The Hindu Business Line : A promise to deliver

The product you buy on the Internet has quite a way to go — from the Web site to your drawing room. Here's tracking the people who figure in the purchase-delivery chain.

Buying something one wants is just a mouse click away on the Internet — and its delivery just a doorbell ring away.

Web sites that sell you so many things also facilitate their delivery such that you only have to heave yourself off the sofa to answer the bell and receive your parcel.

Coming neatly into play as a service link between the Web sites and the end-customer are the courier companies. They are the ones holding on to the product you bought on the Internet — from the time it leaves the Web site to the time it reaches your drawing room.

Both the companies that sell online and the courier firms keep the customer informed every step of the way. This is done by online tracking facilities that bring the end-customer into the purchase-delivery chain.

The time taken for the delivery of products bought online could vary between one and four days. Tulsi Nowlakha Mirchandaney, Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Projects, Blue Dart Express, says her company's Web site has been designed to provide timely information in a user-friendly manner.

The company has an in-house development team to create technology tools aimed at boosting customers' convenience. "Blue Dart is working with companies such as Samsung, Nokia, Rediff and Fab Mart, and offers them e-commerce and supply-chain solutions. And 75 per cent of our customer base by revenue transacts business with Blue Dart through usage of our technology tools," she says.

E. Ganapathy, Regional Manager, Customer Service, Blue Dart Express, says online shopping is happening, but slowly. Gift items contribute in a big way to what moves on the Net. It could be toys, sweets, little electronics items such as mobile phones/palmtops/VCDs/DVDs, etc. The appeal of online shopping also lies in the way information is presented, thanks to technology, he says.

Take, for instance, Blue Dart's tracking facility. If you've booked an online purchase, an order number is generated. After 24-48 hours or more, as the case may be, you need only to punch in the order number at Blue Dart's Web site. Since this number is linked to the consignment number, you can track the status of delivery, says Ganapathy. Or you could log into the Web sites from which you placed your order. Besides companies, government entities too depend on couriers. The Web site of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (www.irctc.com) , which enables the user to book rail tickets online, features its courier's logo, and a `track your ticket' facility.

It is absolutely important to keep the customer in the picture, be it for offline or online purchases. Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, FedEx Corporation, captures the crux. He says his company has "elevated information about our shipments to the same level of importance as delivery of the shipments themselves." (From a speech to the German-American Business Council in May 2004.)

For now, e-tailing may be happening slowly but it spells a big opportunity.

According to Investment Information & Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) estimates, the business-to-business (B2B) part of e-commerce is poised to grow from Rs 410 crore in 2000 to Rs 23,300 crore by 2005.

For the same period, business-to-consumer (B2C) or online shopping, in essence, will grow into a Rs 1,900-crore opportunity from Rs 50 crore.

Buy but beware

What do online shoppers feel about buying off the Web?

Dinakaran, an avid surfer, feels courier delivery is safe and fast. A regular on the Web, he says he's had interesting and varied experiences shopping online. He recalls how he had placed an order for five books with a portal. While he received three by courier, the remaining two are yet to materialise. The Web site cited the books being out of stock as the reason for the delay but chose not to refund his money. He has a `choice' now — buy something else for the value of those two books. But some sites refund the money if books are not available, he says.

Sometimes even reputed sites don't follow up on complaints. But little hiccups apart, he's happy shopping in cyberspace. "I've stopped visiting book shops." Buying books online sometimes means discounts of a whopping 40-50 per cent — counting the benefits of belonging to Book Clubs and being a loyal customer. There's also the convenience of online subscription.

Web sites sport a host of goods, and also feature sponsor links. So you can buy the world, if you so want. But confine yourself, for now, to `safe' objects such as books and CDs, he says. Clothes spell some risk. For instance, you might have visualised a new smart you in a soft lilac shirt, but end up with one in livid red, all because you didn't read one line on the Web site: Shirt colour will depend on availability of model... or something to that effect.

Dinakaran has some useful advice for the online buyer: Make sure you check the cost of delivery. Otherwise you might end up paying twice as much. For example, if a product costs Rs 100, and the delivery charge too is Rs 100, you might have second thoughts about the whole thing.

Here too, sites spell options. For instance, Rediff specifies the shipping charges for items, books and CDs/VCDs/DVDs, as follows: "For every product in the shopping cart, we charge Rs 50 or 10 per cent of the item value (whichever is higher)." If the product is priced Rs 99, the shipping cost would come to Rs 50 (a standard charge). If the product is priced Rs 2,000, you pay a shipping charge of Rs 200 at 10 per cent of the order value.

Another tip Dinakaran offers is that the online buyer needs to check whether the site he is dealing with has tie-ups with online security firms such as Verisign. Several sites display such tie-ups quite prominently.

Another online shopper, B. Kumar, has had a happy time of it until now. He estimates that he has spent about Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000 over the past few months buying goods off the Web, mainly books and CDs, besides the odd buy, like an aromatherapy pillow. He's not keen to know who does the delivery as long as it is prompt.

He remembers how, in the initial days, he had twinges of unease about posting his credit card details on the Web site. But repeat buys since then have reassured him on this point — that Web sites don't store personal details, thus cutting down on the risk of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands.

Sites do their bit to reassure users. For instance, Sify has a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section devoted to secure use of the credit card. The surfer can post any other doubts too that he might have.

Sites list their payment modes. More often than not, they have tied up with banks for credit card use. There are other options too: Pay cash on delivery or use cheque, or go for a demand draft to pay for your shopping. One can also go for `online bank transfer.' Here, you are automatically taken to your bank's Web site where you log on and confirm the payment.

The payment is made and your bank account is immediately debited for the amount. Almost all sites, including Railways, offer this facility.

Seasoned Web users offer tips to avoid the `buy now, rue later' peril:

Books are a good bargain. Besides books, small-value gifts are safe. But be cautious on high-value purchases.

Check the sites you deal with carefully for the payment details, including `refund' options if what you want cannot be delivered.

Check out the delivery charge — Shelling out more than you intended to pay causes heartburn.

Read any disclaimers on the site carefully. Like those that say the product you finally receive may not look like what it appears on the Net, or that it may not come with all the fittings you see in the Web site.

When you shop in a mall, you read details on the label of the product carefully. While shopping virtually, read the fine print — on the Web site — carefully.

Online buying is as much a question of using head as heart.

You know you have to pay that extra little price for not stirring from your chair. Don't let that be your peace of mind.

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