B2389C FortyTwo.sg is an online home furnishing and lifestyle shopping site in Singapore: E-Commerce Operations Course Work, RP, Singapore

APPENDIX A

Website: https://www.fortytwo.sg/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fortytwo.sg/
Retrieved 9 October 2023.

FortyTwo.sg is an online home furnishing and lifestyle shopping site in Singapore that sells a wide range of furniture, home decor, and lifestyle items. It is the largest online furniture retailer in Singapore, according to its founder Naveed Lee.

The story of FortyTwo.sg began in 2006, when Naveed Lee, who had worked as a retail executive in a furniture showroom, decided to start an online furniture company called Beds.sg. He was inspired by the e-commerce trend and the low efficiency of the traditional furniture industry, which resulted in high mark-ups in product prices.

Beds.sg started with a humble team of three and barely 60 products, under four mattress brands and four categories of beds.
In 2013, it rebranded to FortyTwo.sg and expanded its product portfolio to include over 20,000 products under an ever-broadening range of furniture, home decor, and lifestyle items.

FortyTwo.sg prides itself on being affordable and providing a great customer experience. It works exclusively with factories to gain a pricing advantage by leveraging on its volume and scale. It also offers free delivery for orders above $300, 100-day free returns, and lowest price matching.

FortyTwo.sg aims to create a convenient and reliable way to furnish your home with the power of the internet. It has grown from its humble beginnings to become a successful online furniture retailer in Singapore. They continue to maintain their business purely as an e-commerce business without any
showroom or physical storefront.

Over the years, the company has been experiencing substantial growth in its customer base and sales volume over the past few years. However, this growth has presented operational challenges, particularly in the order fulfillment process.

The management at fortytwo.sg has recognised a significant issue with the efficiency of their order fulfillment process, resulting in delayed deliveries, increased customer complaints, and additional operational costs. The problem primarily stems from the warehouse and logistics operations, impacting the company’s ability to meet customer expectations and maintain a competitive edge in the market.

Key Issues:
1. Inventory Management: There have been instances where the available inventory doesn’t match the online stock count, leading to discrepancies between what is listed on the website and what is actually available in the warehouse.
2. Order Processing and Fulfillment: The current order processing system faces bottlenecks, leading to delays in picking, packing, and shipping items. This results in longer lead times and dissatisfaction among customers.
3. Logistics and Delivery: Inefficient logistics and delivery processes are causing delays in transporting products to customers, impacting the promised delivery timelines.
4. Customer Service Impact: Increased customer complaints due to delayed deliveries and discrepancies in product availability are impacting the company’s reputation and customer satisfaction.
5. There have been complaints posted on their Facebook page that did not have any response. Most of these complaints were reasonable and required investigation and response from the team. Due to a lack of time, expertise and resources, the team decided not to engage with the customers online as the complaints are usually seen only a month after it is posted.

You have been engaged as a consultant to review the E-Commerce operations. The owners also want you to highlight key operational challenges in Fortytwo. sg’s online operations.
Ultimately, the owners believe tackling key challenges will increase the overall efficiency of its E-Commerce operations and lead to more online sales.
The owners are expecting E-commerce operations plan after the brief in PowerPoint format that includes:
• E-Commerce Objectives (Covered in CW1) (Slides not counted in the 35 slides)
• Consumer Buying Journey Analysis (Covered in CW1) (Slides not counted in the 35 slides)
• E-Commerce Operations Management (35 slides count starts from this segment onwards)
• Supply Chain and Order Fulfilment
• Summary of Recommendations and Conclusion
• References

Refer to Appendix B for details of submission requirements using the E-Commerce Operations Plan Template.
(Note: The material is prepared solely for education purpose. Students are allowed to visit the corporate digital channels and use the Internet for research purpose. However, students are NOT ALLOWED to contact the company and its personnel for additional information. Students found doing so will be heavily PENALISED.)