The Business Leadership Podcast

Salli: [00:00:00] You're listening to the business leadership podcast with Edwin Frondoso.

Alyson: I do have a vision. I want to transfer the mere transaction into a shopping journey. exciting, exploring with the customer together. And that's the technology behind it to support that vision to be realized.

So as long as the team believes in, the team committed in, and then we believe that that's going to be fulfilled in the future very shortly.

Edwin (2): Good morning, good afternoon. And good evening biz leaders. Welcome to another episode of the business leadership podcast. I'm your host, Edwin Frondozo. And today. We're featuring. A special episode from our future narrator mini series recorded live At the collision conference in Toronto, Canada.

In this series. We explore the future of leadership. Innovation and storytelling. With visionary leaders who are not just designing products. But our [00:01:00] creating entire new worlds and markets.

Joining me today is my friend, Dr. Paul Newton. And together we'll be speaking with Alyson Zhang. Alyson is a trailblazer. In the e-commerce domain. Serving as the co-founder and COO. Of Shoplazza.

In our conversation, Alison will share how Shoplazza offers an omni-channel commerce solution aimed at helping small businesses streamline their operations, both online and offline. . We'll dive into the benefits. Of Shoplazza, a SaaS based platform, the importance of AI and data analytics.

And Alison's vision for a future where shopping. Is a personalized and engaging journey. So without further ado, here we go.​

Edwin: We're now speaking to Alison Zhang, co founder and CEO of Shoplazza How are you doing today?

Alyson: Excellent, thank you.

Edwin: You're [00:02:00] welcome. Thank you for taking the time and stopping to take a, to speak with us today. I'm just going to jump right in, Allison. Can you share what problem is ShopLaza solving for small business?

Alyson: We offer a omni channel commerce solution, meaning offline, online, all together.

For smaller business, you've got limited, found limited human resources. But using our SaaS based commerce solution, you don't have to have a huge lump sum, a software investment on upfront, but you can go as you go. So many, if you're a small, you have three chain store, you can separate to the smaller the amount of the plan.

And if you are going to enterprise, it's got 10 more stores than you sign up for the higher price plan to suit your business. To me is where enable smaller business to expand faster. And also not only online, but the offline all together.

Edwin: So what does that look like for those who are listening and maybe want to learn more about what type of business, or if they have the right business that they should be looking at shop Plaza?

Who are the typical customers that [00:03:00] that are looking to, to you as a solution?

Alyson: Sure. Sure. So for example, if you are a store owner with three chain stores and then you are looking to expand your business, but you can't have, you can't afford to have another retail because it's. It's very expensive, with all the cost and then for that physical store, then you are looking to multi channel meaning online marketplaces Amazon, Walmart, targets, for example, or you want to go up for your own online store for them, by listen. com, selling your stylist accessorize that where the the best partner you can find. So not only by managing your offline We can actually leverage on that inventory for affording to online customers as well. So now if you are having a current business want to expand to online, normally you're going to spend a lot of money on Oracle, on NetSuite, but we'll offer one 10th of the price for you to be able to manage your inventory and your mobility, transparent and a consistent level.

Edwin: I see. So just reiterating what I'm hearing, if I'm an owner with three. Multiple locations. [00:04:00] I may or may not have an inventory software management, but whether I do or not shop Laza will allow me as the owner to Leverage on my own online store Connecting to marketplaces like Amazon and eBay this all in one platform Which is to me if I was the owner and I had this it seems like very it's like a no brainer if I if that's the way I'm very convenient hundred percent.

So what are you finding in the challenges is Communicating this to some of these owners who might be overwhelmed with all the solutions that are out there

Alyson: If someone is already in the retail business with the chain store a couple stores actually I would say. They would feel that challenges already.

So what happened in the current status is you have a multi store for sure. You have your inventory management system actually coordinate from your store to warehouses, but then that system doesn't speak between store to store and also doesn't speak to online and offline. Which means you're going to actually overstock all the [00:05:00] time. And then you want to mobilize your inventory, and then you want to use the least money, but then to get the most out of it. Of the price, right? So that's how we help them. So to me, the challenge is not really, they don't see the value of our solution, but just need to know our name more frequently is the one to help you to do omni channel commerce solution.

Edwin: Yeah. And I think sometimes this is from my experience and you could correct me if I'm wrong, even for myself, sometimes. When I hear the word omni channel and I'm not so tech focused, I may not even know what omni channel means. And then it's really understanding because people who are in the grounds as from the small business owners that I know, they're very focused and they're very good at their business.

But once people start talking about social media, marketing, Amazon, it just goes over their heads. So I just find that. Even for some of my business and the partners I work with it's always like, how do we talk their language?

Alyson: You're right. So probably I should use multi channel multiple sales channel. It has more commented to them and also [00:06:00] marketplaces, not marketplaces.

Edwin: Yes.

Alyson: Amazon, eBay, that's all they're familiar with.

Edwin: We're sitting here at Collision. I'm curious how you see AI, artificial intelligence, revolutionizing e commerce now?

Alyson: It's all about data. previouslyfor retail, the data is dead. I call that, it's not live. You have the data, but you do analytics, that's all but you don't link the data to real time. So now with A. I. The data become alive and also can self learning by themselves, especially when I say, multichannel sales management. It's all about cost effectiveness. When you see certain products selling very well, you're going to order more, but with certain product which doesn't meet the criteria.

And nowadays you can actually, reduce that consumption of that one. So that one in the past is all back data. They have to, it's lapsed basically, three months, a year time you got realized, Oh my gosh, I do. I shouldn't have ordered that for the future. But however, you've ordered from the factory, the supply chain is pre order.

You don't order when you are needed, right? You order pre, So the real time, the data will give [00:07:00] you the ability again, the funds become more available. You get to have more cash to invest. And also you're going to reduce the cost on unnecessary products as well. So to me for the inventory perspective, it's really saving money for the company.

They can last longer. They can survive. They can actually expand quicker. And then in terms of customer interactions, I'm a store owner, and I see a hundred customers, that's my best loyalty customer. I can't know more because I'm human. I'm limited to the data, to the person I see.

But nowadays with everything online, you're going to see them by segmentations. They become visualized through data perspective. And then you're going to see thousands and millions of customers to your company, and then you can segment them and give them what they need. we call that targeted or personalized marketing available through AI. And then you could self generate, you could self learning, that gives you the capacity of doing more things.

Edwin: Selling more things, understanding what's not popular. And forecasting, I'm sure even quicker as well. Thank you for sharing that.

[00:08:00] Aside from AI, and you have a lot of insight when it comes to e-ommerce, multi- channel marketing, retail shops.

What other major disruptions are you seeing that are shaping the industry?

Alyson: I would say the personalized recommendations. Previously, for retail, you have to know by your brain, your memory, what the customer likes. He's got married, he's got pregnant, and then you've got to sell different things to different personalities, different status.

But now everything online it becomes, at your snap, the fingertip, you click on a certain button and it gives you the personalized recommendation to each of the visitors to your store, even online or offline. So to me, it's you expand your vision to a wider spectrum and it gives you all the possibilities you couldn't do by one person. I would call that the working power has changed.

Edwin: And the personalization, that I assume is also, there's going to be relationships to what they're buying, their state, but it's also leveraging some AI as well to [00:09:00] understand that. But not necessarily, right? there's a lot of relationships between some products, is that right?

Alyson: So what happens actually, by knowing, for example, if you're visiting online, and then the data will show which page you've landed. Okay. How long you've stayed, whether you've scored down from the beginning to the end, or you just left. So those data will teach the machine whether you actually like the product or you're not.

And then when you have your product added to your cart not yet actually check it out, they're gonna see what's related products might be suited for you. For example, like ladies, we bought a pair of sun sandals, and then they think, "oh, it's summertime, do you need a sunscreen? Do you need a straw hat? Do you need a beach bag?" So those things will be added to the consumers, web page. And then they probably see, Oh yeah, I need it. They didn't realize what they need. And then they click on that one that increases the purchase order value very easily.

Edwin: Wow. That's amazing. I'm curious, from your point of view, Alison, what does the future landscape of e commerce look [00:10:00] like?

Alyson: I would say for the consumer perspective, like customers, you can buy anything from anywhere and then return it to anywhere as well. So I think that's the beauty of omnichannel sales.

Because nowadays, for example, if you buy something from single store, you have to go to that store to return it. . But what if you're visiting that country just, or the region just for a period, short period of time, you can't drive back or fly back. But then you just don't need anymore. You don't like it.

So with that we call that virtually centrally managed inventory system and also the CRM system. So your data would be actually synced to all the other stores as well. So say we are in Toronto, I don't like it. I'll go to Vancouver. I got it. They returned easily, nice, easy and dumb.

But now not every store can do this. They don't have your profile. They can't during the transaction successfully. So for the future, you will be very free to shop. And a very free to return. That's one thing. Another thing is what you buy and what you've been recommended will be very personalized. So I will be [00:11:00] introduced to what I like.

I don't want to be people telling me I don't drink, for example, and I don't want people to sell me wines because I, it's not what I like. People are going to sell me, let's say yoga jogging pants. like those stuff to be introduced to myself. I call that unwanted item to be presented to you.

So that make your shopping experience very comfortable and very pleasant. Another thing is to embrace the new VR, that, virtual and augmented reality. We have those, glasses, produced by Meta. The shopping experience is gonna be immersed.

You can try it. We have merchants who are having 3D try on for their glasses, for their shoes. So before you buy a pair of glasses, you can try on your own first. Whether the size fits you, whether the color fits you, whether that's the style you wanted. That becomes available very easy as well.

Edwin: It's always so great to try things on in store so you know what it looks like. And I just imagine with these metaglasses or even just virtualizing and being able to really, Visualize myself within a product or driving a product or whatnot, but I know we're not selling cars [00:12:00] yet on this platform But it's really cool.

Allison, I guess from the business leadership Standpoint, we talked to always business leaders. See what always excited for what they're building, but I'm curious What are your biggest challenges that you're currently facing?

Alyson: I would say I want to get my employee excited as I do and I do have a vision. I want to transfer the mere transaction into a shopping with the customer together. And that's the technology behind it to support that vision to be realized. But I guess not everyone would be able to agree on or imagine the same thing.

And Together. We're we're trying to have lots of the communication collaborations, the workshops, et cetera, to continue to communicate our vision into the employee, into the team. Cause we all know no one man can make that word, right? It's all the team work. So as long as the team believes, the team commits, then we believe that's going to be fulfilled in the future very shortly.

Edwin: Since you mentioning the vision and the challenge of motivating, inspiring. Your team, whether it's [00:13:00] internally, externally, stakeholders, what is the vision of the future you're building

Alyson: in one sentence, we're trying to transfer the meal transaction activity into a exciting journey for consumers to explore, feel, and then making the retail smarter.

So as I mentioned earlier, how you can virtualize everything, how you can feel like a buy and return freely, and then how you would be recommended what you like, not, something you unwanted, that's our vision. So your shopping becomes your personal journey instead of, unwanted stuff, those unsolicited promotions.

Edwin: Yeah. So question for me, and I'm going to pass it over to Paul after. So the vision of creating this. This personalized journey or transforming the journey, the shopping journey. What happens in the world of these shoppers when this vision is realized?

Alyson: I would say, buy what they see or they see what they buy. They see that they want it and then they can buy it and then they can experience it.

Paul: You were mentioning, I guess maybe it was around [00:14:00] inventory or what have you, but you said something about it's like it can be 10 times cheaper to utilize shop plaza to what was that you were talking about, right?

Alyson: So that's traditionally for the POS, this is actually the retail operation system it's called, and then they talk to the warehouses and the stores. But for store to store, it's not communicating that smoothly, meaning the store will be limited to their own availability, or they can only order from the warehouses.

other stores might have availability. every business owner will be looking at how long a product is sitting in my store, in my warehouse. They want to mobilize that product as fast as possible, that's how the money will get generated. So if you want to get that to the stage of talking to each other between store to store, you're going to spend more money on Oracle, on NetSuite, that kind of, classic, legacy ERP system. That's very expensive. They designed it for real enterprise. You have Nike, for example and then you're using that part. But for small business, They also need that one.

They want to mobilize their products. They want to mobilize their [00:15:00] inventory. Not want to sit in one store being, overstocked for a long time and then actually the other store has been over ordering from the center warehouses. So that's why I'm saying, by using us, you're experiencing that ERP solution but then paying for one tenth of the money.

Paul: Okay. Wow. So it's a, it's a new category of experience

Alyson: Definitely. And also for a traditional ERP, what they do, as I mentioned in a store to store, they all physical, whether it's warehouses or store, they're all physical, but now it's not only physical market marketplaces, online, online stores, social commerce, no TikTok shop and Instagram shop.

They're all coming, but that system is not designed for the more than word yet. They're still serving very well for the traditional business for sure. But They're just not having that I call that add on to, to the modern world, but we are having that already. So for business want to explore more, not even store to store, but online and then including social commerce, we're the right one for them.

Paul: Congratulations on that and yeah, there's really a [00:16:00] new category emerging here in terms of like new problems emerging and you're stepping in with a vision to solve for them. Yes.

Alyson: Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely.

Edwin: Allison, I got a final question for you before we let you go. I'd love it if you could share any final thoughts, advice, maybe any recommendations to the founder, executive or business leader who may be listening today.

Alyson: I will say believe it and then continue like trial, continue try it. We've had up and down all the time, but as long as you're believing it, you're going to actually commit to that. And then, stay young

Edwin: I love that, Alison. Thank you for joining us on the Business Leadership Podcast.

Thank you very much for having me.

Awesome.

Edwin (2): That's it biz leaders. Thanks for joining me on this special episode of the business leadership podcast. Part of our future narrative mini series recorded at the collision conference in Toronto, Canada. It's been an inspiring conversation with Alison Zang exploring her [00:17:00] journey in e-commerce and her visionary outlook. For the future of shopping. For links to all the resources we discuss. To connect with Alison and to learn more about the future narrative project. Please check the show notes in the app that you're listening to now. And by the way, if you're interested in reading. More about Alison. And other leaders we profiled at collision. Joined the wait list for our upcoming book.

If you found value in this episode, please subscribe, rate and share it with the first person who comes to mind that could benefit. And who will be grateful from hearing from you? Your support helps us grow and bring you more great content.

Thanks again for tuning in and being a part of this community until next time. Have a 100 X day.