POST COVID 19 CURRENT SITUATION AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE WORKING QUALITY OF STAFF AT SHOPEE VIETNAM

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – MARKETING POST COVID-19: CURRENT SITUATION AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE WORKING QUALITY OF STAFF AT SHOPEE VIETNAM Student: Nghiêm Thu Hà Major:

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – MARKETING

POST COVID-19: CURRENT SITUATION AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE WORKING QUALITY OF STAFF AT

SHOPEE VIETNAM

Student: Nghiêm Thu Hà Major: International Business Course: 44

Instructor: MBA Dương Ngọc Hồng

Year 2021

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – MARKETING

POST COVID-19: CURRENT SITUATION AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE WORKING QUALITY OF STAFF AT

SHOPEE VIETNAM

Student: Nghiêm Thu Hà Major: International Business Course: 44

Instructor: MBA Dương Ngọc Hồng

Year 2021

Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my instructor Mrs Duong Ngoc Hong for the continuous support of my thesis, for her patience, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing

of this thesis I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my graduate thesis

Besides my advisor, I'd also like to thank my managers, the Health & Beauty category leaders, and my colleagues at Shopee Vietnam for assisting me in developing myself

in a dynamic environment at Shopee, while also providing me with many favorable conditions to finish my thesis Here, I have the opportunity to directly experience a professional working environment, interact with talented and experienced people, and put what I've learned into practice Thank you so much to Ms Phan Nguyen Khanh Trinh - team 3T’s leader and Ms Le Kim Uyen - my buddy for directly guiding and supporting me throughout my internship at Shopee

Finally, I'd like to thank all teachers at the UEH School of International Business and Marketing Thank you for your understanding and guidance, this has helped me a lot when doing my thesis in the time of this pandemic

I wish you all good health and success in life, and I hope Shopee will continue to grow

in the future

Ho Chi Minh, 22 October 2021

Nghiêm Thu Hà

ENDORSEMENT

This internship report with the topic of “Post Covid-19: Current situation and

solutions to improve the working quality of staff at Shopee Vietnam” has been written

by myself and has not received any previous academic credit at this or any other

institution No other person's work has been utilized in the thesis without proper acknowledgment

Ho Chi Minh, 22 October 2021

Nghiêm Thu Hà

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In recent years, e-commerce is no longer a strange concept in society or a new field in our country Especially in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought many changes to the economy but contributed to the breakthrough growth of e-commerce As the

COVID-19 pandemic reshapes our world, more consumers have begun shopping online in greater numbers and frequency e-commerce outperforms traditional brick-and-mortar retail in a pandemic Customers prefer to have goods delivered to their doorstep rather than going outside and risking infection Ecommerce was growing fast before COVID-19 hit But the pandemic pushed even more consumers to shop online And Shopee is no exception; in addition to the sharp increase in online business, business development staff who work directly with sellers play a critical role in the company's growth However, these staffs face their own challenges when working in unusual circumstances, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic According to my observations, not all business development staff can achieve the set objectives; in fact, there are still unresolved issues in the working process As a result, I chose this topic

to analyze and research while also proposing solutions in order to improve the

working quality of business development staff in the time of Covid-19 and thereafter will contribute to Shopee's development

The main purpose of the research is to highlight some of the issues that some BDs face They are: Misunderstanding when working with supporting teams; the workload

of Business Development Staff is heavy; some BDs are not proficient in using

supporting tools; and, finally, there is a constant change in the time of Covid-19: Many flashsale slots have been cut off due to Covid-19's effect Based on some data collected and personal experience during the internship, the author selects, analyzes, and finds out four main problems After analyzing the five main causes affecting the existing problem to offer solutions to help businesses improve their working processes and be more efficient in the future the study comes up with some recommendations that are practical and most compatible with BD in Health and Beauty category to enhance the working quality Thereby, helping businesses attract more new customers

as well as maintain long-term relationships with customers who have shopped online

on Shopee

1.1.4 Working culture and core value of the company 8

1.2.2 Structure and function of each department 11

1.3.1 Business performance compare to other competitors 14

1.4.2 Introduction of Bussiness Development Department - FMCG cluster 19

CHAPTER 2: PROBLEMS ANALYSIS 21

2.1 Working process of business development staff 21

2.3 The situation of e-commerce platform during the Covid-19 pandemic 23 2.4 Some problems noticed in the working process of Business Development staff in

2.4.1 Problem 1: Misunderstanding when working with supporting teams 25 2.4.2 Problem 2: The workload of Bussiness Development Staff is heavy 27 2.4.3 Problem 3: Not proficiency in working with supporting tools 27 2.4.4 Problem 4: There is a constant change in the time of Covid-19: Many flash sale slots had been cut off due to the affect of Covid-19 29

2.5.1 Not understand clearly the process of supporting teams 29

2.5.3 Lacking of skills to work with supporting tools 30

CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATION: SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE THE WORKING QUALITY OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STAFF IN FMCG

35 3.2.4 Arrange training sessions for time-management skills 38 3.2.5 Arrange separate training sessions for new staff to practice directly with

3.2.6 Adapt with the current situation since the company core value is “We adapt”

40

3.2.7 The support from the government for the e-commerce, creating a premise to

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.4: Timeline and process of creating non-designed deals for banner team

27

LIST OF ACRONYMS

3PL Third Party Logistics

ADO Average Daily Order

GMV Gross Merchandise Value

HB Health and Beauty

KPI Key Performance Indicator

platform applications such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, or Sendo Education services and hotel reservations are available with just one click or a few taps on a smart mobile device, and at a very low cost It is clear that the e-commerce industry is increasingly contributing to the economic recovery that has been severely impacted by this

pandemic

According to a Facebook report released at the end of June 2021, e-commerce

shopping will become a new shopping trend rather than just a means of coping during the epidemic As a result, 81 percent of consumers say they have changed their

shopping habits since the pandemic began, with 92 percent confirming that they will continue this new behavior in the long run, even if the pandemic continues Many e-commerce experts predict that, like Facebook, e-commerce will gradually supplant traditional shopping methods in the future They believe that online shopping is not a temporary solution to the pandemic, but rather a new trend with many outstanding improvements, providing consumers with a more modern and intelligent shopping experience; this will be followed by the rise of cashless payments and logistics

services, all of which will contribute to the steady growth of e-commerce

This indicates that after the pandemic, e-commerce will still be strongly associated with user shopping habits So, what kinds of visions and strategies are required to accomplish this? For the reasons stated above, I am more interested in learning more

about e-commerce platforms and how companies in the industry work to develop and adapt even in the most difficult situations Shopee Vietnam is also known as a young, dynamic work environment that values creative freedom It is also one of Vietnam's largest e-commerce platforms, with a strong growth rate of 2x per month, with a strategy to adapt very quickly to COVID-19 As a result, I believe Shopee Vietnam will be a good place for me to improve my working and soft skills, as well as my knowledge of e-commerce

2 Expectations for the internship

Gain knowledge of how to operate and develop business strategies at e-commerce platforms in Vietnam Shopee Vietnam is one of the two largest e-commerce

platforms in the country today, with excellent strategies Compared to direct

competitors such as Lazada and Tiki, as well as indirect competitors such as

Facebook, Instagram, and others Learn how to implement operations in mega

campaigns such as 9.9, 11.11, and 12.12 Learn more about working processes and tools to support work so that a business development staff can complete assigned tasks more effectively Furthermore, giving analysis, evaluation and comment on the reality

of business strategies in FMCG cluster Which strategy helps the company in general and the industry in particular develop and adapt quickly? In addition, I'd like to

contribute to the development of measures to improve the implementation of business strategies in the FMCG cluster in general, and in the Health and Beauty sector in particular

3 Reasons for choosing the topic

The business development (BD) staff will approach sellers on Shopee to take care, support, and hunt deals in order to get the best price Preparing for a campaign takes

15 to 20 days on average, and 25 days on big sale days like 9.9, 11.11, and 12.12 The

BD team will begin by approaching, communicating, selling advertising packages, and so on, following workflows designed to help them work more efficiently

However, some BD said that they are frequently overworked, resulting in stress, fatigue, and dealing with unresolvable cases, and as a result, failing to meet the

company's objectives

For each campaign, the company will assign KPIs based on specific indicators such as GMV or ADO to business development staff to monitor and set indicators in order to achieve the company's overall goals BDs are measured against a variety of KPIs, including hunting deals, selling marketing solution packages, increasing the number of sellers who use the Freeship extra and coin cash back packages.A campaign that needs

a lot of effort from the staff to reach the target of the campaign that day When

looking at the data in the report, however, it becomes clear that not all employees have met their set goals or personal objectives When being asked about this issue in

particular, many employees said that the work of business development staff is

frequently overloaded Furthermore, there are still employees who perform very well and others who fall short of the goals set earlier

I realize this is partly due to working in a special condition like Covid-19, which has posed numerous challenges for both BD and shopee's operations So I'd like to come

up with some solutions to improve the BD staff's working quality, so that the seller is best supported and we can all help Shopee grow even during the pandemic

4 Subjects of the study

● Some issues that business development personnel face while on the job, as well

as the root causes of these issues

● Solutions for improving the working quality of business development staff in the FMCG cluster

5 Scope of the study

The study was conducted among Shopee Vietnam's business development staff in the Health and Beauty category

6 Implementation methods

1 Data collection

Read materials and update reports related to the topic, and gather reports related to the topic for analysis, which will serve as the foundation for reasoning and concluding the problem, and providing solutions

2 Face-to-face interviewing

Direct discussion between two people including the researcher and the research

subject

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF SHOPEE VIETNAM AND JOB ROLE 1.1 About Shopee Vietnam

1.1.1 General information

Company name: Shopee Vietnam Co., Ltd

Business model: E-commerce platform

Address: Floor 15-16-17, Saigon Center 2 Building, No 67 Le Loi Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Tax code: 0106773786-003

Representative: Mr Tran Anh Tuan

Date of operation: April 1, 2015

1.1.2 History of development

Shopee is a e-commerce platform, founded in 2015 in Singapore, by Forrest Li's Sea group Currently, shopee is present in many Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines including Vietnam and expanded its reach to Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia It is also available in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea as seller centres

Shopee is a platform tailored for the region, providing customers with an easy, secure and fast online shopping experience through strong payment and logistical support Shopee has a wide selection of product categories ranging from consumer electronics

to home and living, health and beauty, baby and toys, fashion and fitness equipment

*Sea Group

Sea Group is established in 2009 It is a global consumer internet company that

provides digitizing payments and financial services, game development & publishing, online shopping anytime and anywhere Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘SE’ in October 2017 SEA’s IPO was the largest US public listing ever by a Southeast Asian technology company

Sea Group includes subsidiaries: Garena, Shopee, Sea Money (in Vietnam being called ShopeePay), Foody ( joined at the end of 2019) Create an eco system of services provided from there Foody, in particular, is only available in Vietnam;

however, other subsidiaries are present in many Southeast Asian and Latin American countries

*Shopee

Shopee was officially launched in Vietnam market on August 8, 2016 after a year of

testing since June 2015 With the management of Mr Pine Kyaw - Managing Director and Mr Tran Tuan Anh - Director of Operations and Finance, Shopee Vietnam is experiencing strong growth and becoming a key commercial market in our country

2017, Shopee Mall was introduced across the region The portal is separate from the

regular Shopee marketplace and provides access to thousands of products from over

200 top sellers and brands such as Unilever, L’Oreal, Philips and Adidas According

to a media statement, Shopee Mall was conceptualised due to the increasing need for brands to provide Vietnamese with a streamlined online shopping experience It also aids larger brands looking to pursue an omni-channel approach and reach out toe new customer bases

2018, for the first time ever, Shopee has successfully claimed the title of being the

most visited e-commerce marketplace in Vietnam on web In the third quarter, Shopee Vietnam raked in 34.5 million web visits monthly, which is a 30% increase compared

to the previous quarter, and an impressive 197% growth since the same period last year It also surpassed Lazada Vietnam, which took the top spot since the chart was conceived in Quarter 2, 2017

2019, Establish Warehouse/ Shopee Express, merge 100% Foody with Shopee

and double number of sellers on Shopee Mall

- Establishing Shopee Xpress has bring many benefits for Shopee

● Speedy delivery

● Manageable (end 2 end)

● Cost optimization (comparison using 3PL)

● Brand identity

- Reasons to establish warehouse

● Store goods across borders

● Store Shopee Mall goods

● Sellers do not have warehouses, can use warehouse rental services => faster delivery

2020, support hundreds of billion VND for sellers in the time of Covid-19

1.1.3 Vision and mission of the company

1.1.3.1 Vision of the company

The director of Shopee Vietnam believes that these three major trends will accompany the rapid growth of e-commerce in the near future

1 First, users today are more social than ever before, and they expect an online shopping experience that is more meaningful, engaging, and entertaining, with rich and unique content Online shopping is now more than just a transactional experience Therfore, e-commerce platforms should focus on integrating more interactive elements such as games and livestreams to increase connection with consumers Consumers use online platforms to meet essential needs as well as

to entertain themselves during this period of social distancing Shopee has continuously improved on its in-app engagement features over the past five years to make the online shopping experience more social As a result, the average amount of time spent in-app by a user has risen year by year

2 Second, the development of digital payment methods has been accelerated by the growth of e-commerce The total number of Shopee orders paid with the AirPay e-wallet in the region has quadrupled In addition, the number of retail stores in Vietnam that accept payment via AirPay wallet has doubled in the last year Users are increasingly paying at retail chains such as 7-Eleven,

MyKingdom, and Guardian , demonstrating that digital payments are no longer limited to online transactions and are becoming more popular in places where traditional sales are still conducted

3 The third trend is related to logistics CEO of Shopee stated that brands and sellers must effectively use technology to ensure fast and cost-effective

delivery of goods The most effective method is to take advantage of the large and integrated network of e-commerce platforms, especially when demand for online shopping for essential goods is increasing

With that vision in mind, Shopee intends to continue assisting businesses in scaling up and growing efficiently by tracking the entire process from moderation to delivery, as well as expanding its logistics network and warehouse capacity

1.1.3.2 Mission of the company

Shopee aspires to change the world for the better by providing a platform to connect buyers and sellers within one community Shopee offers buyers a one-stop online shopping experience that is accessible, easy and enjoyable; and empower sellers

to grow their businesses with technology and support

*Shopee’s core strategy

● Hyper-localisation: Shopee will continue to cater to the needs of consumers

and businesses in each of our markets They recognise the diversity in our region and will continue to innovate to serve local needs and advance local economies

● Mobile-first: Shopee is a pioneer of mobile commerce in our region They

enable our region’s mobile-first users to shop, sell and interact online with ease Today, 95% of Shopee’s orders are made on mobile, a sign of our

success

● User-centric: Shopee puts the needs of our users at the heart of everything they

do As online shopping evolves beyond transactions, they will continue to develop new features and services that make mobile shopping easy, seamless, and more joyful

● Digital inclusion: Shopee addresses underserved needs and ensures that

everyone can participate in the digital economy This includes more support for rural and local communities and nurturing local tech talent

1.1.4 Working culture and core value of the company

1.1.4.1 Working culture in Shopee

Shopee’s working culture is built around open communication, collaboration and community We envision our workplace to be a place where employees can come together to create meaningful connections with one another As their work requires a

high level of intra- and inter-departmental interaction, they are focused on creating a vibrant and open workplace that facilitates ease of communication This guiding

principle is reflected through employee engagement activities, strong feedback

culture, and office features that facilitate conducive collaboration

* About Shopee organizational culture

Organizational culture is the sum of values, beliefs and principles that help to shape and define the behaviors and practices in an organization It guides Shopee in the journey to achieve their purpose

Figure 1.1: Shopee’s core values

(Source: Shopee)

Shopee’s culture is a reflection of actions, behaviors and practices, anchored on their value Everything they do and say becomes their culture over time It could be the way they:

● Engage with our colleagues and community of buyers and sellers

● Solve problems individually or as a team

● Create new ideas and solutions

● Reward and recognize one another

Shopee believes their 5 Values and their Way of Simple, Happy and Together will help create a unique organizational culture that everyone can be proud of, and a great place to do great work

1.1.4.2 Core value of the company

Unlike other organizations that lay out a five-, ten-, or even twenty-year mission vision with precise numbers, Shopee seizes every great opportunity and is ready to put potential opportunities into action In reality, they've gone from a small-scale e-

commerce platform to a multinational company in a short period of time

So, where is the guideline to ensure that they are all looking in the same direction and that we are doing the right thing? That's what Core Values are all about As I

mentioned above, there are 5 core values that each of employee of Shopee must

follow:

● We serve: having a spirit of always serving, always adding value to others, not

only with customers but also with coworkers The value of Shopee’s services

is solely determined by our customers Shopee strives to exceed customer expectations, deliver above and beyond

● We adapt: In the digital age, the only constant is rapid change Shopee

welcome change, celebrate it and strive to be a thought leader who has an impact on it Their change is also driven by market changes, with sellers'

demand shifting As a result, the company must adapt to meet and serve the market, ensuring Shopee's long-term success To survive the wave of e-

commerce change, each employee must be an expert in the fields in which they work When being equipped with enough knowledge & skills, no matter what the situation, they will still have a solution

● We run: Shopee is in a never-ending race for success while dealing with

constantly shifting forces Every day, they move faster, better, and with greater urgency

● We commit: working is commitment Shopee commits to our values,

institution, customers, and partners They commit to each other Above all, they commit to doing the best they can and being the best they are

● We stay humble: Believe they are always the underdog, and seek to learn from

the market and competitors Accept that Shopee is not perfect, and will never

be Work hard first, celebrate and enjoy later

Shopee has grown by leaps and bounds over the years and has seen many changes along the way, but the core part of Shopee’s identity has not changed They believe being Simple, Happy and Together as Shopee Way of doing things, will continue to foster an exciting work environment where people can develop professionally, build closer bonds with one another, and unite together to innovate

Shopee way defines how they do things, fulfilling their responsibilities as individuals and as a team How they do things and how they say it, thus becomes equally

important as what Shopee do and say

● Simple: believing in simplicity and integrity, ensuring a life that’s honest,

down to earth and true to self

● Happy: friendly, fun-loving and bursting with heaps of energy, spreading joy

with everyone they meet

● Together: enjoying spending quality time together while shopping online with

friends and family - doing the things they love as a big unit

1.2 Organizational Structure

1.2.1 Business model

Shopee is an application using C2C and B2C model that allows users to create an account on Shopee and then make purchases and sales transactions entirely on their mobile devices or computers, acting as an intermediary between buyers and sellers Shopee also integrates third-party shipping to streamline the buying and selling

process for users

1.2.2 Structure and function of each department

This is the organizational chart of Shopee Vietnam

Figure 1.2: Organizational Structure

Source: Shopee

Operations Department: Ensure that all Seller orders are fulfilled If BD/Seller Care

is in charge of increasing orders for sellers, Operations is in charge of ensuring that all incoming orders are completed and delivered to the Buyer without any issues There are 12 departments in operation department:

- Customer Service: Receive information (questions, complaints, reports) from buyers, handle complaints related to returns and refunds

- SOS: seller operation suport handle issue related to penalty point and favorite shop approval

- Fraud & Process Excellence: Fraud team acts as a security officer, dealing with suspicious user activity either due to misuse of the Shopee program or a fraud that harms other users This abuse at Shopee is divided into 2, namely Fraud and Scammer

- Process Excellence will build and manage processes/projects, aggregate

information and data to ensure team members understand the workflow

- Logistics: develop operating standards manage shipping quality, optimize shipping quality and standards, and implement logistics-related projects

Contact logistics team for urgent cases; crisis issues after CS results; other concerns related to 3PLs

- CX: Based on data and analysis to offer solutions to improve Buyer & Seller experience on Shopee From customer-friendly messages to user-friendly solutions, features and policies, this data team offers solutions

- Payment: responsible for paying the seller on time, solving other arising

problems related to the Shopee wallet for the seller Include 4 teams: Outbound Payment, Inbound Payment, Reconciliation and PMO

- Product: solve problems related to Shopee app, website and BE errors, build tools for other teams to work more efficiently

- QC/Listing: check listing quality, handle reported accounts, spam listings, answer complaints about listing-related issues, customer accounts are locked, handle intellectual property violations, support BD recap Ensure the seller's posts on the platform: do not violate the state regulations on prohibited items from trading, sell the right goods with the right quality of product information

- Sourcing: schedule incoming goods with the warehouse, work with BD to create import requisitions, work with suppliers on import information and process payments payment

Functional department: include 3 departments

- BD Department: acquiring seller to create a variety of items and categories and maintain relationships with sellers to achieve revenue for Shopee

- Support Department include 4 small teams:

+ Finance: in charge of financial affairs

+ HR: in charge of human resource needs of all departments

+ Legal: supporting all administrative and legal procedures to operate the business

+ SA (System Admin): supporting to ensure the smooth running of the computers, network devices, printers as well as end users’ requirements

- Marketing Department:

+ The Marketing team at Shopee is responsible for conceptualizing and implementing go-to-market activities to achieve increased usage and visibility

+ The team covers areas including Campaigns Management, Community, Public Relations, Partnerships, Offline Marketing and Design

+ The Regional Marketing team is responsible for strategizing and

implementing go-to-market activities and working with local teams to localize marketing for the specific markets

+ The Brand and Growth Marketing team covers all aspects of online and performance marketing for the region This team is responsible for data-driven solutions, tracking and measuring data to reach the targeted customers

1.3 Performance of Shopee

1.3.1 Business performance compare to other competitors

* Market overview

According to Hanoitimes, Vietnam’s e-commerce market size currently ranks second

in Southeast Asia This strongly affirms the development potential of Vietnam's commerce market in competing with international players 2020 has signified strong customer confidence in e-commerce retail despite mobility restrictions and mounting concerns over the global pandemic Vietnam’s e-commerce market expanded 18 percent year-on-year last year to $11.8 billion, the only country in Southeast Asia to record double-digit growth in the sector amidst the Covid-19 pandemic

e-Figure 1.3: Vietnam’s ecommerce landscape

Source: TECHINASIA

Here are some characteristics of the e-commerce industry in Vietnam:

● Chasing the market: from the chart, we will notice that Vietnam’s general B2C/C2C e-commerce and electronics vertical e-commerce spaces are rather crowded, with many startups vying for a piece of the pie

● Uniquely Vietnam: B2B e-commerce in Indonesia is on a hot streak, but that’s not the case for Vietnam, as its B2B e-commerce industry remains pretty much

*Business performance compare to other competitors

Some reports show that Shopee has left its rivals far behind and that Tiki is competing equally with Lazada, while Sendo is in the fourth position

Figure 1.4: The numbers of visits to wesbites from Q1 to Q4 2020

(source: Vietnamnet)

Figure 1.5: The Map of E-commerce in Vietnam

(source: Iprice)

According to iPrice, Shopee led in both the number of visits to the website and the ranking of apps on Android and iOS in the entire year 2020 Tiki and Lazada are on the same par, while Sendo has been left behind

In terms of monthly visitors, Shopee had 43 million in Q1 2020, more than double the number of Tiki, which was in second place Shopee's monthly visits increased to 68.7 million in Q1 2021, more than tripling Tiki's In 2020 The app of the platform also ranked No 1 in 2020

When it came to Lazada and Tiki, Tiki had a slightly higher number of visits than Lazada Tiki received 22.5 million monthly visits on average in 2020, compared to 19.8 million for Lazada Sendo, on the other hand, was in fourth place, with monthly visits falling from 17.6 million in Q1 to 11.2 million in Q4 2020

In Q1 2020, Tiki’s app ranked second for iOS operating system However, it has slipped to third place since the second quarter Meanwhile, Shopee and Lazada, two

foreign platforms, have taken the top two spots, pushing the two Vietnamese

platforms to the bottom of the top four

*Why did Shopee become so popular?

What factors did customers consider when purchasing products on an e-commerce

platform? Obviously, it’s low price This is Shopee's first C2C strategy for attracting

buyers and users to the Shopee app This strategy is also in line with their mission is to assist small and medium-sized businesses The C2C model at that time helped Shopee build a huge network, connecting buyers and sellers without any inventory concerns

On the other hand, Shopee also creates a "word of mouth" effect when owning a

"market" of diverse products with professional customer care and logistics services, promoting a dizzying increase in the wave of online purchases In short, Shopee try to build a model close to the market, close to the Vietnamese people

According to financial reports from Shopee's first years in Vietnam, the company spent up to 90% of its marketing budget on promotional campaigns, free shipping, flash sales, and vouchers for both buyers and sellers in order to attract a large number

of customers from various platforms

However, in order to achieve the current brand positioning, Shopee's "localization" strategy must be implemented when the company hires local employees who are familiar with local culture and customs to work with banks and logistics partners in each country to ensure a smooth shopping and delivery experience

From this foundation, Shopee has lauched Shopee Mall, which is a title reserved for those partners who own, or are authorized to distribute, genuine Shopee trademarks, directly competing with Lazada - the "giant" of commerce at the time

1.3.2 Financial statement from 2017 to 2020

Table 1.1: Net Profit Situation

Shopee launched "Shopee Mall" in 2018, which contributed greatly to the revenue Shopee optimizes operations in 2019, lowering selling costs Shopee Vietnam had a fantastic year in the e-commerce market thanks to increased sales, lower business management costs, increased display advertising investment, and the launch of

"Shopee Game." In conclusion, the company's revenue increased by 152 percent year over year at the end of 2019 2020 was an extraordinary year for Shopee In a

challenging environment, Shopee adapted quickly to serve our communities and addressed the fast-evolving needs of our buyers and sellers As a result, we have cemented Shopee’s position as the favourite e-commerce platform for both buyers and sellers across Viet Nam In Viet Nam markets, e-commerce adoption continues to grow at an accelerated pace and we believe that, as the go to online shopping

platform, Shopee will successfully capture and further drive these growth

opportunities

1.4 Introduction of Internship Position

1.4.1 Internship position

Position: Business Development Intern

Department: Business Development Department, FMCG cluster, Health & Beauty category

1.4.2 Introduction of Bussiness Development Department - FMCG cluster

FMCG industry includes 5 categories: Health and Beauty, Moms, Kids & Babies, Grocery, Pet supplies and Homecare Business Development Department

● Top brands: The Ordinary, Foreo, LA ROCHE-POSAY, COSRX, Klairs, Innisfree, Kiehl's, Simple, Paula's Choice, ROMAND

● Trends shifted to healthcare products such as masks, antiseptic solutions, etc due to Covid

● Top sellers always have their strategic product, and some sellers have more than 1 shop on Shopee

Business development entails tasks and processes to develop and implement growth opportunities within and between organizations Business development is the creation

of long-term value for an organization from customers, markets, and relationships

1.4.2 Description of Internship Tasks

During your three-month internship with Shopee's business development team, my main responsibility will be to assist senior staff in managing retail sellers on the

exchange and to work directly with the order management staff, in order to help them complete your tasks more quickly This is a scope of work of an business development intern

● Negotiate and promote co-operations with partners (sellers), ensuring C2C or B2C seller base development of categories of Shopee

● Establishing contact and conducting sales meetings with key decision makers

to convince them to join Shopee marketplace

● Conducting necessary follow-up to ensure sales process completion until the seller is live

● Provide market insights from sellers' perspective, including understanding products, sellers, market & competitor dynamics

● Developing online merchandising and promotion proposals to achieve sales targets

● Prospecting leads and identifying key business partners for Shopee platform

● Track, care and evaluate activities of the partners (sellers)

● Perform other duties as assigned by the Line Manager

CHAPTER 2: PROBLEMS ANALYSIS

2.1 Working process of business development staff

Business Development is an important role, in which being a bridge to connect sellers and their potential customers by leveraging platform tools/programs, end results to increase the performance of the seller's business and also my commercial KPI

*Day in life of a BD staff

- Sales Performance

● Plan monthly target ADO/GMV for sellers

● Allocate properly real estate in terms of flash and exposure on all kinds of campaigns, that should be in line with growing target per seller

● Study hot searches in market as well as platform, analyze existing data of category to suggest best skus/product both sellers have or not have yet for them

to stock up or sort out to match buyer demand all the time

● Identify competitive price – vs competitor, vs last campaigns to suggest seller

on pricing for skus on daily basis, also in campaigns to increase CR and get more sales as a result

● Like pricing, planning stock for sellers based on historical data per item/size of product, helps sellers better manage their importing and producing activities Avoid break time due to lack of stock problems

● Review sales performance of the seller on a daily/weekly basis to make sure everything that is put in plan be executed from the seller 's side

● Tracking closely performance for overall performance, entire shop to single products to really understand biz on a daily basis

● Proactively reach out and discuss with sellers if seeing any changes versus plan and discuss for improvement right away to secure performance

● Work with sellers on top products (deals) which matched with certain flash slots and campaigns (category campaign/platform campaign/initiative

campaign) Quality deals should have competitive prices compared to historical data, also competitors and enough stock

● Educate sellers features which developed to help sellers actively market their product to buyers by themselves instead of relying on allocated resources e.g Paid ads, In shop Flash sale/bundle/add-on/Feed/Livestream

● Support sellers during the time they join the program (FSS/Paid Ads/CCB ) to help solve any issue they may have

● Educate sellers to use features on Shopee: paid ads, in shop Flash

sale/bundle/add-on, Shopee feed

● Package contracts support: proceed to complete contracts and payment for packages selling

2.2 Information about supporting teams

Among many departments in Shopee, there are some departments that BD usually contacted

* Operational team

- The Operation team at Shopee covers the operational end-to-end process, from when the buyer searches for a product listed on the Shopee platform to the moment the buyer receives the products

- The team analyses and monitors operational KPIs across the region and conducts root cause analysis when operation performance fluctuates

- The Operations team comprises Customer Service, Payment, Listings, Warehouse, Logistics, Seller Operations and Fraud

* Flash sale team

- The flash sale team is very familiar to BD because they are in charge of dividing the slot for each PIC After BD has submitted the flash sale deal, they will check if it is in the correct format and does not violate any QC team rules, and then the price tag team will continue the task by confirming the price tag and checking the inventory At the end of the process, the flash sale team double-checks that all of the deals were

submitted correctly, and the merchandise team receives the deal list and launches the flash sale on time

Figure 2.1: Flash sale submit process

(source: Shopee)

* Banner team

- The banner team will be in charge of any campaign to promote Shopee offers and vouchers via the homepage banner This will increase sales for both the seller and the category A campaign will include: Affiliate marketing, home banner, landing page and online marketing

- The banner team serves as a bridge between the merchandise, price tag, and business development teams To complete a campaign, the banner team will collaborate on planning and execution If there are any problems with the campaign, they will fix them

2.3 The situation of e-commerce platform during the Covid-19 pandemic

- Social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic has changed long-standing habits, making even the elderly and consumers who are loyal only to traditional ways of

shopping consider shopping online The pandemic has changed consumer trends; a survey by Nielsen Vietnam revealed that people reduced their frequency of visits to supermarkets by 50 percent As Vietnam’s e-commerce is still growing the pandemic has accelerated this shift Customers can now shop for everything from groceries to electronics to education services with just a few taps on a smart mobile device, and at

a very low price, thanks to the emergence of a series of domestic and cross-border commerce websites and applications such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, and Sendo

e-But this pandemic still has a huge impact on ecommerce, these are some reasons behind the loss of ecommerce platform

- The effect of the COVID-19 crisis on e-commerce is not uniform across product categories or sellers A surge in demand was observed for items related to personal protection (e.g disposable gloves), home activities, groceries or ICT equipment, while demand dropped for items related to travel, sports or formal clothing (e.g suitcases, bridal clothing, gym bags, etc.) This leads to the loss in GMV of fashion category

- Mandatory preventive measures among nations to contain the spread of the

pandemic has resulted in disrupted trade flow and fragmented supply lines, dealing a blow to the logistics industry, which is viewed as an auxiliary for trade and commerce, enabling other industries to deliver goods and services to consumers This is the

primary cause of the loss of ecommerce The supply chain has been temporarily

stopped as a result of Directive 16, and many sellers turned on vacation mode due to a lack of product supply After Directive 16 is loosen, another issue arises regarding delivery Some third-party logistics have been overloaded as a result of the large number of orders pending prior to quarantine This results in late delivery and, in some cases, cancellations, negatively impacting the buyer's experience

2.4 Some problems noticed in the working process of Business Development staff

2.4.1 Problem 1: Misunderstanding when working with supporting teams

- Because of the characteristic of department, BD is required to work with a large number of supporting teams, each of which will have its own process and timeline, as well as different ways of working This means that if BD does not understand each team's process and working style, even if the email is in incorrect form, BD's problem will remain unsolved

* Here are some examples for the difficulties in working cross functional team

- Fraud team duties is to detect fraudulent activities on e-commerce transactions, based on detailed data and learned patterns and respond to customer inquiries on fraud measures taken This team is divided into two small teams: BAU team and PMO team The responsibilies of these two teams is quite similar so BD must fully comprehend the problem before requesting assistance from the appropriate team

+ BAU Team: Check suspicious users/orders, test accuracy of new fraud rules and features, handle user inquiries via tickets and identify new fraud behaviors + PMO team: Review potential fraud of new initiatives, build new fraud rules and manage detection features, build and improve fraud processes and market research on fraud behaviors

- Below is the process of some functional team It’s quite hard for a newbie to fully understand the process of each team

Figure 2.2: Guideline request flash sale support

(source: Shopee)

Figure 2.3: Timeline and process of creating designed deals for banner team

(source: Shopee)