Ok, so now we finally know why certain packages don't make it to their destination on time...warehouse employees would rather film the never-ending acrobats of a cardboard box than send it on down the line :-)
Ok, so now we finally know why certain packages don't make it to their destination on time...warehouse employees would rather film the never-ending acrobats of a cardboard box than send it on down the line :-)
Posted by Marc on 27 August 2010 at 03:05 PM in For Fun | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
This month, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the future of electronic commerce and the implementation of the Directive on electronic commerce (2000/31/CE).
The 77-question online survey is aimed at everyone touched by this sector: policy makers, businesses, retailers, service providers and the public. The goal is to get a better understanding as to why, 10 years after adopting the Electronic Commerce Directive to help promote cross-border trade, retail e-commerce still makes up less than 2% of European total retail trade.
Out-law published an article shedding some light on the subject for those of you who would like to participate. You have until October 15th to get your questionnaire in. You can fill it out here.
The result of this work will be taken into account in the Commission's deliberations with a view to the adoption in the first half of 2011 of a Communication of electronic commerce.
I highly recommend sharing your opinion, whatever it may be.
Posted by Marc on 24 August 2010 at 10:28 AM in E-Commerce News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
According to a Regus report that came out in mid-July studying 15,000 businesses worldwide, SMEs reap more benefits from social networking than big businesses do: 44% of SMEs acquired new customers through social networking versus 28% of large businesses.
Even though a lot of businesses have been dragging their feet when it comes to using social networking as one of their marketing channels, more than 700,000 SMEs now have at least a fan page on Facebook.
And the return on investment is such that 28% of SMEs are putting a certain percent of their marketing budget into social media.
Mark Dixon, Regus CEO states: "Our global survey has revealed that social networking has finally become an effective business tool, and SMEs are leading the way in this. Whilst the most popular function of these networks remains that of keeping in touch with contacts, small businesses are also successfully acquiring new customers, supporting their retention efforts and interacting with customer groups. This survey indicates that organisations who have not yet ventured into the world of social networking may be missing a sizeable business opportunity."Posted by Marc on 10 August 2010 at 09:48 AM in E-Commerce News, Social Networking | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
It's summer and everything's moving in slow motion, including your schedule.
Here are two dates to remember because you just might still have some free time left in September and October! So why not hop over to Paris and mix a little business with pleasure!
To register and get your free pass, click here.
Posted by Marc on 28 July 2010 at 08:48 PM in E-Commerce News, Trade Shows and Events | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Sorry for the wait...but as they say, better late than never!
This time around, the E-Commerce Academy awards were given out on July 2nd during our Journées Oxygène in Marseille, France.
This event brings together Oxatis clients, partners, solution centers and other e-commerce actors once a year under one roof to nurture their e-commerce activities and provide expert information to those seeking it out, all in a relaxed and fun atmosphere where everyone really has the chance to interact and exchange their points of view.
While this event is currently focused on our French market, we are slowly expanding it to include all of the different countries where we are currently present. And this year, we had our first ever Oxatis E-Commerce Partner from the UK in attendance!
So, if any of you are interested in attending next year or in entering your Oxatis site in the E-Commerce Academy, don't be shy...feel free to contact us or leave a comment below.
And without further ado, the 2010 E-Commerce Academy winners are:
Congratulations to the winners! And thanks to everyone who participated.
Posted by Marc on 20 July 2010 at 12:37 PM in E-Commerce Academy, Oxatis News | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Once again, we had a heated meeting this year to choose the list of nominees for the E-Commerce Academy.
Here's a sneak peak at the nominees that came out of the jury deliberation last week.
An unexpected surprise: Two Italian applicants were nominated this time around.
See you this Friday night, 2 July, for the awards ceremony that will be held in Marseille during the Oxatis event - Journées Oxygène.
Good luck to all the nominees!
With professional participation from our jury members:
Posted by Marc on 28 June 2010 at 12:01 PM in E-Commerce Academy, E-Commerce News, Oxatis News | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
The saga about our second fund raising campaign is going to end today with a recurring question: "What are you going to do with the 4M€?"
Even if some of our colleagues teasingly suggest that we should buy out all the pizzerias in our surrounding area, (and others who have far more adventurous ideas that I don't dare mention here), we're going to use the 4M € differently.
Posted by Marc on 21 June 2010 at 01:16 PM in Fund Raising, In My Humble Opinion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
After answering What does fund raising mean? and When can you raise funds? at the beginning of the week, I'm going to try to answer a question that surprised me a bit, even though it's very well-justified: Why should you raise funds?
It's so ingrained in my being as an obvious fact that I never felt the need to say it out loud: Raising money is an entrepreneur's duty nowadays.
I'd even go further to say that it's a triple duty:
• A duty to your shareholders,
• A social duty towards your employees,
• A duty to your country, who supported and helped you create your business.Posted by Marc on 18 June 2010 at 10:19 AM in Fund Raising, In My Humble Opinion | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Another group of questions that was brought to my attention concerns the theme "When can you raise funds?".
Of course, I don't claim to have the perfect methodology. I'm simply sharing my experience and am not offering an exact science. Every case is unique even if they all share certain common factors.
Not all companies needs to raise funds. It would never cross a garage owner's mind to get listed on the stock exchange. Likewise, a car manufacturer wouldn't hesitate to go and search out necessary resources.
The analysis is the same for an Internet merchant. A good web agency specializing in e-commerce doesn't have the same needs or the same market as a technology based e-commerce platform.
If you want to raise funds for your business, the first thing you need to ask yourself is if the possibility exists, because you can be a brilliant entrepreneur but not be running a company that is able to raise funds.Quickly surrounding yourself with people that are better than you in certain aspects also shows your ability to recruit the best and get them to stay. Investors know that this is fundamental for growth and are glad to see that you can do it really fast.
So, let's assume that you're in an exploding market, your service is excellent and that your team rocks… you still need to take a look at the competition to see if they've left you a piece of the pie!
Why? Because when a market is exploding, it gives all the followers ideas, and they start thinking "why not us?".
And that's where the "first come, first served" policy comes into play.It's always better to be first, because most times there isn't enough room for everyone.
In any case, not many investors will throw their money at the followers if they've taken a look at the leader's project and didn't go ahead with it.
Posted by Marc on 17 June 2010 at 09:49 AM in Fund Raising, In My Humble Opinion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
First of all, many thanks to all of you for your congratulations after the announcement about the investment funds we raised that I shared with you yesterday.
In addition to the congratulations and shared joy, this fund raising decision has raised several questions that I am going to try and answer here. Sharing some feedback about my experience and the conclusions I've drawn is the least I can do.
I don't have enough time to answer each question one by one. So, I'm going to regroup them by theme and spread my answers out over a few days. The saga of this fund raising campaign, in sum.
Today, I'm going to answer "Raising funds, what does that mean?"If none of these themes answers your questions, feel free to ask them as comments below. I'll do my best to answer.
So, today "Fund raising, what does that mean?"Today, undertaking a second fund raising campaign and completing it within 9 weeks, when the company is much more developed than in the first campaign, is not only an indication of a growth market or a better product/service, but proof that we were perfectly capable of carrying out the first phase of our mission. Surrounded by exceptional colleagues, we industrialized the business and the fruit of that labor is visible and palpable.
This means that the company is great shape, because as everyone knows...those who have, get (and those who have not, get not)!It's also an indication that the market is balancing out.
In 1997, we were one of the only ones who invented the concept of an e-commerce platform in the USA. 10 years later in 2007-2008, the balance rested on the multitude of strong competitors that were pretty similar to one another.But the clients and investors made their choices. And that naturally led to a concentration (did you say selection?).
That brings me to the conclusion that future funds raised by e-commerce platforms will be very sizable or won't happen at all.
They'll definitely involve companies that, like us, have a story, have customers and, especially, have results. When the market enters into this stage of maturity, it "rewards" performance and not ideas. This is bad news for newcomers, but excellent news for those leading the pack …
That's what fund raising means for Oxatis in particular and for a business sector in general.
Tomorrow, I'll follow up with "When can you raise funds?"Posted by Marc on 16 June 2010 at 09:25 AM in Fund Raising, In My Humble Opinion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)