Oxfam GB: e-Commerce Solution

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Oxfam Great Britain (Oxfam GB) is an independent, non-governmental organization that, among other activities, operates over 700 charity shops and a gift catalog in the United Kingdom with the express purpose of overcoming poverty and suffering around the world. The organization has a worldwide reputation for excellence in the delivery of aid and development work in five program areas: the right to a sustainable livelihood; the right to basic social services; the right to life and security; the right to be heard; and the right to equity.

While it is a charitable organization, Oxfam GB displays many of the characteristics of a traditional retailer. For example, the organization operates in a highly competitive market that is crowded with worthy organizations all fighting for a limited stream of donations. To stay a step ahead of its competition, Oxfam GB believed it could engage its supporters in a more meaningful way and drive additional income growth by establishing an online charity shop. This plan was unique—no other charity had ever created an online shopping channel for donated merchandise. In just four months, 2.2 million people visited the site and purchases totaled £3.7 million (US$7.25 million). The low-overhead, online shop is on track to achieve its goal of eventually raising more than £13 million (US$25.5 million) annually.

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Despite Oxfam GB’s success and profitability, the organization faced significant challenges. Sales of its Unwrapped category of virtual gifts seemed to have peaked and needed to be reinvigorated. The fair trade product market in the United Kingdom had also grown quite crowded as a result of Oxfam’s pioneering leadership, which meant Oxfam wanted to focus on putting new categories of fairly traded goods in front of customers. Its sales of donated items were also threatened by the emergence of second-hand online competitors such as Amazon and eBay marketplace.

The charity—under the leadership of a board and administration with significant private-sector retail experience—believed Oxfam GB could engage its supporters in a more meaningful way and drive additional income growth by establishing an online charity shop. This plan was unique—no other charity had ever created an online shopping channel for donated merchandise. The plan was also ambitious. Within three years, the organization hoped that 30 percent of its sales of donated items would be generated online.

For help in launching Oxfam GB’s sales initiative, the nonprofit organization turned to Accenture, which it recognized not only as being a leader in the delivery of e-commerce solutions, but also for its work in the international development and retail sectors. Further, Accenture Development Partnerships—a nonprofit organization providing high-quality services at a much-reduced cost to donors, non-governmental organizations and other nonprofit entities working in developing countries—enjoyed a long history of working with Oxfam GB: from supply chain management of farmers in India to improving the logistics associated with delivering humanitarian relief. Most recently, Accenture provided pro bono services to help Oxfam GB develop its e-commerce strategy. Helping to manage the launch of the innovative online shop was a natural extension of this earlier work.

To support Oxfam GB’s initiative, Accenture referred to its Systems Integration and Technology knowledgebase and resources from the company’s Retail industry group, Supply Chain Management service line, e-commerce and information management practice areas. Together, Oxfam and Accenture worked closely to not only launch the site, but also optimize its performance.

The Oxfam/Accenture team also focused on helping Oxfam GB develop a business blueprint and then manage an operational plan comprising many “business readiness” initiatives such as:

• Strategy and Financial Planning—Identify consumer trends, analyze Oxfam’s existing performance and develop insights and financial plans.
  
  
• Fulfillment—Develop plans that addressed all phases of the site’s supply chain.
  
  
• Marketing—Develop marketing plans for the new online shop.
  
  
• Trading and Merchandising—Devise all-important trading activity plans, including specific guidance on managing the site’s content, merchandising items for maximum exposure and helping to confirm accurate pricing and effective promotions of online offers.
  
  
• Website Management—Help ensure that processes and capabilities would be in place to manage the website’s ongoing development.

Importantly, Oxfam GB also turned to Accenture’s experience in data management to develop processes that allowed the charity to monitor the financial and operational performance of the site on an ongoing basis. Weekly sales reports of items within the “new products” category were also standardized and allowed the team to analyze profitability in great detail and refine the “pick and pack” processes, thereby improving margins by five percent.

With Accenture’s help—and within just a few months—Oxfam GB successfully launched the world’s first online shop for an organization that traditionally sold donated and catalog items to support its charitable mission. Oxfam GB supporters now have an easy and convenient way to access goods at reasonable prices—all while supporting a vital endeavor. Today, computer users can support Oxfam GB through three types of purchases:

• Fair trade products and gifts such as chocolate, jewelry and children’s toys, all ethically procured and in line with Oxfam’s fair trade policy.
  
  
• One-of-a-kind donated goods such as books, fashion and art. These 50,000-plus items are available at prices determined by volunteer and staff experts, sourced from Oxfam shops across the country and listed by volunteers.
  
  
• “Oxfam Unwrapped” items, which include goats, trees, water pumps and even classrooms that are delivered to third-world countries after purchase.

Oxfam GB’s work is a sound example of what it takes to be a high-performance business. Its supply chain mastery directly correlates with Accenture’s High Performance Business research, which notes that the most successful supply chains are measurable (and actually measured) and can rapidly adjust to market changes. In just four months time since its official launch, 2.2 million people have visited the site. Purchases have totaled £3.7 million (US$7.25 million), allowing Oxfam to raise its 2008 yearend forecast of weekly online sales to £42,000 (US$82,400). The low-overhead, online shop is on track to achieve its goal of eventually raising more than £13 million (US$25.5 million) annually.

By incorporating highly effective e-commerce and information management capabilities and leading retail practices into Oxfam GB’s sales strategy, Accenture has helped the charity create a sophisticated, multichannel sales environment that rivals that of leading retailers striving for high performance. With the heart of a global charity and the mind of a business focused on long-term success, Oxfam GB is well positioned to bring lasting change to millions of the world’s least fortunate for years to come.

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