Determined to innovate in every way possible – from its business model to internal management – Hong Kong Technology Venture Company (HKTV) has undergone a succession of digital transformations in its thirty years of existence. The current digital focus for the company, which for seven years has owned HKTVmall, Hong Kong’s largest e-commerce platform, is to open its first fully automated retail store, in the UK.
Roboshop
‘Most unmanned shops around the world are not really unmanned at all,’ says Alice Wong, Group CFO of HKTV. ‘People still need to walk in and pick up their products from the shelves. Our system will encompass the whole store. We do not even have a storekeeper.’
Customers will place their order online, with a product-picking robot in the store assembling each order and delivering it to a locker, where the customer can pick it up. The system will send a code to the customer to give them access to the right locker, and will use facial recognition for age-restricted items.
‘Our unmanned system will encompass the whole store. We do not even have a storekeeper’
The launch of a fully automated store is a big step towards the digital transformation of the company, says Wong, because it requires hardware as well as software and it is patented. ‘It maximises the use of the store space – our robots can reach the ceiling-high shelves.’
She says the company is always bold in its approach to trying out different ideas. ‘Things are digital here, and we use technologies to change.’
Innovation trajectory
Although HKTV is now best known for its HKTVmall e-commerce platform, it has explored various business models, all of which revolve around technological advances. For example, it founded Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN), before its disposal in 2012, which built the alternative largest optical fibre network in Hong Kong.
After an unsuccessful application for a TV broadcast licence in Hong Kong, in 2015 HKTV shifted its business focus to launching an e-commerce platform, which marked the start of what HKTVmall is today.
The company’s digital journey since then has not always been smooth or easy. There were no handy technologies available at that time for HKTVmall to sell both its own products and those supplied by third parties on the same platform. It was this tech inadequacy that spurred the company to develop its own end-to-end solutions.
‘We developed our platforms, including logistic applications, merchant management systems and warehouse management systems, covering every aspect needed for an e-commerce business,’ Wong says.
These comprehensive solutions have subsequently evolved to become another business line for the company, which now sells them to other e-commerce companies around the world. ‘Most of the time technology barriers stop companies from transforming. In this way we help them to move their business online,’ Wong says.
A data-driven mindset is equally important in online business, Wong says. ‘For online shopping, the customer’s behaviour should decide what the merchant provides.’
HKTVmall makes use of the large quantities of data it collects to generate business insights and provide business advice to merchants. The company has even launched a publicly accessible open databank.
‘For online shopping, the customer’s behaviour should decide what the merchant provides’
HKTV
Established in 1992, Hong Kong Technology Venture Company has extensive experience in telecom market liberalisation and popularising advanced technology and applications.
HKTVmall is the largest 24-hour online shopping mall in Hong Kong and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Technology Venture Company. HKTVmall provides one-stop shop services including online shopping, marketing and digital advertising, big data analysis, smart logistics and fulfilment, and physical stores.
The Group has set up another business in 2020 – Shoalter Technology – a technology provider enabling traditional supermarkets or retailers to enter into digital retailing successfully.
Auto-accounting
Given the large number of orders the platform takes, automation also plays a key part in supporting the accounting and finance management function.
‘We cannot only use the manual processes for purchase orders and payments that we used six years back now, considering we have large order volumes, around 5,000 merchants and over 600 suppliers,’ Wong points out.
By automating processes such as stock replenishment and payments to suppliers and merchants, the company has not only increased efficiency but eliminated the mistakes generated by manual operations. ‘Our stock replenishment system can also forecast demand trends based on historical sales records, promotions and delivery mode to place purchase orders automatically,’ Wong adds.
The company has adopted an electronic data interchange (EDI) system and merchant management system, which connect with suppliers, merchants and purchase orders to streamline the process. The system captures all necessary information, including order amounts and invoices.
24×7 business
Wong says there are still challenges ahead, as the e-commerce ecosystem in Hong Kong is not yet well developed. She says lots of merchants on the platform are used to a more traditional way of doing business and do not offer services over the weekend. Yet the internet never stops: people can shop online at any time and expect uninterrupted service in return.
‘If someone shops on Friday night and the merchant is closed for the whole weekend, then the shopper can get the stuff only on Tuesday at the earliest,’ she points out. HKTVmall is encouraging merchants to accept orders over the weekend.
The company’s continued multiple innovations include adapting its delivery trucks and storage facilities to enable products at three different temperatures to be delivered in one go. The company also develops its own third-party logistics solution to build an internal distribution centre and make customer deliveries via a centralised operation.
Tech initiatives
Wong has advocated the use technology to change the company’s legacy processes and has been keen to drive the use of data analytic tools and programming languages – encouraging her team to learn Power BI and Python – to replace traditional tools.
‘These initiatives have increased the finance team’s digital capabilities, efficiency and timely collection of information for decision making, especially when handling high volume of transaction data,’ she says.
With a wealth of experience in financial management, corporate finance and global investor relations, in particular in tech industries such as telecommunications, multimedia and e-commerce, Wong has leveraged her skills and expertise to bring about change.
Her digital journey with HKTV has offered her chances to embrace technology and expand her knowledge: ‘I’ve grasped opportunities to drive the development of the e-commerce business and technology solution business.’
