Daily Times

One 100 million square feet of retail is shutting down in 2018 in USA alone. The message in the bottle; e-commerce has stolen the ocean of customers. They prefer commerce. What role are micro-nations playing on the global e-commerce high-seas and what role is Pakistan playing if any?

Pakistan now at the crossroads as its geographical location, China’s OBOR and CPEC, the overflow of free technologies and struggling human talent combined poised to create a new era for Pakistan. E-commerce, exportability, global age talent development and diaspora could become the real game-changers for this world’s sixth most populated country. Pakistan is a goldmine but it demands skillful mining and tactical deployments with national coverage and global age expertise.

Retail demise in USA points to the new increased powers of e-commerce, where for retail, the centuries old model was ‘location, location, location’ today it’s all about ‘presence, presence, presence’, the paly-grounds of e-commerce. So, what can Pakistan do, how can it stand up as leader with million high quality goods and services to serve the world. Now this demands the small and midsize enterprises of Pakistan to come out of their century old shell. Time to unlearn, time to relearn and time to become global age smart.

E-commerce and Exportability: Mathematically, Pakistan can export one US billion dollars per day, but what’s blocking it? How can this happen without Faith, Unity and Discipline? Unless there is new thinking, like the mobilization of free technologies blended with sleeping talents while discovering hidden resources, nothing will improve. This big game hunting with team effort and global age expertise. This magical transformation from commodity shipping to value added, well branded, global e-commerce strategy.

The global Pakistani Diaspora, is a goldmine of talent and new wealth; one of the most disturbing things that irks foreign Pakistanis is the century old thinking in Pakistan; broken-down links, outdated websites, dead and unresponsive emails, useless and old information and no regards to timelines or any serious discussion at all levels

With 100 plus ideas on how to succeed in commerce already on the internet, most talk about creative and flashy websites with amazing photography and product display features, menu bars and tips on how to personalize and create endless loops. Little is talked about catalogue-merchandizing and deluxe-direct-marketing-response-ability on how to really understand global age customer trends and satisfy their desires in some interesting sequences.

Here are three performance builders. Merchandising: eat, sleep and live merchandising. How and why are catalogues built and how are they deployed – deep study is crucial. Response: how does responsive behavior work and how do repeat orders become a natural process? Service: why are e-commerce customers provided deluxe services?

It will take a high-caliber discussion of many sessions to appreciate this happening to every other 5 billion habitants around the world. How can one swim to alter game plans to newer depths? All trade groups and Chambers need to create deluxe profiles for each big and small member indicating features of their production and capacity with pictures and all critical links to make them visible to the national and global transactional options with high accessibility. Today, no other platform or business model is as powerful, quick and hugely profitable as E-commerce but Pakistan has not yet been able to capitalize on it in any grand way. Why? Massive new learning on value added product development for the outside world, ecommerce modeling, cataloguing skills and global age understanding of corporate image positioning, a very tall order indeed.

Prime Minster Imran Khan and his teams are effortlessly trying to balance the ship, they are in the right direction. Lack of smart skills in Public and Private sectors both are hurting progress, very badly. If America alone can lose 100 million square feet of retail space with in 2018, it’s not all about facing tsunamis but having smarter skills to circumvent them. Pakistan has lost enough in such smart races but now is the right time to face the issues and stand up. Learn fast and mobilize fast. It can be done.

FACT: Such transformations do not require funding as technologies are free but minds and intelligencia has to open up to this global age demand. Once mandated any large or small association or chamber can achieve this within a month. An entire nation can achieve all this within short timelines.

Now the Pakistan Diaspora: The global Pakistani Diaspora, is a goldmine of talent and new wealth; one of the most disturbing things that irks foreign Pakistanis is the century old thinking in Pakistan; broken-down links, outdated websites, dead and unresponsive emails, useless and old information and no regards to timelines or any serious discussion at all levels. The above-mentioned Plan one and two, already take care most of this but furthermore, a high class digitally maintained Bureau, with super-efficient level world-class communication at par or even superior to where diaspora is originally based, servicing and attracting alliances, investment and new talented ideas. This deployment is almost all free and only requires mental endurance, world-class experiences and determination to create a superb organization.

The Rest is easy.

Naseem Javed is a corporate philosopher, world-class speaker, author and Chairman of Expothon Worldwide; a Think tank on Image Supremacy of Innovative Excellence & Entrepreneurial Leadership. He is leading charge on entrepreneurial leadership transformation and a recognized authority on global digital trends, image positioning complexities how they impact business performances and create global age skill shifts. His recent work on Expothon Strategy is getting global attention. He can be connected via LinkedIn:

The writer is Chairman, Expothon Worldwide, creator of Octara-Debates www.expothon.com