While small businesses in India think they have embraced e-commerce, they certainly need to think beyond that. The way a manufacturer produces and distributes his/her products has changed now, and small businesses need implement those changes in their operations, said Bharati Balakrishnan, Senior Vice President – Digital Communications, Future Group, India.
She was the Chief Guest of PSG Institute of Management’s National Management Week Celebrations 2021. The celebration was initiated by the Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). This year it is being held between the 1st and 7th, Jan, 2021. Around 40 social service events will be conducted, this year.
Speaking at the inaugural on the topic ‘E-Commerce Opportunities for MSMEs in the Future’, Bharati shared her insights, particularly on how China evolved into a manufacturing giant in the 80s and 90s, and how the majority of the population focused on becoming entrepreneurs.
She conveyed that with the power of the E-Commerce, the Chinese MSMEs made great success. They met the demands and made use of the opportunities in exports area, and the needs of the domestic market as well. This made the cycle of wealth-generation in an enterprising family to go non-stop.
Bharati said that Small Businesses in India entered the digital domain and embraced and E-Commerce system but just selling one’s product online is not e-commerce. She explained that the stores need digitization, the manufacturer needs to automate the supply chain, check on how competitive is his product-pricing and also learn about the customer’s feeling (CRM)- whether they liked the product, what kind of comment they are leaving on the company’s social media page on a product, etc.
She underlined that the way a MSME develops and distributes its products and the way a customer discover a product and its pricing have all changed today. She conveyed that for a MSME, the market is not only in the domestic region but in the global arena.
When a manufacturer could identify which products are the customers mostly looking at on his website, he can focus on making that more in a better way, run a social media campaign, meet new customers and make profits. For all these, one needs to know how to read the data, and it is available out there.
She stressed that the key to a nation’s prosperity lies with the MSMEs. She suggested the aspiring entrepreneurs to think digital and think global.
Earlier, Dr.T.G.Vijaya, Director, PSG Institute of Management addressed the first year students, alumni and guest. She highlighted about National Management Week celebrations and about the events that have been planned which are centred on mental fitness, skill development, appreciating the frontline workers, helping the underprivileged, eye donation, river bed cleaning, growing and consuming healthy food, etc.
She conveyed that the students will meet various sections of society like traders, frontline workers and the underprivileged and visit hospitals, old age homes and orphanages to indulge in social service activities to benefit the community.
“MBA is not just about classes and textbooks; it is about being in the field. Learning by doing makes you a better manager”, she said. She added that the events and interactions will help them gain experience and contribute to their managerial acumen.