On April 10, 2008, Alibaba will officially announce the launch of its B2C platform. On September 10, Zhengjia.com, positioned as China's online "Walmart," officially opened in Guangzhou, directly targeting Taobao Mall. The domestic B2C e-commerce platform market is becoming increasingly competitive. According to a research report recently released by Analysys International, in the coming years, the growth rate of C2C will slow down, while the growth rate of the B2C market scale will surpass that of C2C. It is expected that the B2C market will start to grow rapidly from 2009 onwards, with its market share gradually increasing.
However, has the "financial tsunami" had any impact on the e-commerce industry? In Guangzhou, where the retail industry is quite developed, how is Boshang Software, a local e-commerce developer, facing this gradually growing B2C market? Our reporter (from South China Business Network) interviewed Mr. Zhang Zhongming, General Manager of Guangzhou Boshang Software Technology Co., Ltd. located in the Huanghuagang Information Park of the National New High-tech Industrial Development Zone.
After reviewing the materials, my impression of him was: young and capable. After meeting Mr. Zhang, I had to add two more words to describe him - astute. He possesses the traditional business acumen of people from Chaoshan. Mr. Zhang's astuteness lies in his ability to clearly see the development trends of the industry and to grasp the needs of merchants and consumers.
When asked about the development of Guangzhou's e-commerce industry and Boshang, Mr. Zhang showed great interest. In just an hour, he elaborated on the industry, Boshang, and their products.
"The Financial Tsunami" Has Not Caused Significant Impact on the Industry
According to Mr. Zhang, although the "financial tsunami" has been fierce, it has not yet had a significant impact on the e-commerce industry, mainly affecting only the foreign trade sector. For example, companies using e-commerce platforms for foreign trade may see a reduction in business due to the overall economic environment. Conversely, these foreign trade companies and OEM merchants, affected by exports, are turning to e-commerce to capture domestic market shares.
From the perspective of the retail industry, the impact of the financial crisis on e-commerce is not significant. Nowadays, small retail stores aiming to break through and expand find the shortest path to be introducing e-commerce. Large enterprises, whether they are loss-making, breaking even, or profitable, are all thinking about how to break through performance and seize market shares. But how exactly to break through and compete? Now we talk about "air superiority." Currently, the geographical layout of traditional retail industries in various regions has very limited development space, making large-scale expansion difficult. What can bring greater development to enterprises is "the air," i.e., the Internet. And the only way for enterprises to achieve breakthroughs is through e-commerce. For instance, e-commerce can improve a company's marketing strategy.
Now, with economic depression prevalent in various regions around the world including China, such an environment will prompt many merchants to change their traditional ways of thinking and enter the promising field of e-commerce. Therefore, apart from some localized adverse effects, this "financial tsunami" brings more opportunities for the development of China's e-commerce.
Lack of Deep Understanding Is the Greatest Obstacle for E-commerce Today
For traditional retail businesses, e-commerce is an emerging industry. Traditional merchants need a certain process to fully understand new things. However, the future trend of commercial development is e-commerce. Bill Gates once said, "Either e-commerce or no commerce!" This directly points out the importance of e-commerce in future development.
In the early stages of development, e-commerce was mainly affected by factors such as credibility, service, supply chain, logistics, etc., causing many merchants and consumers to hesitate. After Boshang advocated traditional enterprises entering the B2C sector, many problems were resolved. For example, when buying branded mobile phones online at the same price, consumers prefer to buy from websites of well-known traditional brands like Longyue Telecom because these traditional brands have already established themselves and accumulated trust in reality. However, traditional enterprises need to enhance their understanding of e-commerce to adapt to the trend.
Currently, B2C technology has become increasingly mature, and this new platform has turned many previously unfeasible transactions into realities. Moreover, online shopping has reached a certain scale now, and consumer habits are gradually changing. The market and conditions are already in place. But the biggest obstacle for traditional enterprises entering the e-commerce field is their lack of deep understanding, and sometimes even misunderstanding, leading them into cognitive pitfalls. For instance, enterprises and merchants are skeptical about online shopping; they think the online shopping market is small and unworthy of investment or unnecessary at the moment; they misunderstand changes in the market; they lack sufficient understanding of e-commerce, etc. These directly result in the inability of B2C e-commerce to grow at high speed.
Mr. Zhang gave an example: Some bosses of traditional enterprises have a very one-sided understanding of e-commerce, believing that it will affect their existing traditional stores and impact their franchise stores, etc. In fact, traditional stores and e-commerce are complementary.
In response to this situation, Boshang often collaborates with industry associations to organize various seminars and training courses. They help members enhance their understanding of e-commerce. Mr. Zhang revealed that Boshang is currently planning an "E-commerce Academy" program to provide comprehensive training and improvement for Boshang member enterprises. But this is still far from enough. Mr. Zhang appeals for more support, promotion, and guidance from the government and media towards the e-commerce industry, collaborating with e-commerce developers to jointly remove obstacles.
A Pioneer in Guangzhou's E-commerce Sector
As a leading software developer in Guangzhou's e-commerce industry, what kind of company is Boshang? How does it create products with Boshang characteristics?
Boshang's origins trace back to 2004. After e-commerce quickly rose and giants like Alibaba achieved success, Boshang established a core software R&D team, making it one of the earliest companies in Guangzhou to venture into e-commerce and also one of the first successful developers of e-commerce software based on J2EE technology in China.
In 2005, the prototype design of the e-commerce solution system began. In 2006, the V1.1 version of the online store was officially released... Over four years, Boshang has carved out its own niche in the e-commerce field, successfully building a distinctive e-commerce brand and occupying a leading position in China's enterprise-level e-commerce software industry. Meanwhile, Boshang Software collaborates with renowned software companies like IBM, Intel, and Yonyou to jointly develop the rapidly growing Chinese e-commerce software R&D and service market.
Currently, Boshang Software products cover 20 industries, mainly distributed across IT/electronics, textiles and apparel, distribution and retail, food and beverage, etc.
Although the company started making profits in 2007, Mr. Zhang modestly said that Boshang is still in the investment growth phase, with some distance to go before reaching its corporate goals.
An Excellent Team Is the Key to Success
The reason Boshang has developed to its current scale is due to many factors, such as grasping industry demands, having a core team, and a strong advisory board. Industry demand and the success of e-commerce platforms like Taobao have greatly encouraged and given confidence to Boshang. Coming from a background in traditional trading, Mr. Zhang has extensive connections in various industries. These enterprise CEOs form an advisory board that can provide industry and corporate demands from an enterprise perspective, enabling Boshang to serve its customers more accurately and better.
Mr. Zhang believes that the key to success is having a core team. Boshang Software has gathered outstanding talents in e-commerce operations and technology. The Guangzhou R&D center employs over 100 software engineers with intermediate and senior titles. An excellent team provides strong technical support for Boshang's product services.
Speaking of the team, the open management style of the company towards its employees is worth affirming. Open management allows employees ample room to play and can stimulate the potential of each member.
Service Is the Core of the Product
Boshang products mainly include enterprise versions and international versions.
One of the Merchant One series products, the enterprise edition B2C online store system is specifically tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with low deployment costs and short cycles, allowing SMEs to take their first step quickly.
It is highly scalable, with the enterprise edition based on J2EE and service-oriented system architecture, reserving sufficient interfaces and upgrade space for the online business growth and system integration of SMEs. In today's society, commerce and products change rapidly, and e-commerce should also change accordingly. Ordinary e-commerce software doesn't consider this point, but Boshang's enterprise edition does. "For example, Boshang sells products with a foundation of 100 floors, but the customer currently only builds up to 10 floors. The remaining space waits for the customer to build when needed in the future, which is very flexible!" Mr. Zhang gave a vivid analogy.
The international edition of Boshang's online store system not only inherits the architecture and functional features of the Merchant One series products but also has prominent advantages in cross-border B2C operations. The international edition provides full multi-language support for the entire system. The system supports more than three languages and completely supports internationalization for dozens of functions such as product names, product custom attributes, region names, etc. It supports multiple currencies and measurement units and offers a simpler processing mode of "one file per language."
The value of Boshang software products is more reflected in the service provided after selling the product. "Currently, Boshang sells products, but in fact, Boshang sells services," Mr. Zhang said.
Unlike general e-commerce developers, Boshang's business platform is not just a website for selling goods but a distinctive platform that aligns with merchants' interests and needs and ensures consumer safety and convenience. The construction process of the Boshang business platform mainly consists of five stages: enterprise demand analysis, evaluation, platform building, personnel training, and operational planning. During the construction process, Boshang considers more the service to merchants and consumers. For enterprises, saving investment costs, human resources, and seeking greater benefits; for consumers, safety and convenience are the keys to service. Payment functions and one-page checkout processes of Boshang software are all considered from this aspect.
It can be said that every product is custom-made for enterprises, and every stage reflects Boshang's characteristic services.