Ruparupa and Kawan Lama Group's Mutualism Symbiosis in Forming an Omnichannel Strategy

The e-commerce business is predicted to continue to support the internet economy in Indonesia in the future. The e-Conomy SEA 2020 report compiled by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company noted that Indonesia's internet economy reached $44 billion in 2020 and the e-commerce business grew the largest at 54%.

The successful pandemic confirms the hypothesis of many e-commerce players in driving the internet economy. The players are also competing to continue to innovate in order to always stay ahead of the industry. Often times, negative perceptions arise for conventional business groups who try to enter the digital business because they are considered to come from organizations with a multi-layered work culture, contrary to the spirit of startups.

Kawan Lama Group wants to break that perception through service E-commerceher, Ruparupa, who has been pioneered since five years ago.

Through a joint interview DailySocial, Chief of Many Things Ruparupa Teresa Wibowo said, the beginning of Ruparupa came from input from Kawan Lama consumers who wanted the convenience of shopping for furniture online, shopping in stores with the transfer payment method, directly. pick up goods directly from the store, and so on.

Teresa has been with Kawan Lama since 2010. She is the second generation of the Wibowo family as business owners.

“So we designed the digital transformation of the consumer's voice. At that time we felt that channel we create our own e-commerce [based on brand under Old Friend] too big an investment. From there we decided to create group synergy by launching Ruparupa and decides "This one brand can provide a comprehensive experience," said Teresa.

He then formed a team that understands the online world, which is an important urgency so that Ruparupa can compete in the industry. Ruparupa's blueprint is designed to resemble a startup, filled with new people who understand the digital world. This step does not move old people to Ruparupa. The goal is none other than creating a new nuance that can provide a new perspective.

“From the start, we realized that the online and offline worlds were two different worlds. We also wondered if we would place a digital division in charge at Ace Hardware, for example, for e-commerce services, it might not be as successful as it is now."

To maintain a working relationship with the group, Teresa does not deny that an adaptation process is needed to align the group's vision through Ruparupa. This can be resolved with good communication. He felt the pandemic was becoming blessing in disguise, because it makes it easier for the entire group to unite towards the vision of establishing Ruparupa.

Ruparupa's influence on the group

Teresa explained that Ruparupa's presence does not mean stopping Kawan Lama's expansion to expand outlets in new locations. According to him, it is precisely the data real-time what Ruparupa presents, such as consumer habits when shopping, enriches input for the group when making decisions.

The proximity of an outlet's location to the user's location will encourage the effectiveness of the omnichannel concept. Consumers can take advantage of the store's presence to pick up goods yourself or send to your home with cheaper shipping costs. "Online data that has been successfullycapture can give business decisions which is better and more accurate for the group. "We can know that there is an opportunity to open a shop in an area because many people shop at Ruparupa."

For the group, he continued, outlet expansion remains a necessity for a brand to become better known to the public. Even in developed countries, this strategy is still implemented, even though internet penetration is already high. Currently, the Kawan Lama Group has more than 900 retail stores in Indonesia from dozens of retail brands. This ecosystem encourages Ruparupa to enter the omnichannel concept.

Teresa said that this concept can reduce the group's efforts to enter competition "burn money" which is often done by many other digital businesses. Through the consumer base that the Kawan Lama outlet network already has, Ruparupa has found consumers who are ready to be led into the world of e-commerce.

“How to use them [offline consumers] for online shopping, an omnichannel system is needed that can connect online and offline stores. Because consumers' shopping habits are different, some people want to come to the store first touch and feel, then there are also those who already know what they want to shop for, choosing to go straight to the nearest shop pick up because it saves costs."

Because there is more value offered from omnichannel, consumers can get new experiences when shopping. They can also immediately return the item if it doesn't suit your wishes. However, there are shortcomings arising from omnichannel, namely the stock system is not asreal-time like most other e-commerce players.

So far, Ruparupa is connected to the stock-per-store system to read stock. If a consumer puts goods into the basket, the stock will be marked as having decreased even though the transaction has not occurred. So if another consumer orders the same item, the issue is handled by throwing the order to the nearest shop that still has the item in stock.

Teresa said it would be a waste of investment if Ruparupa handled it by building its own warehouse inventory in various locations. The reason is, the SKUs from Kawan Lama number more than 80 thousand and the majority of furniture is large in size which takes up space. The group's existing outlets are now considered warehouses for Ruparupa.

“So if consumers order a lot of goods, half ordercan be ordered from other stores to get around this issue. Because what consumers want is how the goods can reach their homes when they do order. "

Performance over five years

In Ruparupa's five year journey, the company provides a number of features to support the omnichannel concept it promotes. Starting from STOPS (Store Pick-Up Service) which allows customers who shop on the Ruparupa site or application to pick up purchased products at the Kawan Lama Group retail store closest to their location.

Furthermore, Scan and Go Shop which allows consumers to transact their purchases via the application just by scan barcodes desired product, so you don't need to go to the cashier and avoid queuing. With this feature, consumers can choose to send orders to the intended address using regular or instant delivery services, or pick up their purchases at pick-up point in the store to bring yourself.

During the pandemic, Ruparupa saw a significant increase, up to 200%, for all categories. Consumers buy many product categories such as bicycles, office tables and chairs, shelves and storage, and sports equipment. The increase in this popular category can reach 300%, while masks increase by up to 1000%. Ruparupa has served more than 500 thousand customers throughout Indonesia.

Teresa said, although many offices have set policies Work From Office (WFO), Ruparupa continues to record a positive upward trend on a monthly basis (month to month). “Even though it's no longer [rising] double digits, but there is still healthy growth. Because of this, there has been a change in consumer behavior, we have succeeded in attracting many new consumers since the pandemic. The WFH trend is making a lot of people aware with the comfort of working at home, there are many things that need to beupgrade. "

Not only serving the B2C segment, Ruparupa also serves B2B consumers to supply the needs of offices, hotels, restaurants and cafes. However, system wise backend on e-commerce sites, Ruparupa has not provided technology for the ordering process because many B2B consumers still use conventional methods when making orders. order.

Apart from that, Ruparupa opens up opportunities for local SMEs to take advantage of platformto sell their products. Teresa explained that her party is aware that to meet consumer needs, you don't always have to work alone, you need to collaborate with non-groups. The UKM chosen by Ruparupa has gone through a selection process, the categories being sold include furniture, wooden crafts, traditional toys for children, plants, and even masks.

SMEs who want to join will first check the quality of their products to ensure that the service to consumers is genuine products. Currently, SMEs joining are still limited to Jabodetabek. "We do not provide a minimum standard for stock of goods, but rather how good the service is for each order that comes in. If [seller] often cancel then it will come in blacklist because they are not ready to sell.”

Ruparupa's future

With fantastic achievements over five years, will Ruparupa be the spearhead or just a complement to the group? Teresa answered, Ruparupa and the group's strategy will become one unit that goes hand in hand.

He reiterated that the retail industry has received a new touch, namely digital technology which encourages more new innovations. Because, both the online and offline retail industries are not always limited by innovation in just one of them. Online retail needs an offline approach to be close to consumers, and vice versa.

Ruparupa captures data to enrich new treasures that help the group in making important decisions.

“Ruparupa and Kawan Lama Group are entities that must work together. As we are encouraging now, focus on omnichannel experience. We can see from there that there are more consumers happy"The consumers we attract are of higher quality, because the point is how the retail world can answer all consumer needs," he concluded.