cutting edge e-commerce technology, is part of the company’s growth plan for 2021. Recognising the changes in the retail industry, the electronics giant aims for stronger customer engagement through a more Direct-To-consumer (D2C) approach. Anchanto’s platform is anticipated to deliver unique customer experience and is projected to bring Panasonic closer to its goal of quadrupling its e-commerce revenue.

Panasonic will deploy Anchanto’s technology in Singapore to be followed by the rest of the SEA markets.

SelluSeller Integration with SAP System 

A powerful e-commerce management application, SelluSeller offers multiple benefits to e-commerce businesses while keeping their multichannel selling operations simple and streamlined. Anchanto’s robust and feature-rich platform suits the highly fragmented nature of the Asian market by delivering excellent customer experiences across multiple touchpoints as well as drive peak selling performance, achieve complete control & visibility, scale business, and bring in outstanding revenues.

SelluSeller instantly connects with the SAP system, e-commerce marketplaces, web stores, and accounting tools among others. The platform has a robust and user-friendly interface that easily allows brands, retailers, distributors, SMEs, and service providers to run-analytics-driven selling operations. 

For instance, in just a few clicks, SelluSeller allows users to readily download a comprehensive order export file containing details of all selected orders in SelluSeller and import all the order details into the SAP/financial system. The order export file also contains all the tax-related information for orders, which can be imported into the SAP system for the purpose of calculating tax information or tax audit.

“Our objective has always been to accompany ambitious companies on their e-commerce journey through the development of powerful and agile technology, and strong expertise. We are honored and humbled to be working with Panasonic and enabling their long-term omnichannel strategy. With the help of our platform, our strong local presence in the APAC region, and our network of integrated partners, we will support Panasonic’s ambitious digital commerce plan across markets,” stated Vaibhav Dabhade, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anchanto.

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The transition to SAP Commerce Cloud is part of Nihon Kohden’s “Transform 2020” mid-term business plan under its long-term vision “Change 2020-The Global Leader of Medical Solutions” to achieve the top share of applicable global markets. 

“Transform 2020” came about to resolve issues on profitability under its previous mid-term business plan, “Strong Growth 2017.” Financial Results for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2017—the last year of “Strong Growth 2017″—were below its targets for consolidated sales, operating income, and return on equity and; affected the company’s upfront investment burden. As part of its new mid-term plan, the company strategizes to improve profitability and achieve further growth in its core business by utilizing cloud technology solutions to expand its B2B market share.

With GyanSys as its systems integrator, the Japanese manufacturing company aims to build an expansive e-commerce platform that draws on high-levels of expertise to improve customer satisfaction, while reducing TCO and accelerating time-to-value. Rajkishore Una, President & CEO of GyanSys, says:

“GyanSys is excited to partner with Nihon Kohden and committed to deliver their e-commerce program successfully with our best practice-led agile implementation methodology. We will leverage our SAP and Salesforce implementation expertise to help Nihon Kohden derive the most value from this strategic digital initiative.”

In its first phase, the strategic cloud transformation will focus on strengthening Nihon Kohden’s business structure in the USA, which the company considers the world’s largest market and center of cutting-edge medical care. The program will begin with enabling account executives to sell products more efficiently with a guided configuration and quotation. According to Ashish Patil, Senior Director & Head of IT at Nihon Kohden America:

“Nihon Kohden is excited to start our e-commerce journey with GyanSys as our partner to build a scalable e-commerce platform. This platform will accelerate and increase the accuracy and compliance by enabling guided configuration and quote process.”

Utilizing SAP Commerce Cloud B2B Accelerators, the company can adapt the system to suit its specific requirements, significantly streamline sales and internal processes, and allow for quick market release. The e-commerce solution automates order-processing, allows for self-service account management for multiple users and go-to customizations for catalogs and pricing.

The cloud transformation initiative also comes at an opportune time for the company as it launches a new line of patient triage solutions—the NK-HealthProtect—designed to help healthcare providers during a public health threat such as the COVID-19 crisis. With SAP Commerce Cloud, the company can integrate an omnichannel commerce cloud solution that will enable it to reach potential markets quickly and efficiently on a global scale, and transform its operations to achieve a highly profitable structure. 

About Nihon Kohden

Founded in 1951, Nihon Kohden is one of the world’s top medical electronic equipment manufacturers and has the largest share of electroencephalographs in the market. The company exports to more than 120 countries and regions. Its key innovative technologies include: pulse oximetry to non-invasively measure SpO2, CO2 sensor specifically designed for non-intubated patients, estimated Continuous Cardiac Output (esCCO), and biphasic type defibrillators.

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SAP Hong Kong has been finding applicable solutions to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic in Hong Kong to ensure businesses still run best. In the retail industry, today more than ever, much less foot traffic has forced companies including brick and mortar retailers to shift and rely on digital retail platforms to reach and cater to customers.

Now that there is a surge in online commerce, SAP Hong Kong is able to help local companies shift to digital commerce through SAP Commerce Cloud. As part of the SAP Customer Experience solutions, SAP Commerce Cloud helps companies create a personalised shopping experience for their customers. 

Fabian Padilla Crisol, Managing Director at SAP Hong Kong said:

“People movement around Hong Kong and foot traffic to shopping hubs have slowed down significantly since the outbreak of COVID-19.”

“It has quickly become essential for companies to optimise and expand online retail operations through e-commerce channels. SAP Commerce Cloud is a complete solution that supports companies to tackle business and operational challenges. Its flexibility and scalability help them launch and improve online business, and fast deployment makes our customers well-positioned to capture opportunities,” he added.

SAP Commerce Cloud, which is supported by omnichannel capabilities and a data centre in Hong Kong, enables optimisation of online retail operations and scalability of a business. It is a single commerce solution that offers comprehensive e-commerce experience with end-to-end commerce processes. The platform uses a type system to organise data such as product information, customer data, addresses or orders making the customer experience seamless.

SAP Commerce Cloud has prebuilt integrations with SAP S/4HANA, SAP ERP, SAP C/4HANA, and other SAP applications.

A number of major retailers in Hong Kong are utilising SAP’s e-commerce solutions to help them engage with customers while creating a meaningful and consistent shopping experience. Here are some of the companies that leverage the capabilities of SAP Commerce Cloud:

Asia Miles, Asia’s travel and lifestyle rewards programme, has enhanced its Lifestyle Award Redemption platform. Powered by SAP Commerce Cloud, the platform provides its members with a smarter and more rewarding online shopping experience. Now enhanced and made user-friendly, it gives members much flexibility when redeeming lifestyle products and experiences from their Miles.

The largest 24-hour online shopping mall in Hong Kong, HKTVMall, provides a comprehensive online shopping experience to its thousands of customers by leveraging SAP’s commerce solution. Aside from connecting and integrating HKTVmall’s commercial channels, handling content, catalogs, and order, the SAP solution also provides customer-facing search functionality and integrates with HKTVmall’s backend ordering and transaction systems. 

Foodwise, Hong Kong’s first top online supermarket committed to improving the health and wellbeing of its customers, utilises an e-commerce platform powered by SAP across its citywide seven-store operations. Now, Foodwise offers a personalised digital customer experience that integrates digital and physical customer touchpoints onto a single platform. The platform powers an omnichannel storefront with search and navigation, recommendations, shopping cart, wish list and checkout functions, and product content management.

SAP’s innovative approach to modern commerce has made it a Leader in Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce for the fifth consecutive time last August 2019.

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