Czech Online Expo is an annual event where experts, entrepreneurs and innovative companies meet to share their experiences and visions in the field of online business. What was the atmosphere like this year, what were the most common topics of discussion among visitors at the GRiT stand, and what trends emerged in the field of e-commerce digitalization? Maroš Karabinoš answers these questions.
What was the atmosphere like at the Czech Online Expo this year?
Czech Online Expo is always communicative, intense and inspiring. That is the vision of the organizers and I am very happy that they are succeeding in fulfilling it. We were lucky to have great support from the organizers and it was especially valuable for me to meet acquaintances from various projects and activities from the past.
What was the most common issue at your booth? Did visitors have any recurring questions or needs?
The e-commerce community was very well represented at the expo and the entire content of the lectures revolved around this area of online business. This was also reflected in the number of visitors to our booth. It was great to meet successful e-commerce companies that are our customers and stopped by for a chat.
Being a partner and comfort zone for the customer is a big win for a marketer. I am glad that colleagues from GRiT Design and Sales attended the expo, thanks to them we had interesting conversations. The main topic was clearly warehouses. They solve problems every day, have a physical presence in companies and are more visible.
The second common topic was suppliers and cooperation with them. Many e-commerce companies are vitally dependent on their suppliers – if there is no product, there is nothing to sell. An e-shop needs a fast turnover of goods, a wide and varied assortment is the key to success. We addressed questions such as: How to motivate suppliers? How to work with them in the long term?
And then of course documents. Orders , delivery notes, invoices – these are huge obstacles for e-shops that need to speed up the receipt and issue of goods. It was interesting to watch how different companies deal with this.
Have you seen any interesting new trends or technologies that may influence the digitalization of e-commerce?
The diversity of exhibitors was enormous, but I think that Czech and Slovak e-commerce is still waiting for a fundamental change in the digitalization of the circulation of goods, documents, and money in companies and between partners.
E-shops are getting faster – but are their warehouses and accounting departments getting faster too? Today's e-commerce primarily focuses on the front-end, marketing communications, and various forms of advertising. Influencers were visible at the expo, and armies of consultants presented various theories and practical studies.
Everything is currently revolving around investments in repeat purchase conversion. And this was reflected in the number of exhibitors offering various tools and solutions. We were the only exhibitor to present the concept and products of the digitalization ecosystem from the perspective of the daily operations of any sales company.
As I mentioned, the Czech and Slovak e-commerce community is now primarily focused on e-shops and their integration with various tools. But I dare say that the smarter ones have already understood that they need to stand on two feet - efficient circulation of documents and goods is a key opportunity.
Searching for a 70-crown item in an e-shop order for five minutes is nonsense. And there is a paper trail behind it all – from the supplier's office, through the warehouse, to a small bag in a parcel box in some district town.
We went to the Czech Online Expo with this message. Are you speeding up your e-shop, but the same mountains of paper are lying in your warehouse and on your tables? Come change that with us.
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