The website, http://www.scgbuildingmaterials.com, consolidates all the information that was previously assigned to some 50 product websites of the group.

Launched two years ago, the newly improved SCG Contact Centre now centralises all communication channels – telephone, e-mail, text messaging, and live chat – and now can also provide customers with information on product availability and take their orders.

About 200-300 stock-keeping units – from faucets to concrete blocks and other building materials – are being offered on the website and the contact centre.

Nonetheless, Nithi Pattarachoke, vice president for the domestic market of SCG Cement-Building Materials, said the e-commerce capability was just a trial. Building materials are bulky, and even in foreign markets, sales of such products through e-commerce channels are still low.

“The main purpose is to enhance convenience for our customers, rather than for sales,” he said.

The company has spent more than Bt20 million on a major renovation of the 6,200-square-metre SCG Experience Store, which now includes a new “SCG Village” that presents four showcases of popular housing trends: Inspiration House, Comfort House, Acoustic House, and Elderly House.

Visitors can seek free advice from some 20 architects SCG has deployed to the store, as well as via the website.

Bottom line

“Customer-centricity is our bottom line. For us, customers come before sales and profit, since we believe that if customers are satisfied, sales and profit will follow,” he said.

Previously, SCG only manufactured and sold its products to its customers, but in recent years it has started to pay attention to the whole customer journey, from the pre-purchase stage to the post-purchase experience, Nithi said.

Chatchawan Sethaputra, managing director of SCG Experience, said that although customers still prefer to see and touch the real products before buying, the company had no plan to expand its flagship store to other locations. “The main channel will actually be online. Our perspective is to stay closest to the customers,” for which a physical presence is unnecessary, he said.

Alternatively, customers upcountry can visit SCG Home Solutions, which are dealer-owned, company-operated stores. The company currently has 40 SCG Home Solutions stores in many provinces.

Traffic to http://www.scgbuildingmaterials.com has doubled to about 200,000-250,000 visitors per month since it was upgraded in January. The SCG Brand Facebook fanpage currently has nearly 1.5 million “likes”, while the SCG experience fanpage has about 500,000 “likes.”

Nithi said SCG would use the feedback it gathers from these customer touch points to develop and improve its products and service.

“Our commitment to innovation means that we relentlessly develop products, services and solutions in response to people’s lifestyles and constantly introduce them to the market to offer convenience and quality to the customers, along with a superior customer experience,” he said.

The major target of this revamp are customers who plan to build their own homes, which is in line with the company’s customer profile that business-to-business project sales contribute less than half of its total revenue.

Vachara said that during his 2016-17 term, the association’s “unite, accelerate, and drive” mission would continue. From now on, the association will concentrate more on communication and collaboration among all stakeholders in the start-up ecosystem including start-up themselves, venture-capital providers and government.

“Tech start-ups are expected to be a part of the growth engine driving the country’s economy,” he said. “Start-up businesses can help support the country’s economy through the funding from venture investors around the world into Thai tech start-ups. Tech start-ups themselves can support the country’s economy through their business growth as well.”

The association yesterday also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Thai Venture Capital Association. Thanapong Na Ranong, president of the Thai Venture Capital Association, said the two organisations would collaborate to strengthen the start-up ecosystem in Thailand.

“This MoU is for tangible collaboration between the two associations to bring start-ups and venture-capital [providers] closer. They will match funds, contribute knowledge about start-ups and venture capital as well as investment, and provide information or reports on the current landscape of the start-up ecosystem in Thailand,” Thanapong said.

He said his association this year would have a greater presence in every region of Thailand as well as collaborate more with the private sector.

Yod Chinsupakul, vice president of the Thailand Tech Startup Association, said start-ups also helped the country by providing employment. Wongnai, his own start-up, has already employed more 90 people.

“Start-ups can help people find a job without coming to Bangkok. They can work and earn while living in their home town. This is the beauty of start-ups’ contribution to society,” Yod said.

The issue was raised at a workshop held yesterday by the NBTC, at which all free-to-air digital-TV broadcasters were invited to brainstorm ideas about the permitted advertising time slots.

Under current broadcasting rules, free-to-air TV operators in both the analogue and digital terrestrial TV systems are allowed to sell no more than 12 minutes per hour of advertising time, while pay-TV channels are allowed to sell only six minutes per hour.

To ensure a level playing field in the industry, Supinya Klangnarong, a member of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, said the permitted time slots must be calculated on a regular hourly basis, not on a specific programme basis.

However, a legal representative from Bangkok Entertainment Company – the operator of Channel 3 – disagreed with the NBTC’s calculation method. The country’s second-largest TV network said it supported the idea of counting TV commercials during specific programmes.

Based on the NBTC’s method and its monitoring on May 14, Supinya said her panel found that during Channel 3’s prime-time TV drama that day, the station had aired commercials for 13 minutes per hour, which was more than the limit in the broadcasting regulations.

The monitoring team also found that the operator of Mono 29 channel had recently aired about 18 minutes of advertising per hour, she said.

“Myanmar is similar to Thailand about 30 years ago. The opening of Myanmar will lure many new business opportunities, including the inflow of foreign investors into the country.

“The move leads to the boom of office buildings and retail outlets as well as interior design in the country,” chairman Boonsithi Chokwatana said yesterday.

Separately, a JV will be formed by Saha Patthana Inter-Holding, its investment arm, and MayFlower of Malaysia to offer diverse and comprehensive tour services for tourists to Thailand.

“Thailand’s tourism is also another growing industry, especially for the in-bound travelling segment.

“The joint venture with our Malaysian partner MayFlower will cash in on the new business opportunity for bringing their foreign tourists coming to Thailand and Malaysia as two connected destinations,” he said.

Another JV will be formed by President Foods and Japanese Ramen to operate a ramen restaurant chain in Thailand.

Boonsithi urged the government to lead the private sector in injecting money into the economic system by speeding up the execution of its infrastructure and transportation projects, such as the high-speed railroads.

“The government is now on the right track in granting policies and measures to stimulate and grow the Kingdom’s economy.

“We believe that in the second half of this year, the purchasing power of individual consumers will gradually improve,” he said.

The country’s food industry would be the first to rebound and would be followed by other daily necessities, including fast-moving consumer goods.

Saha Group expects its revenue to rise 5-6 per cent this year, faster than the growth in gross domestic product of 3 per cent anticipated by the government.

Saha’s investment policy will also focus on food and textile products, especially on its textile facilities in Tak’s Mae Sot district, to leverage the government’s stimulus policy to promote private investment in border provinces under the special-economic-zone project.

“We will focus on increasing investment into the expansion of our textile facilities in Mae Sot, not only to benefit from the government’s stimulus package, but also to cash in on cheap labour in the form of migrant workers from Myanmar,” Boonsithi said.

 SAHA FAIR 3B

This year, Saha Group fair will be held from June 30 to July 3 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok.

Boonkiet Chokwatana, chairman of the board and executive chairman of ICC International and head of Saha Group Fair organising committee, said the group had placed a great deal of emphasis on e-commerce and had adopted digital technology to make it possible for this year’s fair to offer a fast and convenient shopping experience.

Shoppers can use their smartphones to scan the QR code that directs them to ethailandbest.com, where they can place an order and check out their items through an e-payment system.

The fair will also offer a 3D virtual-augmented-reality store, in which there are a department store and a convenience store with animated staffers.

Customers entering the store will feel as if they are at a real department store with sales representatives to offer help.

They will be able to select the product they would like to buy, then place the order on their smartphone by scanning the QR code that redirects them to ethailandbest.com, where they check out their order through an e-payment system.

Speedy delivery, free of charge, will also be available.

Moreover, the fair will offer a virtual fitting room, in which customers can browse for clothing items and try them on easily.