Online shopping has become a big part of the retail landscape and more recently due to the world pandemic, a necessity for many.

Business has been conducted online since the early days of the internet, though the standard we are at today is lightyears ahead of the first retailers trading digitally. In its beginnings, e-commerce lacked personalisation and good customer service, and the challenges around sharing personal details and bank cards made it even more difficult to operate. It has taken companies a lot of time and effort to build their reputations and gain customers’ trust, but despite all the scepticism, e-commerce has proved that online trading cannot only deliver to great standards, but also that it is a very convenient and time-saving solution that can compete and in many cases beat high street operations.

SAP has a number of solutions that have helped businesses manage e-commerce in a more efficient manner, providing better experiences to customers and employees, and supporting company growth.

ZALORA fashion continues 30% yearly growth with S/4HANA

ZALORA is an online fashion retailer that delivers millions of orders across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. They offer over 30,000 products on apparel, shoes and accessories from big names such as Mango, Dorothy Perkins and Superdry, as well as ZALORA labels and smaller local brands. Their quick delivery – as fast as three hours in some markets – and flexible payment methods are part of their strategy to become a leading retailer.

ZALORA, first founded in 2012, has sustained a growth  pace of 30% year on year. To support this expansion, they needed to automate and streamline their processes and delivery models across the eight countries where they operate. To resolve this, they implemented S/4HANA Retail solution for merchandise management, with a significantly faster reconciliation of sales orders. This has allowed customers to receive on-time delivery and pre and post-payment options that include cash on delivery, increasing sales as a result.

The real-time reporting and analytics of S/4HANA has helped ZALORA to stay ahead of trends and deliver an exceptional shopping experience to their customers. S/4HANA has provided the scalability required to  provide an increased selection of products and a new ability to quickly add cross-sell products to meet customers needs. This has helped ZALORA build strong partnerships with their main suppliers, but also with local designers, who they have helped expand and reach new markets.

With S/4HANA’s capabilities, ZALORA has optimised the resource distribution and streamlined IT and finance, with a reduction in finance payroll and other administrative expenses. Furthermore, ZALORA has benefited from the visibility, process standardisation and a single source of truth, allowing the online business to better manage workflows, improve transparency in supplier payments and improved cash management.

S/4HANA jobs SAP jobs

Frucor Suntory goes digital with SAP

Frucor Suntory has been distributing beverages for 50 years in Australia and New Zealand to customers of all sizes, from large supermarkets to corner shops. With the evolution of the digital markets, Frucor Suntory customers’ expectations and demands have increased, so they decided to join the online world and build e-commerce capabilities.

To meet the challenge of having an online offering, Furcor Suntory  deployed the SAP Customer Experience solution . Customers can now do their routine shopping through this self-service option from any device at any time of day, and Furcor Suntory now has better insights into their customers, in real-time, improving  their B2B sales and order processes.

With the integration of the C/4HANA suite, the sales teams at Frucor Suntory can access customer data and online orders relevant to their regions. The business has an integrated view across all departments, capturing demand and retail availability and enabling the team to be more responsive to customers’ demands. The Order to Cash system, which combines Commerce Cloud, Sales Cloud and SAP ERP reduces manual effort and errors, allowing employees to focus on more important tasks.

The future of online shopping

As operational software and hardware develops, we are seeing increasingly innovative approaches to meeting customer demands. Businesses are experimenting with drone deliveries and warehouse robotics, customers receive targeted advertising through search engines and e-mail marketing, and some are trying to bring virtual reality shopping  to the mainstream. Social shopping is also on the rise through platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube, and tools like Idealo, PriceGrabber and Kelko help consumers compare prices from the comfort of their home. There is a large range of products that can now be purchased online including groceries and takeaway food but also services like educational courses or even allergy tests. We can safely say e-commerce is here to stay and we are looking forward to see more of S/4HANA and general SAP capabilities in the  world of e-commerce.

S/4HANA jobs SAP jobs