E-commerce is deep water with many risks; enter with caution

This Monday, I heard from a friend that a certain water-soluble fertilizer factory wants to build an e-commerce platform. Beyond my surprise, I also started pondering: why would such a small fertilizer enterprise also want to build an agricultural materials e-commerce platform? Could it be that this boss made the decision on a whim? Of course, I am not opposed to enterprise innovation or enterprise upgrading, but whatever an enterprise does, it must be based on its own strength. At the same time, it must also clearly see the future trends of e-commerce development and find a position that suits it.

First, agricultural materials e-commerce is not simply a matter of agricultural materials, but a matter of rural e-commerce. Discussing agricultural materials e-commerce apart from rural e-commerce is somewhat unrealistic. After all, a farming household purchases agricultural materials only a very limited number of times, and agricultural production is only part of a farmer's life and work, and can even be said to be a small part. So considering only agricultural materials e-commerce is too limited and lacks customer stickiness. Even if farmers register on your website or app, if they do not log in for several months, they will not even remember their account and password, and it is impossible for them to take the initiative to come and buy your products.

Second, do not rush to build a platform just because you are doing e-commerce. Ma Yun's success may have played a misleading role for most people. Nowadays, as soon as everyone does internet business, they push hard in the direction of platforms. The author believes that the e-commerce platforms built by some agricultural materials enterprises in the industry are all off track. Just think: if Haier built an e-commerce platform, would Gree come on it to sell? Impossible! The same is true for doing e-commerce in the agricultural materials industry. Therefore, you must clearly see your own positioning and not easily build a platform. Moreover, some enterprises with weak strength find it somewhat difficult to cope with the large investment required to build a platform.

Looking at the development of agricultural materials e-commerce in combination with other industries, there should be three major mainstream forms in the future. First, there is the comprehensive platform e-commerce, like Alibaba and JD.com. Second, there are professional e-commerce platforms, such as Youge.com, which should be a very good website in the personal sports equipment industry. Third, there is the vertical e-commerce built by enterprises themselves, such as Gree's official mall. In certain single-category goods, professional platforms surpass comprehensive platforms. For example, table tennis rackets: most people around me go to the professional platform Youge.com to buy them, and basically no one buys them on JD.com or Alibaba. Another example is vertical websites like Gree's official mall. Because they have super-high brand influence and visibility, such platforms will also have some space in the future.

In contrast, in the fertilizer industry, none of these three types of platforms has yet produced outstanding e-commerce players. This is both an opportunity and a "trap." Therefore, agricultural materials enterprises should not blindly do e-commerce, but should make some practical investments according to their own enterprise characteristics and resource endowments. I very much agree with the view of Zhong Boqing, chairman of Guangdong Tianhe Agricultural Materials: we are underwater, e-commerce is above water; going from underwater to above water is easy, while going from above water to underwater is difficult. The best strategy for responding to e-commerce is to do a good job with the current channel network and let e-commerce take the initiative to seek cooperation with us.

So I suggest to all agricultural materials people: be cautious about building e-commerce platforms, combine them with your own enterprise's characteristics, and strive to develop. Wait until you have strong core competitiveness and sufficient market share, and then talk about transformation and upgrading.