Field of opportunities

Rohit Manglik

Ubiquitous internet connectivity coupled with the technological revolution has provided a fillip to the e-commerce sector in India. According to a report by Deloitte India and Retail Association of India,  the e-commerce market in India will touch $84 billion in 2021 from $24 billion in 2017. Furthermore, a report by Redseer Consulting predicts India’s 50 million online shoppers will swell to 120 million in two years. The e-commerce sector has opened up a gamut of opportunities across the spectrum of skills. Broadly speaking, the industry has opened up career avenues around three spheres: 

a) Operations: This includes various categories of management like logistics, supply chain, inventory & warehouse

b) Creativity: This covers entities related to customer experience, the product’s look and feel, branding, marketing. 

c) Auxiliary sphere: This encompasses finance, payments, legal, HR departments.

Given below are some of the in-demand career options in the e-commerce sector

Product Development 

E-commerce companies work in some of the best cutting-edge technologies like mobility, 3D presence, etc. Product development managers investigate, design, and assess products brainstorm for a company. These professionals coordinate all stages of product development, from initial concept art, to finalisation and distribution. An aspirant of Product Development essentially needs to don the certification in BTech (Computer Science or allied branches) though an MBA degree will definitely add more value to your qualification. Additionally, agile certifications in the sphere are an added plus. Sound technical skills, strategic thinking and collecting and organising data are must-have skills for a product developer. 

Logistics and Supply Chain Management 

Logistics and supply chain management are critical areas that contribute to satisfying customer demand in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Delivering products/services at the right time and place, right cost, and at the right quantity and quality forms the core principle of logistics and supply chain management. 

For a career in supply chain management, a master’s degree is highly desirable as it provides a framework for developing the knowledge and skills required for a successful and rewarding career.  Supply chain professionals need to have sound analytical and planning skills. In the long run, they can look forward to overseeing the responsibilities of even a COO.

Business Analyst

Generally speaking, a business analyst’s role is to understand business change needs, assess the business impact of the changes, capture, analyse and document requirements and also to support the communication and delivery of requirements with relevant business stakeholders, operations and IT teams. However, in the e-commerce domain, this role demands additional responsibilities. Business analysts in the e-commerce domain are responsible for analysing and reporting changes in online sales to a team of e-commerce managers so as to enable them to make informed business decisions. An e-commerce business analyst must be highly organised to transform complicated charts of online data into valuable information for their employer. It is necessary to stay abreast of the latest web analytics software and search engine rules to provide the most up-to-date and complete information.

Finance

Finance professionals are concerned with managing the financial duties such as allocation of funds, profit planning and the like in an organisation. 

An educational qualification as basic as that of BCom along with an MBA in Finance will earn you a job in the finance department of the e-commerce sector. 

Digital Marketing 

E-commerce websites increasingly rely on digital channels to promote a product and grow their business. Digital marketers drive awareness and action towards a business by leveraging social media, digital content, search engines, and email campaigns to attract visitors and facilitate purchases online. A degree in marketing may be desirable but not essential for this career. 

What is more important are the skills such as good copy and visual storytelling abilities and a mix of creativity and analytical skills. Digital marketers can look forward to hefty pay packages as they move up the hierarchy. 

Design

The role of a designer includes designing wireframes, colour blends, photography. It also includes providing inputs to the UI/UX front. A bachelor/master’s degree in Design or fine arts is highly desirable to enter the field. Creativity and the ability to master new technology is must for aspirants for a career in design. Making a debut as a Product Designer, an aspirant can look forward the position of the Chief Experience Officer (User experience).

Content Writing

The role of the content manger is to understand the product well and provide the best write up to explain its intricacies. A bachelor’s or a master’s degree in Mass Communication is required to deliver duties as a Content professional.

Creativity, sound research and editing skills are needed for a career in content writing. It is also desirable to have basic knowledge of SEO as content writer’s role has transformed into that of a content marketer these days. In the long run, content writer can look forward to being entitled to lucrative pay packages as they move up the hierarchy.

Product Management 

A product manager manages and governs the lifecycle of the entire product. As the job invariably requires dealing with IT products, as a prospective product manager you need to possess a bachelor’s in technology, along with, preferably, an MBA. 

Otherwise, the aspirants can look forward to having BDesign, plus the PG degree of MBA. Product managers need to be excellent communicators and possess a good understanding of statistics as they are required to deal with large volumes of data. Starting from the role of a Product Manager, the aspirants can progress to the role of Product Head and Chief Product Officer.

 — The writer is CEO, EduGorilla (an educational e-commerce cum career guidance platform)