Training vital to heartland SME Unidbox Hardware’s online breakthrough
Newspaper article from The Straits Times, published on 30 March 2020.
This article was also featured on The Straits Times Online.
Even before the outbreak of COVID-19, heartland business Unidbox Hardware was already suffering from slow sales. Unidbox recognised the need to explore new areas such as e-commerce and despite having an online presence, it was not generating sales and they did not have additional knowledge on how to operate their online business. This prompted its director and staff to upskill themselves. Director Wong Hing Kong first signed up for WSQ Diploma in Retail Operations with SIRS. During his training, he sent his sales staff to attend SIRS e-commerce workshops to learn how to enhance their online business as none of them was equipped with the skills to transform or create an effective online presence.
Since the training, Unidbox saw their store’s sales on Lazada grow 5 times, from around $2,000 a month to $10,000. It also helped the store to become an endorsed online seller on Lazada, growing from a level three rating to level seven on the website. “This is a whole new universe for us and one that is opening up interesting opportunities,” said Mr Wong. Training has helped Unidbox better understand how to operate the full cycle of an online business, and how to leverage on in-platform campaigns and events to increase sales. Mr Wong added that he will continue to send his staff for training so that they can serve customers seamlessly online and offline.