Starting a Q-Commerce Company: Fundamentals (Part Two)

In one of the previous media communiqués, retail and eCommerce consulting firm, Your Retail Coach (YRC) highlighted the first set of fundamentals in starting a q-commerce company. In this media release, the omnichannel consulting firm sheds light on the next set of fundamentals on the same topic.

Q-Commerce Business Model

One of the key intentions behind developing a business model is recognizing robust and unique value propositions. A common mistake in the case of q-commerce is treating superfast delivery as a value proposition. Superfast or quick delivery is an inherent feature of q-commerce. Any value proposition must stand over and above this feature. For example, offering to deliver quicker than competitors may be treated as a value proposition at a given point in time. Ease of ordering with speed and accuracy could also be a strong value proposition.

Other areas of deliberations in quick commerce business model development are:

· ? ? ? ? Important value chain activities

· ? ? ? ? Resource and capability requirements

· ? ? ? ? Customer segments

· ? ? ? ? Customer relationship management

· ? ? ? ? Important value chain associates

· ? ? ? ? Major costing heads and revenue streams

· ? ? ? ? Distribution and channel strategy

Financial and Commercial Assessments

Financial and commercial assessments are an important segment of q-commerce business planning. Besides serving as a guide map for routine decision-making, having sound financial and commercial assessments and planning helps keep the enterprise-wide financial management on the desired tracks and trajectories. Without planning and control, operational outlays can go out of bounds and hamper profitability. Once such practices find a place in a working system, they can become cyclic and become difficult to take out. Also, for the generation of important funds and reserves, it is important to have a plan for the utilisation of surplus funds.

Working capital management holds special significance for quick commerce companies. The flow of cash is extremely fast in quick eCommerce. Shorter inventory cycles make things more complicated.

Other essential areas of work under financial and commercial planning for quick commerce businesses are the projection of capital and operating expense requirements, demand forecasting, purchase planning, sales and revenue estimations, cash flow projections, preparation of estimation profit and loss statements, ROI and break-even analysis, pricing and margin analysis, calculation of important financial ratios, working capital management, etc.????

SOPs for Q-Commerce Operations Management

As experienced dark store consultants, YRC maintains that the development and implementation of Standard Operating Procedures are critical to achieving operational excellence in the quick commerce business. SOP-based process orientation is one of the best practices for quick commerce operations. SOPs for q-commerce provide significant assistance in crucial areas of work like:

· ? ? ? ? Accuracy in the employment of quick commerce fulfilment strategies

· ? ? ? ? Optimizing last-mile delivery for quick commerce

· ? ? ? ? Integrating quick commerce with existing systems

· ? ? ? ? Selection of best-fit quick commerce technology platforms ( plus SOP-IT integration)

· ? ? ? ? Enhanced employment of quick commerce inventory management solutions

· ? ? ? ? Scaling quick commerce operations (growth and expansion)

· ? ? ? ? Reduce delivery costs with quick commerce logistics

Quick Commerce Platforms

Every online business or quick commerce business needs something called an eCommerce platform. This platform is the digital stage that enables buying and selling possible over shopping apps and websites. In other words, it represents the framework of technology on which online storefronts are built, operated, and used. Choosing the right platform is important because it determines the features or capabilities of online storefronts in facilitating the buying-selling paradigm and process. It encompasses the front-end and back-end software, hardware, and networking technologies required to equip an online storefront with the desired design and functional capabilities.

In the selection of an eCommerce platform, quick commerce businesses have two broad options:

· ? ? ? ? Developing the platform at home (On-Premises)

· ? ? ? ? Availing the services of specialist platform service providers (SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS)

A quick commerce app must have UX elements that meet the requirements of the customers of quick commerce. This factor alone can help gain a competitive edge with quick commerce. Even when it comes to how to increase sales and revenue through quick commerce, the platform plays a decisive role. Poor UX often leads customers to curtail their shopping journeys leading to lowering the chances of having more sales.

About Your Retail Coach:

With more than 10 years in business, YRC is a retail & eCommerce consulting house with a success ratio of 95%. YRC offers customised enterprise solutions for new and existing businesses. With a rising international presence, YRC has served over 500 clients in more than 25 verticals. In q-commerce business consulting, YRC specialises in planning and implementation services and solutions for enterprise setup and growth and expansion missions.

Starting a Q-Commerce Company: Fundamentals (Part One)