E-Commerce Talk

David Foo (front row, fifth from left) with the participants

An entrepreneurial talk titled “Internet+ Foreign Trade Global Gold Supplier” was jointly organised by the Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM), Department of Consultancy and Commercialisation (DCC) and International Business and Global Economics (IBGE) Society on 10 July 2018 at Sungai Long Campus.

Invited to deliver the talk was Founder of URCE-Commerce (M) Sdn Bhd-Alibaba Authorised Channel Partner David Foo. He has more than 10 years of experience in foreign trade. He is also the founder of ShenZhen UrCooker Industrial Co. Ltd and ShenZhen MaxBourne Industrial Co. Ltd. He was awarded “Best 16 New Foreign Trade Award” and was appointed by Alibaba as one of the Top 10 Gold Suppliers in the industry.

David Foo sharing his real life story to encourage the participants

In his talk, David Foo shared his real life story on how he actually began his e-commerce career life in the year 2015 after falling into bankruptcy in 2014. The aim of sharing his story was to inspire and encourage the participants to live better and to fight for a better future. He shared his experience of how he succeeded in his career life by taking one step at a time. He also explained how to get ready for e-commerce business, how to succeed in that industry and some preparation needed before entering the industry.

“E-commerce is a good start up for the youngsters because you do not need to compete with those big companies. All you have to do is photo posting,” said David. He then continued, “There are a lot of advantages when you go for e-commerce. You will learn how to communicate with your clients and how to serve them better. You will also learn about the production process, gain product knowledge and learn how to liaise with the manufacturers. It will be very interesting to set up your own business, however you have to learn how to operate ‘Alibaba.com’ and how to optimize your photos.”

Participants listening attentively to David Foo

On top of that, he also shared some Do’s and Don’t’s when dealing with e-commerce as written below:

Do

1. Do analyse the products that you are going to sell.
2. Do some research on the cost (shipping cost, labour cost & etc)
3. Understand the products that you are selling; e.g. the materials of the product.
4. Do record the items that you are selling; analyse and understand your clients’ needs and wants.
5. Do provide good service to your clients.
6. Be fast to react or response to your client’s enquiries.
7. Do study and analyse your competitors; change your price and minimum order quantity accordingly.
   
   

Don’t

1. Don’t go for big volume orders.
2. Don’t focus on the packaging; get your products advertised first.
3. Do not reply or highlight your words in red when you are dealing with the US market.
   
   

“Positioning is very important for e-generation. How you position yourself will reflect who you become in the future, so learn to get a precise positioning. Start with B2B, do not start with B2C, because you do not have the right capital to begin your business,” said David Foo.

He then ended his speech with Jack Ma’s quote, “Small is beautiful; small is powerful; this is our time; this is our era; let’s fight for the future.”

The talk then ended with an interactive Q&A session, followed by DCC Assistant Manager Esther Thien Pik Kim presenting a token of appreciation to David Foo.

Participants during the Q&A session

Esther Thien (left) presenting a token of appreciation to David Foo