eCommerce and craft producers
News
Jun 28 2001, eBusiness, Livelihood opportunities
While some companies and organisations have found new ways of working and conducting business to benefit from the Internet and e-commerce, many companies have found that e-commerce has failed to deliver in terms of actual sales of products or services. Even Internet companies such as Amazon have failed to make a profit yet. Gamos and Big World are working on a DFID funded project to investigate if and how craft producers in less developed countries can take advantage of the Internet and ecommerce to sell their goods.
eCommerce and craft
producers
ASHA means 'hope' in Sanskrit, and is the name given to an association which works with artisans and their families in India, extending medical help and education, and sharing craft skills. HEED (Health, Education and Economic Development) also take a holistic approach to their work in Bangladesh, providing technical, financial, and training services to handicraft workers. Together, these organisations represent over 15,000 producers.
The focal point of the project is consultations with these partners’ producer groups, and the first of these have now taken place. Both new business opportunities, and the enhancement of existing supply chains were considered:
ASHA means 'hope' in Sanskrit, and is the name given to an association which works with artisans and their families in India, extending medical help and education, and sharing craft skills. HEED (Health, Education and Economic Development) also take a holistic approach to their work in Bangladesh, providing technical, financial, and training services to handicraft workers. Together, these organisations represent over 15,000 producers.
The focal point of the project is consultations with these partners’ producer groups, and the first of these have now taken place. Both new business opportunities, and the enhancement of existing supply chains were considered:
- direct sales - there is potential to create new relationships with
customers, but there are problems with dealing with small orders and
delivery procedures.
- on-line catalogues - an obvious way to promote goods, but sales to
individual customers are low, and as one artisan said “the Internet is
good for showing goods to a customer, but you cannot touch them and
feel their quality”.
- design - design input from target markets is crucial for developing
export products; on-line conference facilities could reduce the costs
of consultancy advice.
- email - can save time and costs, especially for international
communication, but in many countries the infrastructure is unreliable
or non-existent.
- multimedia - the plummeting cost of video equipment offers new
opportunities for cost effective promotion.
- market information - the ability to see on-line craft goods and
giftware for sale in target markets can provide a valuable input to the
design of export products.