The blaze that gutted Makro`s Woodmead warehouse is estimated to have caused R200 million damage. While it`s true that the warehouse and its contents were insured, and will be rebuilt and replaced before long, one can expect that Makro will lose quite a bit of revenue before it`s recovered from this setback.
My view is that this is the perfect opportunity for Makro to entrench its e-commerce offering among the thousands of consumers that the Woodmead branch attracted on a monthly basis.
This is the perfect opportunity for Makro to entrench its e-commerce offering among the thousands of consumers that the Woodmead branch attracted on a monthly basis.
Basheera Khan, Journalist, ITWeb
Between its own Web site, www.makro.co.za, and its presence on Digital Mall, www.digitalmall.co.za, Makro has the chance to drive purchasing both through the Web sites, and the call centre hosted by Digital Mall.
It can also capitalise on raising e-commerce awareness among its extensive customer base, and who knows - by the time the Woodmead branch is back on its feet, it may have converted a significant number of loyal customers.
One of greatest challenges in this approach would be sourcing and delivery of goods. To my mind, the other warehouses in the chain shouldn`t have any problem taking up the slack. There would be significant pressure exerted all the way up Makro`s supply chain. Depending on the extent to which that supply chain is automated, I think it would be the perfect opportunity to test the efficiencies of that supply chain.
If anything, an exercise such as this will merely provide damage control, and if it does indeed have the result of driving the numbers of e-commerce usage, all the better for all parties involved.
B2C Web sites revisited
The good news is that, as one of our readers pointed out in response to last week`s Net-Picking, there is a constant stream of business-to-consumer (B2C) initiatives entering the market - focusing on operability rather than hype.
Several of these have brought themselves to my attention - among them, an online gifting service, a fast food delivery service, a computer equipment retail site, and a technical bookstore. I`m still convinced that a solid marketing strategy is required for these sites to attract any sort of customer base.
Lastly, a reminder that Mother`s Day is just around the corner. If you`re going to use the online channel this year, there`s not much time left to ensure that your gifts are delivered to Mom in time.
Most e-tailers are offering specialised products and services in honour of this day - among those to look out for are BidorBuy, The Red Gift Bag, M-Web`s ShopZone, Aucor Active and of course, various online florists. Happy shopping!
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