Zensar enables NetFlorist to transform its business model to help its customers

Zensar, a digital solutions and technology services company that specialises in partnering with global organisations on their digital transformation journey, announced it has strengthened its partnership with NetFlorist, a leading online gifting company from South Africa, to enable it to diversify its business offerings during the current situation to now include an essential grocery section.

NetFlorist wanted its customers to have the option to buy essential items during the COVID-19 lockdown. The online company, in collaboration with the Zensar team, worked within a short period of time to diversify its business model to include essential commodities. This was an extension of its business that involved changes in its Web site, ordering process, backend IT systems as well as its delivery model.

Sandeep Kishore, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Zensar, said: “The entire team at Zensar is committed to partnering with our customers to remain operational and mitigate the business challenges caused due to COVID-19. This is the time to extend beyond the normal and I am proud of our team, who have helped the NetFlorist team expand their business offerings with the objective of remaining relevant for their customers in these tough times.”

According to Ryan Bacher, Managing Director, NetFlorist: “We are fortunate to have a trusted and dynamic partner in Zensar. Our teams have collaborated within the shortest possible time to re-engineer our business model to support our customers' immediate need for essential commodities. We are focused on being of service to our customers in these troubled times by offering them a seamless shopping experience always.”

Harish Lala, Senior Vice-President and Head, South Africa, said: “NetFlorist has always strived to offer superior customer service. We had the clear objective of ensuring that the well-loved brand continues to engage with its customers proactively to help them manage these tough times. It entailed our team working closely as one force, driven to achieve this feat in a matter of days. We are delighted to have been there for NetFlorist through these unprecedented times.”

The highlights of the business transformation included the following initiatives:

• The Web site needed to be re-engineered from the backend as the business objective was to move from gifts to essential items needed during the lockdown.
• Enabling a new framework wherein changes were made by adding an application landscape, while keeping the existing systems running as usual.
• All the changes and revisions were made in a short span of time to ensure that NetFlorist could fulfil orders at the earliest, within a couple of days.
• The entire business process had to be modified with changes in the shopping process, consolidation of the delivery charges to suit the new model where there are multiple purchases, along with revision in the after-sales process.
• Due to the closure of the call centre, mails were the only way to connect with customers, so the mail systems needed to be agile and effective.
• The combined expertise of both teams resulted in a successful business model in a short span of time to mitigate the current situation for customers, who are now able to buy what they need.