eCommerce UnderCover

eCommerce UnderCover

By Michael Waitze MediaBusiness
Download on the App Store

eCommerce UnderCover episodes

  • EP 24 - Easier and Simpler DropShipping - Jean-Baptiste Carpentier - Business Development Director at DSers

    We simply had to have someone from DSers on the show and we could think of nobody better than Jean-Baptiste Carpentier. Jean-Baptiste is the Business Development Director for DSers and is insanely knowledgeable about dropshipping.  If you are not a dropshipper, chances are you have not heard of DSers.  If you ARE dropshipping and you have not heard of DSers, it is on you. 

    Some of the topics Martin Ronfort and I discussed with Jean-Baptiste:

    • The current state of eCommerce globally
    • Dropshipping's place in the eCommerce landscape
    • Some of the tools necessary for eCommerce sellers to be successful
    • The level of competition in the eCommerce space and what separates the good from the great
    • Optimized product sourcing and why this matters
    • Finding the best and most reliable suppliers
    • Why branding matters
    • The keys to online store management and why so many sellers fail
      • 1 hr
    • EP 23 - A Conversation on Product Information Management - Morten Naess - EVP Technology at Bluestone

      Martin and Michael learned a ton from Morten Naess, the EVP of Technology at Bluestone about Product Information Management (PIM) software and so much more.  PIM is software that centralizes, manages, enriches and distributes product content in the most efficient way possible.

      Some of the topics we covered with Morten:

      • How PIM can be used to support sales and marketing for both B2B and B2C companies
      • Who needs PIM and how it can be implemented
      • How PIM supports eCommerce companies at scale and across marketplaces
      • The benefits of PIM for omnichannel distribution
      • The technology behind PIM SaaS
      • The benefits of the cloud and being cloud-native
      • MACH Principles - Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native Saas. and Headless
        • 58 min
      • EP 22 - Sourcing Products in China - William and Xavier

        The team at eCommerce UnderCover caught up with two of our friends, William and Xavier, who are both based in Paris.  Fluent in Mandarin, French, and English, William and Xavier have found a market niche helping eCommerce sellers in France source products in China.

        Some of the topics we covered in this episode:

        • Both are well into their second decade living in France
        • How they met at university in France while studying engineering
        • Closing the eCommerce gap between China and France
        • Product differentiation and why packaging matters
        • Branding
        • China as the world’s manufacturer 
        • Logistics, Warehousing, and ERP
        • Asset light and knowledge heavy
          • 1 hr 6 min
        • EP 21 - Drop Shipping - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Martin Ronfort and Michael Waitze

          The team at eCommerce UnderCover wanted to dive deeper into what dropshipping really is.  Simply speaking, dropshipping is a method of retail fulfillment in which the seller does not maintain his or her own stock. 

          Some of the topics that we covered:

          • What is dropshipping and why is it so prevalent?
          • Inventory management can be a real challenge for eCommerce sellers
          • How the supply chain actually works for sellers that employ drop shipping
          • What types of companies are involved and what role do they play
          • How dropshipping has evolved and become much more efficient
          • The role of payment platforms in dropshipping
          • Middlemen never really get eliminated
          • If a seller lives in Indonesia, but her company is US-domiciled and her clients are in France, things can get really complicated, really quickly
          • How are taxes, returns, and other minutiae handled?
          • Why are so many people on YouTube trying to teach eCommerce and dropshipping?


            • 1 hr 1 min
          • EP 20 - Whatever It Needs to Be, as Long as It's eCommerce - Riki Hooker - Global eCommerce Experts

            Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Riki Hooker, the General Manager of Global E-commerce Experts.  Global E-commerce Experts provides an end-to-end solution to enable product-based businesses to expand into foreign markets.  Riki is super knowledgeable and was very generous with his time!

            Some of the topics we discussed:

            • Many eCommerce sellers want to expand to other markets but do not know how to do it
            • Foreign market localization is more than simply translating a website
            • Tax issues alone can be a nightmare for any seller expanding to another country
            • Payments, payments systems, and payment norms (including Cash on Delivery) can be different from country to country
            • Customs issues and product return policies
            • Warehousing, Fulfillment, and third-party logistics
            • The complexity of eCommerce logistics
            • Offline to online
            • Delivery speed and its impact on conversion
            • The social aspect of shopping and how to replicate this online
            • How politics can impact global eCommerce
            • Asia remains a massive opportunity
              • 56 min
            • EP 19 - Better Than TechCrunch - Trung Hoang Nguyen - co-Founder and CEO of Loship

              Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media welcomed Trung Hoang Nguyen, a co-Founder and the CEO of Loship.  Loship is Vietnam’s fastest-growing one-hour-delivery eCommerce startup.

              Some of the topics Trung covered during our conversation:

              • Growing up in a small town in Vietnam
              • Having parents that worked super hard and built their own business
              • Winning a scholarship to study at a university in South Korea
              • Building a business that aims to have an impact 
              • Feeling like he has the destiny to raise the living standard for all of Vietnam
              • Balancing customer satisfaction and delivery driver happiness and retention
              • Continuously adjusting Loship's business model 
              • Creating a corporate culture that makes all of Loship's employees proud
              • Being hyper-local
                • 1 hr 14 min
              • EP 18 - Media Buying Insights - Patri Ferreras - Lead Media Buyer at DimNiko Agency

                Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media were joined by Patri Ferreras, a Lead Media Buyer at DimNiko Agency.  DimNiko Agency is a team of Global marketers who have a passion for helping eCommerce brands grow.

                Some of the topics we covered:

                • Why work with an agency?
                • Trends that Patri is seeing in the digital marketing space
                • Lessons learned from the physical world translated to the digital realm
                • Customer acquisition strategies
                • Are there regional differences in marketing strategies
                • Brand awareness and helping brands grow
                • Facebook, Google and the presence or lack of intent
                  • 1 hr 8 min
                • EP 17 - African eCommerce and Internet Penetration - Martin Ronfort and Michael Waitze

                  Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media dove into the internet landscape in Africa and its developing eCommerce space.

                  Some of the things that we discussed:

                  • Internet penetration in Africa is high and growing
                  • Africa has the youngest and second-largest population in the world
                  • According to the United Nations, the median age in Kenya is 20.3 and Nigeria is 18.1!
                  • Africa has over 50 countries and a population of approximately 1.2BN people
                  • Kenya has an internet penetration of over 85%
                  • Nigeria has a population of over 200MM people with 188MM mobile phone connections
                  • Nigeria has 104MM internet users and 33MM active social media users
                  • Alerzo raises $10.5MM Series A
                    • 1 hr 5 min
                  • EP 16 - Logistics and Delivery - Did Someone Say Hyperloop? - Martin Ronfort and Michael Waitze

                    Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech, and Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media spent some time this episode discussing their thoughts on Logistics and Delivery in the eCommerce space.

                    Some of the things that we discussed:

                    • Amazon predicted in 2013 that "the future of last-mile delivery lay in robots".
                    • Do enough people really want drones delivering things to their homes or condos?
                    • Amazon and other companies have shifted to sidewalk delivery robots
                    • Sidewalk delivery robots may be cute, but does anybody really want this either?
                    • How do sidewalk delivery robots work in suburbs or cities with crowded or poorly maintained sidewalks...
                    • A persistent view that people want to interact with other humans, not robots
                    • Did someone say Hyperloop?
                      • 48 min
                    • EP 15 - Innovation and Investment Trends In eCommerce - Martin Ronfort and Michael Waitze

                      Martin Ronfort, the founder of DrTech recently gave a deep-dive presentation on innovation and investment trends in eCommerce in conjunction with Payoneer. In this episode, Michael Waitze, the founder of Michael Waitze Media, and Martin dove even deeper into three of the 10 topics that Martin and Payoneer covered.

                      Some of the things that came up during our deep-dive discussion:

                      • Back-end eCommerce Operations
                      • Logistics, speed, reliability, and the desire for 1-hour delivery
                      • Speed drives conversion rates
                      • The sheer size of investment in eCommerce innovation in just the first 6 months of 2021
                      • Cybersecurity and Fraud
                      • Offline to Online Equivalencies
                      • Warranty and Insurance
                      • Riskwolf and internet outage insurance
                      • Microsoft 2021 Global Tech Support Scams Research Report
                      • The Asia Tech Podcast episode that discussed the above is here
                      • How Facebook and Google dominate online advertising
                        • 1 hr

                      About eCommerce UnderCover

                      From the publisher's feed

                      Martin Ronfort and Michael Waitze discuss the future of eCommerce...because we are definitely not there yet.