E-Commerce integration for MSME's (micro,small,medium enter)

Create an integral plan and supply chain management strategies for micro and small businesses in Mexico to adapt their sales and processes to fully (or partially) adopt e-commerce.

Consulting service for micro and small enterprises focused on the migration (total or partial) of businesses to an electronic-based model; analyzing from the sourcing of suppliers to the final customer by creating channels of bilateral communication to improve customer experience. The consulting will be divided in four parts:

1. Logistics

   1. Analysis of the optimal routes to make deliveries to customers (if applies

   2. Reduce costs on transportation while accomplishing safety standards

 2. Operations

1. 1. Make value flow through accurate lean strategies

   2. Maintain high quality standard while complying with customer service

   3. Optimization of resources focused on customer needs.

1. Sourcing

   1. Offer a menu of possible suppliers for business (reducing costs)

   2. Reinforce relationships with key suppliers and/or vendors 

   3. Reduce risk on non-compliance orders for the business

1. Data analysis

   1. Constant review to demand forecast 

   2. Reduce uncertainty on supplies purchasing 

   3. Real time review on key performance indicator of the company

   4. Constant communication with customers and suppliers

According to the Mexican Institute for Statistics and Geography (2020), 72% jobs are given by small and medium enterprises. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a fifth part of them shut down. We are talkning about a huge proportion of jobs lost due to a crisis. 

Furthermore, firms may use Internet-based electronic commerce to create added value by producing new products, adopting completely new business practices, changing the ways in which they interact in the marketplace and reconnecting with the customer base during this crisis. As AMVO affirms (2021), “ During 2020, there has been an exponential growth of 81% for online sales compared to 2019” . This raises some important questions for this topic: Are micro and small businesses in Mexico ready for this change? How to prepare them? More important, how can thet sustain this new features throughout time?

This project is targeted to owners of micro, small and medium enterpises in Mexico City. Eventhough, technology plays an important role on everyone's life nowadays, it's crucial to integrate this tool to businesses as well. A side to side consulting service that will cover different nodes of their processes in order to adapt technology to the business model. 

At this moment, this idea is just a concept. However, I have talked out this idea with a local restaurant near my house and I have listed most of their concerns and challenges they've faced duing this sanitary crisis. Plus, the numbers shown by the national government reflect a direct impact and negative consequences in this sector in particular; which will lead to a bigger economic problem in the near future. 

Concept. This was an idea pitched by me in a lecture last semester where we needed to select a category of our daily life and propose a solution. Throughout the semester, we debate about our ideas, made a "Shark Tank" simulation of this concept and received feedback. 

However, with this challenge, I strongly believe that this concept may escalate and become a reality. 

The main technologies that could add value to this project are: 

• IoT: With this tool, owners can know in real time the status of their businesses. From customer satisfaction, return rate, social media reach and so more. 
• Mobile applications: Side by side with IoT, they can track and follow the performance in the palm of their hands.

Currently, as I mentioned before, it's only the concept. However, by the end of the present year I intend to apply this project in my community since there's a huge area of opportunity and several MSME's in the area. 

Impact goals: 

- Sustainable strategies for micro, small and medium buisnesses in Mexico. 

- Partial integration to e-commerce in the first six months of work. 

For the first goal we can rely on: 

• Customer return rate, retention rate, new customers per month 

For the second goal: 

• type all the processes in the business and determine how many of them could be digitilized to start with a plan on that.

In Mexico, this sort of businesses shut down in the first two years of operation, so that will be the first challenge. 

Secondly, change resistance, since we will go deep into the core of the business, this could be something that can cause some trouble. 

Thirdly, technical expertise on my side regarding technology.

Currently, I'm working alone and my major is focused on process imporvement. Plus, my position on my job, BASF, as Process Technology intern has helped me to visualize how to start digitalization processes from scratch into a partil digital model. 

Besides, in 2019, I've participated on the MIT Genesys Initiative where we had to collaborate with a local restaurant in order to propose strategies and ideas to better manage the business by itself. 

None partnerships at the moment.

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