Mr. Surat Leelataviwat, KBank Executive Vice President, said that the trend of growing e-commerce business helps SME entrepreneurs to sell their products online, while their digital presence through major distributing channels or e-commerce giants will further increase their opportunities to capture a wider group of customers. Thus, business matching between potential partners presents a golden opportunity to help SMEs expand their market reach.
KBank, therefore, teams with Bangkok Post Public Company Limited to organize SME Matching Day 2018, the annual event which returns for the fourth consecutive year. Each year, the number of applicants for the event increases by 20 percent. The top four issues that make SMEs fail the screening are packaging and labeling, the mismatch of their products versus the needs of customers in a given distributing channel, too high pricing, and product standards. These issues are caused by a lack of studies with regard to customer information and customer segments for each distributing channel to determine which customer groups match their products. In addition, high operating costs may prevent some SMEs from setting competitive prices.
The SME Matching Day 2018, to be held August 2-3, 2018 at Bangkok Convention Center, 22nd floor, Centara Grand at CentralWorld, will serve as a forum for business operators to meet with 20 leading distributors and to benefit from seminars and advisory services offered by public and private agencies. The first day will feature business matching with 14 domestic entities, namely large retail/wholesale modern trade operators: C J Express , FN Outlet, Makro, Spar, Lengseng Superstore, The Mall, Jiffy, Max Mart and Tops market; online channels: Lazada, Makro Click, TV Direct Online Shopping and 24 Shopping; and distributor: Saha Pathanapibul.
Mr. Anan Lapsuksatit, KBank Executive Vice President, said cross-border trade has evolved toward the digital era. Nowadays, more than 100 million consumers in the AEC+ bloc have access to the internet and are able to conduct online transactions. In response with changing consumer behaviors, cross-border trade activities are now driven by e-commerce and online platforms, in addition to the conventional trade intermediaries and border trade.
As businesses have increasingly shifted to online trading platform, consumers' lifestyles have been changing with urbanization. This trend has been prevalent in CLMVI countries of which their economic growth exceeds 6 percent. Therefore, this bloc has been reclassified as middle-income countries where mobile internet penetration is higher than 102 percent (based on WeAreSocial, 2018) amid rapid urbanization. Products catered for city people, especially those made in Thailand are thus in higher demand. To cash in on this trend, KBank focuses on promoting its SME customers to branch out into other countries within the region.
On August 3, 2018, it will be a forum for business matching with six foreign e-commerce operators, including shop.com.mm – the number-one online trading platform in Myanmar; tiki.vn – one of the fast growing Vietnamese e-commerce provider; SFBest.com – China's number-one online marketplace; VIP.com – the third largest e-commerce company in China; eBay.com – a world-class e-commerce provider from the US with a global customer base and GoSoKo.com developed by western African countries. These online channels will enable Thai SME operators to gain access to over 500 million consumers worldwide. In 2017, market turnover via online trading platform around the globe topped USD176 billion whereas Thai e-commerce market value was equal to only USD2.9 billion. This event represents a not-to-be-missed opportunity to Thai SMEs.
Mr. Chokdee Wisansing, Chief Operating Officer – Newspaper, Digital Media & Magazine Business, Bangkok Post PCL., said that aside from business matching, the event will feature a series of seminar with topics that are useful for SMEs, including the growing role of e-commerce, intellectual property, the importance of innovations in business undertakings and how to bolster trading opportunities in the emerging and huge Indian market. Moreover, the event will offer opportunities for the participants to meet and talk with business owners, who use technologies in drastically transforming their businesses. The most special feature that will be offering to those who cannot participate in the SME Matching Day 2018 is the Facebook live broadcast of the event via posttoday Fanpage to allow them to ask questions and exchange views with retailers, wholesalers, e-commerce retailers and dealers, so that they have first-hand information to participate in the SME Matching Day in the coming years.
SMEs interested in attending the SME Matching Day 2018 may apply and register for the event at www.ksmematching.com, from today until June 10, 2018. It is expected that some 1,000 SMEs will apply for the event this year.