CASE STUDY - Firstcom Solutions

CASE
STUDY

OVERVIEW
Founded in 1957, Heng Foh Tong (HFT) is a multi-generation,
family-run Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Hall located in
Bukit Batok East. With over a hundred years of TCM experience
between them, first-generation owner Mdm Ng, together with
second-generation son Peter Lee and his wife, Mdm Chye have
been faithfully serving their local neighbourhoods — offering a
comprehensive collection of TCM herbs at affordable prices.

Now, as HFT enters its third-generation of ownership, the
business faces a vastly different landscape as the majority
population shifts from Baby Boomers and Generation X,
Millennials and Generation Z.

With human traffic at their physical store slowly dwindling, HFT
understood that their business would need to shift online to
meet new consumption patterns. However, mom and pop TCM
stores also face intense competition for customer attention in a
digital space dominated by corporatised TCM entities.
Furthermore, customers in the Millenials and Gen Z age groups
generally had little to no interest in TCM.

Through the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), HFT partnered
with FirstCom Solutions to find a way to not just take their
business online, but attract and introduce a new generation of
customers to TCM.

                      FIRSTCOM SOLUTIONS’ CONTRIBUTION

        BRANDING                       DESIGN                       ONLINE      RESPONSIVE
                                                                   STRATEGY   WEB DEVELOPMENT

     SOCIAL MEDIA                  PHOTOGRAPHY                     CONTENT      ONGOING SITE
      MARKETING                                                    CREATION     OPTIMIZATION

CHALLENGES FACED BY THE BUSINESS
As a TCM store in a mature estate, business was comfortable and there was
little reason to venture beyond the traditional methods of doing business.
First-generation owner, Mdm Ng, now in her 90s, had been running the business
the traditional way, handling cash and making calculations using mental
calculations, an abacus or a simple calculator.

Second-generation owners, Peter Lee and Mdm Chye, both in their 70s,
although familiar with using technology in their daily lives — such as using iPads
as means of communication, were still new to the digital economy and digital
processes. As such, e-commerce staples like online orders, cashless payments
and the logistics of delivery would need to be implemented in phases as they
adjust to new technologies and ways of working.

The physical location of the store also limited HFT’s customer base. With
decreasing foot traffic and diminishing sales revenue, there was an urgent need
to move online and extend their customer base beyond the small and quiet
Bukit Batok neighbourhood.

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS UNDERTAKEN

During the planning of their new website, HFT’s third-generation owner was initially skeptical if the idea would take
off. Buying medicine was typically an activity that was triggered by illness, with buyers preferring to visit a physical
shop to obtain them on the spot rather than resort to e-commerce. However, in discussions with FirstCom, it was
decided that the website could also serve as a platform to market and introduce the concept of TCM wellness to the
younger generation and prime future customers.

Digitising the Dispensing of Medicinal Herbs

In the traditional process, a customer would take their prescription to a medical hall and the practitioner would
proceed to dispense and mix their herbs on the spot before payment is made. This lead to peak periods where the
shop would be busy with many walk-ins to long lulls with nothing to do, which was inefficient for the business.

With the new website, customers can email or WhatsApp their prescriptions and receive a service number,
quotation and select how they would like to receive their orders. After confirming their order, they will be able to
choose if they prefer to have the item delivered to them or self-collect it at the shop.

Not only is this more convenient for customers, under the new online ordering system, Peter and Mdm Chye are now
able to fulfill orders during lull periods and turn it into productive time — effectively spreading their workload
throughout the day rather than high workloads during peak periods. Additionally, HFT also incorporated cashless
payment methods like GrabPay for added customer convenience and to bring its services in line with the younger
generation.

Introducing TCM to a Younger Generation

While it was unlikely that members of the younger generation would use HFT’s website to collect medicinal herbs
for themselves, there was potential for them to visit the website to complete prescriptions for their parents.

Recognising that this particular group of visitors would be more interested in the wellness aspect of TCM, a section
of the website was dedicated to introduce visitors to the various herbs HFT carry and their potential health benefits.
To make the information easily accessible, herbs were categorised into common wellness goals such as beauty
enhancement, remedies for common ailments and vitality boosters.

The dual-use of their e-commerce website as a platform to market to the younger generation ties in with HFT’s plans
to build their interest in TCM and modernise the way the TCM industry interacts with Millennials and Gen Z.

BUSINESS CHANGES AND FUTURE PLANS

The implementation of an e-commerce platform has brought about big changes in the way HFT conducts
operations at their physical shop. Rather than spending most of their time attending to walk-ins, Peter and Mdm
Chye now serve their customers by fulfilling online orders — using an iPad to receive orders and process cashless
payments before proceeding to prepare herbs for their customers. HFT have also claimed and updated their
business listing on Google so they can be better found online. Customers are also able to use navigation apps like
Waze to easily find their way to the physical store.

Looking towards the future, HFT have already embarked on their 2nd website geared towards Millennials and Gen Z
— using a subscription model of cooked and delivered herbs to introduce them to the world of herbal remedies and
discover TCM products in line with their grab-food experiences.

Besides the launch of their second website, HFT is also working with several government organisations and
education institutions to revamp their operations — by exploring non-retail sales channels and developing new TCM
wellness products for a new generation of customers. For instance, the business is collaborating with universities to
conduct market research; and polytechnics to produce bottled cooling tea with no preservatives that is not just
attractive to the newer generation — but is suitable to be sold in alternative ways, such as through vending
machines.

For their next milestone, HFT will be actively working with the Health Promotion Board to get low and no sugar
certifications for their new products to cater to health-conscious consumers.

On the technology front, HFT are looking at ways to incorporate the latest innovations to improve operations and
customer experiences. For example, the business is exploring the possibility of outfitting their TCM vending
machines with virtual reality cameras to help collect customer data, which can then be used to inform product
development. These vending machines will be able to detect weather conditions and school examination periods
and propose suitable drinks for customers. They are also looking at technology to optimise and plan distribution
routes across their network of vending machines.

From a humble mom and pop shop to a digitally-enabled medical hall — HFT’s third-generation of business is
continuing to embrace digital for the future by adopting an omni channel approach to digitisation that is unique in
the TCM industry, and revamps the way TCM products are sold for the newer generation.

By combining different modes of purchase — from unmanned 24/7 vending machines to traditional physical stores
and subscription boxes, HFT enables seamless cross selling between their online and physical platforms by making
it convenient for customers to purchase their products. Digital success is no longer measured by e-commerce sales
and traffic alone, instead, all platforms cooperate to channel sales and traffic to each other.

FirstCom Solutions Pte Ltd
 158 Kallang Way, #03-05 Performance Building, Singapore 349245
T: (+65) 6848 4984   F: (+65) 6848 4284   E: sales@firstcom.com.sg