The Forward Podcast with SmartOSC

Buy now, pay later, also known as BNPL, has taken off in a big way in recent years. The short-term financing method gives consumers the chance to make purchases and then pay for them in the future, usually on a fixed schedule. BNPL is most famous for its use in the business-to-consumer (B2C) sector, but increasingly, companies are exploring using the technology for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. To discuss the sector's past and present, we spoke to a bona fide BNPL expert: Stuart Thornton. Stuart brings 25 years of experience in industries ranging from telecoms to payments across Europe, Asia and Australasia. Originally from the UK, Stuart has held leadership roles within both large enterprises and start-ups - including companies such as Verizon, Vodafone and Worldpay. Most recently, Stuart was Co-founder and CEO of hoolah, a buy-now-pay-later company that anticipated the growth in the sector to build first mover advantage across Asia As co-founder, CEO & chairman of hoolah, he led the development, strategy and growth of the business into markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines. Stuart exited the business to Shopback in October 2021. Prior to hoolah, he led the growth of Worldpay’s business across Asia Pacific. He was instrumental in setting the market strategy as well as scaling the team and winning some key notable clients, especially in the eCommerce and airlines verticals. Before moving into fintech in 2014, Stuart spent over 16 years in the telecommunications industry. He now runs 6one- a consultancy, startup advisory and venture building company based out of Singapore and helping companies on commercial strategy for new opportunities.

Recommerce and the circular economy are becoming big business the world over as customers and companies alike focus more and more on sustainability. As the need to protect our planet becomes even more apparent, circularity and more sustainable consumption appear increasingly like the way forward. For this episode, we’re speaking to two women with extensive experience in the circular economy and recommerce, but who come at it from different perspectives. In this discussion, Kirsten Kore of Designerex and Edwina Morgan of Salvos Stores share the secrets of their success in the circular economy and some tips for other businesses looking to tap into this growing sector. Kirsten Kore is the co-founder and co-CEO of Designerex, the world’s largest peer-to-peer designer dress sharing platform. She was named on 2022’s Inside Retail Australia #Top50 People in E-commerce List and was a finalist at the 2019 Online Retailer Industry Awards as well as the 2018 Anthill Smart100. Edwina Morgan is General Manager, Customer & Strategy at Salvos Stores. She drives digital transformation and customer strategy for a business with more than 100 years of history that raises tens of millions of dollars every year to fund The Salvation Army programs that transform lives for the better.

For this episode, we’re taking a look into the future to see how cryptocurrencies, NFTs, the metaverse and other new technologies will impact eCommerce and the wider world of commerce. We look into why these new forms of technology are taking off, how the metaverse might come to fruition, and how to build future-ready teams in your organisation. Our guest is the perfect man for the job: Axel Winter, one of the brightest forward-thinkers and technology strategists in Southeast Asia. Axel has a long track record of bringing business operations into the future. He’s the CEO and Founder of Pivot Digital, a Strategic Advisor for Tokenizer, the Chief Digital Officer at Siam Piwat, Senior Advisor at Fat Projects Acquisition Corp, and Venture Partner at Alpha Founders Capital.

If you’ve not heard of headless commerce, your head has probably been stuck under a rock for the last few years! It’s become such a big and misunderstood buzzword that we thought it was high time to drop some knowledge on how NOT to do headless. To dive into what headless can and can’t do for your business, host Adrian Wakeham spoke going to two experts who come at this from slightly different angles: Paul Williams, Director - Solutions Engineering, APAC at commercetools and Australian technology and retail leader Shane Lenton, the CIO at Cue Clothing. Paul is a digital innovation leader with expertise in digital experiences across a range of industries. Having started as a developer, he has maintained a focus throughout his career on technology and its application to improve the customer experience. Shane is a technology and retail leader, with over 20 years of experience across a variety of industries. As the founder of Unified Commerce, he works with retail leaders to understand changing consumer behaviour and how to best leverage technology.

Our last guest was a literal rockstar, and for this episode, we've brought on a rockstar of digital business to explore commerce and the path to digitalization. Tune in as Bhavin Patel of CT Corp and host Adrian Wakeham take you on a step-by-step journey to digitalization. Bhavin is a digital transformation veteran, so make sure to listen closely to his top tips for taking a business digital. Bhavin Patel currently has a dual role as the Group Managing Director of Digital, Omnichannel & Platforms of CT Corp & President Director / CEO of CT Corp Digital. He has more than 15 years of experience in digital across the UK market for FTSE 100 companies, global roles within multinationals across Central Europe and South East Asia, and group roles in-market Indonesia.  His experience spans multiple disciplines within digital, Product, UXUI, tech, data, digital marketing, eCommerce, and so on. Bhavin Patel has been successfully translating the vision of each business into digital solutions leading to profitable business growth, increased competitive edge, and enhanced brand engagement.

We're back with a bang for the third episode of Commerce Talk with SmartOSC! Host Adrian Wakeham spoke to Jerry Smith, the COO of Ogilvy Group Asia and the CEO of Ogilvy Consulting Asia, to dive into how businesses in the commerce space can thrive in today's era of disruption. They discussed the radical changes the pandemic and new consumer behavior has brought to digital commerce, what businesses need to do to ensure they can not only survive but thrive amid all that disruption, and Jerry even revealed how the disruption of the pandemic has given his musical career a boost! Jerry has spent his career bridging left and right braining thinking and operations and has been at the forefront of some of the biggest changes in marketing in recent times. A pioneer in internet marketing, he worked and consulted to many leading organizations and technology companies in the 90s who were building the internet. Jerry joined Ogilvy Asia Pacific in 2000 to help develop the OgilvyOne network and has since held a number of local and regional roles in strategy and operations and is currently Chief Operations Officer and the CEO of Ogilvy Consulting in Asia. Jerry believes that marketers now need to understand how to optimize total customer contribution. This means looking beyond transactions and lifetime value to include network value, advocacy and collaboration. His mission is to replace established marketing practices with a value continuum built on authenticity and remarkable customer experiences. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Designers, a Member of the CMO Council, and an Advisory Board Member of the Open ROADS Community.

This episode of Commerce Talk with SmartOSC is all about blurred lines, not the controversial Pharrell Williams song, but blurred lines in eCommerce. Host Adrian Adrian Wakeham spoke to Eddie Teng, Head of Marketing and Digital Business Manager at ASUS Singapore, to dive deep into how the lines between B2B and B2C eCommerce have blurred. Eddie recently spearheaded ASUS Singapore’s transformation to a B2B2C model (with a little help from SmartOSC), so who better to break down the changing demands of buyers?

We're kicking off our new podcast series with a cracker of an episode! Host Adrian Wakeham, Regional Manager for Australia and New Zealand at SmartOSC, invited two stars of the eCommerce game to come and discuss the importance of personalization, by kicking off with a look at the approach Rihanna takes to personalization with Fenty Beauty. Hayley Worley, co-founder of the trailblazing bed line label The Sheet Society, and Mark Baartse, an independent consultant who was the #15 in the Top 50 People in Ecommerce list in 2019, took a deep dive into the do's and don'ts of personalization, how to provide the ideal personalization experience, and some examples of personalization run amok!