E-commerce in SA is clouded by misconceptions and as a result, many SME businesses are letting significant opportunities slip.
"We need to clear these misconceptions, which are holding back the strategically important SME business sector," says Stephen Corrigan, managing director of Pastel Software SA, a business, accounting and payroll software specialist and a Softline company.
"There is a misconception that e-commerce is geared towards casual trading in a business-to-consumer environment, thus replacing the traditional bricks-and-mortar business. In SA, customers choose to place their orders online with reputable companies with which they have established relationships and they tend to avoid dealing with `anonymous` companies on the Net."
Corrigan adds that the reality is that e-commerce is a complementary extension to the traditional business that operates from buildings or offices at a street address -- a facility that customers or suppliers can physically visit, view and touch. E-commerce is a means by which businesses can conduct their business more efficiently and at the same time offer their customers and suppliers added value.
"The added value is realised in terms of speed, availability, flexibility, accuracy and convenience. The e-commerce-enabled business gives its customers the facility to place orders electronically, at any time of the day or night on any day of the year, from anywhere in the world where there is Internet access. Time barriers and location become irrelevant. Now that`s convenience.
"Our e-commerce offering allows the user to generate an e-commerce store from information already captured in their Pastel accounting product, this includes an extended description for each product; a graphic or visual of each product and customer-specific pricing."
"Allowing customers to place their orders online guarantees accuracy, eliminates queries over pricing and queries that the product was never ordered or that the wrong product or wrong quantity has been supplied, all of which can occur when orders are placed by telephone. The margin for human error is reduced because duplication and misunderstanding are removed from the equation."
"Another benefit of this is that mobile salespeople can easily capture orders wherever they are by simply accessing their e-commerce store and placing their orders online on behalf of the customer. All orders placed online this way are quickly and easily integrated back into Pastel Accounting with the simple click
of a button."
Corrigan says Pastel has made the decision to fully implement the business-to-business e-commerce route itself by opening an online store for its users and dealers. The company believes that once dealers and resellers start using the technology they will in turn fully recommend it to their clients.
"It is an education process, one that we at Pastel are supporting in every way we can. There is actually no reason why every Pastel user who is selling something should not have an e-commerce store because with PlanetPastel (www.planetpastel.com) we have created an entirely new virtual business world aimed at being the definitive business information source, shopping mall and business park for SMEs in SA. Within hours, Pastel users can trade electronically in the shopping mall, or conduct business-to-business e-commerce in the business park."
"We have already broken down the major barriers to e-commerce -- entry price, simplicity of use, quick and easy set-up, integration with the accounting package and security via passwords and user names. I have no doubt that e-commerce will be adopted by traditional bricks-and-mortar business because it enables companies to give their customers the privilege of conducting business at the customer`s convenience, instead of the other way around."
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