Tobacco Asia

Volume 20, Number 3

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42 tobaccoasia / Issue 3, 2016 July / August Wenzhou City Tobacco Monopoly Administration is promoting develop- ment of "Internet+" in an all-round way, with the support of cloud computing, big data and mobile Internet. tobacco industry of Wenzhou – which is still in the forefront of systemic transformation of the coun- try's economy –defined the policy of the so-called "Internet+" as the driving force for continued business development. With cloud computing, big data, and mobile internet, Wenzhou's tobacco in- dustry goes for innovation and transformation of such essential components of industrial produc- tion as conception, function, methodology, pro- cesses, and organization. Comprehensive development of Internet+ Internet+ recently become a highly popular con- cept and is promoted on an unprecedented level. The Internet+ strategy means integration of on- line technologies with all industries and sectors – including traditional ones – in order to create a new business model in new fields by applying information and telecommunication technology. In the area of innovation and reform, the Wenzhou City Tobacco Monopoly Administra- tion (WCTMA) has been designated by CTZI as the institution to operate Internet+ pilot projects. As part of this endeavor, WCTMA took the lead in introducing the AliPay escrow service accounts settlement system into the process of cigarette retail, becoming the first to launch the so-called "Internet+cigarette marketing" service for China's tobacco industry. Thanks to today's rapid development of mo- bile internet technologies, one can easily imagine future scenarios of online cigarette sales. For ex- ample, let's say Mr. Wang's son is to get married the next month, he needs to buy a large quantity of Liqun brand cigarettes in preparation for the wed- ding ceremony. However, none of the local retail- ers can satisfy his demand immediately, and there is no quality guarantee of the products if he choos- es to buy cigarettes from the many local retailers. Under the Internet+cigarette marketing model, Mr. Wang doesn't have to worry at all. He can log on to an official website operated by the local tobacco company to place an order. When he clicks the button on the website to place an order for ciga- rettes, cigarette shop operators in the vicinity will respond almost immediately by scrambling for the order. Some of the operators say that they can de- liver the goods in as little as one week while oth- ers say they can do so in two or three weeks. Af- ter careful consideration, Wang accepts the offer from one of the operators. It means that Wang can easily complete the deal without so much as leav- ing his home, and what he needs to do next is just await delivery at the scheduled time. Moreover, he doesn't have to worry about the payment for such a large quantity of cigarettes – he can complete a convenient and swift transaction by merely mak- ing a use of the online AliPay escrow service. The aforementioned scenario of online cigarette sales under Internet+ in still largely a plan, but it is gradually turning into a reality. So far, there are 500 cigarette retailers in Wenzhou City who can settle accounts in cigarette sales using the AliPay escrow service, and their number is growing. Technological progress means an all-round upgrade and update of traditional industries. But online placement of orders and online account settlement using the AliPay escrow service are just the beginning. Presently, WCTMA is promoting development of Internet+ in an all-inclusive way, with the support of could computing, big data, and mobile internet. It is holding talks with cloud service providers about improving retail terminals, enabling them to support the integration between offline sales and online account settlements at all retail shops. It is also working to establish a con- sumer information database accessible by all retail terminals in the city in order to unclog channels for tracking consumption, etc. Of course, Internet+ has not just been launched in the area of cigarette marketing. Rath- er, it has been extended to all fields in a compre- hensive way, with steady promotion of strength- ening all four channels: "Internet+cigarette marketing", "Internet+tobacco monopoly con- trol", "Internet+logistics and distribution", and "Internet+mobile business processing". Simultaneous innovation of online and offline services If the all-inclusive development of Internet+ means innovation of online services based on internet technologies, and can be a process to strengthen the "soft" capacity of marketing, then promoting development of terminals to higher levels and innovation of retail terminals means an innovation of offline services and strength- ening of the "hard" capacity of marketing net- works. In terms of innovation of offline services to strengthen the hard capacity, WCTMA actively exerts efforts to develop a "pyramid-shaped"

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