Teaching case. This case is a composite based on typical Nepali businesses. Names are withheld and the figures are illustrative, chosen to make the calculations realistic.

Overview

A family‑run kirana store in Kathmandu faced movement restrictions and unpredictable demand. They adopted WhatsApp/FB Messenger ordering with daily product lists and a simple mobile web form for delivery slots.

Background

Before the lockdown, the store had no website and no delivery service. About 400 households within a kilometre bought from it, mostly in person and often on credit recorded in a notebook. When movement was restricted, customers still needed rice, oil, vegetables, and medicines, but could not visit, and large supermarkets had long delivery delays. The owners had smartphones, a Fonepay QR code, and Viber and WhatsApp contacts for many regular customers, but no budget for an app or an e-commerce platform.

Key Moves

  • Created a Google Sheet‑backed product catalog; shared daily via WhatsApp broadcast.
  • Built a no‑code form (Google Forms → Apps Script email) for orders and preferred delivery windows.
  • Used neighborhood runners for last‑mile delivery; accepted COD and QR payments.
  • Managed inventory with low‑tech barcode labels and cycle counts; reconciled daily.

Outcomes

  • Retained local customers; added elderly and work‑from‑home segments.
  • Reduced in‑store congestion; improved delivery density by batching routes.

Why this works (Unit 1 lens)

  • Unique features: ubiquity (mobile), universal standards (QR/FonePay), and interactivity (chat) allowed rapid adoption without full websites.
  • Type: m‑commerce and social commerce hybrid.

Challenges

  • Stockouts and substitutes; perishable handling.
  • Delivery routing inefficiencies and return trips for missing items.

Lessons

  • Start with the channel customers already use (chat), then layer simple web forms.
  • In groceries, reliability (fill rate, on‑time) beats flashy UX.

The Numbers

  • Before: about 120 walk-in customers a day; average bill Rs. 900.
  • At the peak of the lockdown: 70 delivery orders a day; average order Rs. 1,800 (larger, less frequent baskets).
  • Daily sales: 120 × 900 = Rs. 1,08,000 before; 70 × 1,800 = Rs. 1,26,000 during.
  • Delivery cost: two runners at Rs. 1,000 a day each = Rs. 2,000, about Rs. 29 per order.
  • Batching orders by lane cut the runners’ trips from about 70 to about 25 a day.

Case Questions

  1. Which unique features of e-commerce technology made this low-cost model possible? Explain each with reference to the case.
  2. Classify the store’s e-commerce activity by type. Why does it fit more than one type?
  3. Using the figures, calculate the delivery cost as a percentage of the average order. Is home delivery sustainable after the lockdown?
  4. What should the store do next: keep the chat-and-form model, join a delivery platform, or build its own app? Justify your answer.
  5. Which challenges in the case are technology problems and which are operations problems?

Chapters covered

Use the unit notes below to review the theory this case applies in practice.