This article first appeared in Digital Edge, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on January 24, 2022 - January 30, 2022

It was while shopping for some baby products that Johnson Lee realised many businesses had yet to establish an online presence, making it a challenge for shoppers like him to find certain goods.

“It was very time-consuming to shop at different physical outlets, so I went home and started searching online but I couldn’t find the products I was looking for. That’s how I got the idea that if all shops had a digital presence, it would be so much more convenient for both the businessmen and consumers,” he says.

So, Lee came up with a B2B business model called Shopzpin to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs digitise their business. The name of the business is very straightforward, he says. “Pin your shop, while the ‘z’ in the middle means that we are a one-stop solution provider, offering A-to-Z services.”

While he was developing Shopzpin, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world — giving him further impetus to come up with approaches to help businesses go digital. “The pandemic made the digitisation process more rapid because it became not only an option but a must for businesses to survive,” says Lee, adding that he believes Shopzpin can make the transition process smoother and faster for everyone, even those who are not tech savvy.

The 36-year-old, who had previously dabbled in a few businesses, is a self-confessed natural-born entrepreneur. He had his first taste of entrepreneurship back when he was still in school. “I bought snacks and food, marked-up the price and sold these to my schoolmates to earn a little profit.

“Sometimes I took orders and collected money from them first, so that I would have cash to turn over. My parents were busy with their small food business, and I guess I learnt to be independent. I saw how hard they worked and how they were managing their business and employees and I absorbed all this knowledge,” he says.

Although he was not motivated to go to university, Lee was determined to increase his knowledge and skills, especially in the field of IT. “I was always hungry for more … even during my studies, I was already exploring different opportunities.

“I worked part-time and tried my hand at different roles such as sales executive and assistant manager,” he says. Soon after, he started his own computer hardware and software business and later dabbled in machinery trading, and the food and beverage (F&B) industry.

But it was the technology industry that interested him the most. “In the early 2000s, I was seeing a huge breakthrough in the IT industry, from the shift from CDs to MP3 to the rapid development of smartphones.

“I was very inspired and at the same time wondered what would be next. I realised that I needed to be part of it and one of those innovators who could change people’s lives.”

Lee has noticed that the world is moving into the digital era very quickly. “We see that even the older folks are slowly adapting to online shopping; many are using e-wallets instead of cash, for example.”

Cashless payments, he adds, are already the norm in countries like China. Lee decided it was important to take note of the trends around the world and spearhead them in Malaysia.

“Over the past year, we have studied the market and retail operators to truly understand the market’s requirements and what we have realised is that ease of use and customisation are the two most critical factors, especially within the F&B industry.

“Many businesses have been hesitant to digitalise simply because of how complicated it seems. Meanwhile, others have not fully embraced the technology due to the many limitations present in current product offerings. This is where I believe that we at Shopzpin can make a big difference,” he says.

One of the trends Lee has observed, especially following the pandemic and so-called new-normal behaviours, is the importance of contactless environments. This is where he feels Shopzpin’s contactless smart ordering system can best help businesses owners, especially those in F&B.

The system, called Smart Order, offers F&B business owners an ordering and digital store system that allows them to customise various aspects of their presentation, messaging, information and menu options.

This includes fully branded menus with product pricing, descriptions and photos. With adjustable details across outlets, Smart Order caters for the requirements of chain restaurants and retailers, as merchants are able to manage different menus and operating hours across the various outlets.

The system also provides merchants with a built-in personalised landing page that acts like a mini-website, allowing merchants to display additional items and information such as promotions, vouchers and even job listings.

The rationale behind Smart Order, Lee says, is to reduce the cost of printing paper, manpower, and the high transaction fees of third-party platforms. These reductions would translate into higher profit for the business. Besides cost savings, the system helps businesses offer convenience and peace of mind to patrons who are dining in during the pandemic, he adds.

“We help our merchants transform their menu into a digital format, so by scanning a QR code (through a web-based system that does not require an app), patrons can browse, place orders and make payments using their own smartphones,” says Lee, adding that the entire process is contactless and eliminates the need to browse a physical menu that has been passed around and held by multiple people.

“Smart Order acts like a digital waiter as merchants can upload many attractive photos, promotional banners, advertisements, food descriptions, ingredients or nutrition facts. Customers can just read and order what they want without needing to ask a waiter to assist them, thereby reducing close contact between waiters and patrons.”

Besides that, Lee says Smart Order can also help merchants in their business growth and planning. “We often ask merchants how many customers they’ve had over the years and most can’t answer accurately because they don’t have the customers’ dining records.

“Shopzpin Smart Order comes with a sales report, order records and client database, which help merchants to analyse their business and plan a better strategy in future. For example, merchants can use the data to study the daily consumption record in order to plan their inventories. By using the database to understand their customers’ order pattern and preferences, they can also carry out promotional or other marketing activities to stimulate the sales revenue.

“Whether it is ordering in-store or online, businesses nowadays want something that best represents their brand because they understand that this is how most customers interact with them. A boring or highly rigid online store and menu sends the wrong message and can also be confusing or frustrating for customers when they order.

“At Shopzpin, we understand this and that is why we give our merchants high levels of customisation to put their best foot forward. To tie it all together, we also offer personalised and hands-on customer service and on-boarding — something that many of our competitors lack,” Lee adds.

Shopzpin Smart Order caters for dine-in, self-pick-up and delivery orders. At present, Shopzpin is collaborating with a few payment gateway companies such as iPay88, Razer and Stripe, and also integrates with delivery service companies like EasyParcel and Lalamove.

Customers of Shopzpin’s Smart Order to date include Hong Kong Hotpot, Khrua Thai and Oiso Korean Restaurant. The feedback thus far, according to Lee, has been positive with many merchants saying that Shopzpin’s solutions have meant that they can run their business with a contactless environment, thus allowing them to adapt to the new norms to ensure their customers feel safe.

Lee feels that besides F&B businesses, Shopzpin’s Smart Order can also benefit the convenience store industry as well as hotels. He discloses that Shopzpin is currently working closely with South Korea’s third largest convenience store, emart24, and is also in talks with a few hotels. “With the tourism sector slowly opening, we foresee that there is a need for solutions to enhance the adaptation of contactless systems,” he adds.

Despite the advantages of Smart Order, Lee concedes that marketing the system is not without its challenges. “Traditional dining habits don’t change overnight. Many people still prefer to order using a physical menu … some merchants told us that their customers were unhappy or even walked off when they were asked to use the digital menu,” he says.

The way forward is to educate both merchants and customers on the importance and benefits of the contactless ordering system. This is where, Lee hopes, the government can play a role. “We hope the government sees the importance of using digital menus not because most of the developed countries have fully digitalised their businesses and we should follow the trend but because we believe that, to a certain extent, the digital menu can help in breaking the chain of Covid-19 transmission.”

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.