Green Ideas

Green E-Bill - A Simple Idea which can create maximum impact

Ever Wondered the amount of Paper Receipts that are printed globally at the Retail Stores, Foodchains, Malls or even the Small Roadside shops.For even a single item purchased the Government Laws require reciepts to be handed over to the Buyer. What do I do with the printed bill is anyones guess..Just throw it away adding to the waste material. If one was to do worldwide analysis on the amount of Printing done at the various Stores or the amount of Ink consumed then I am sure this is going to end up with an alarming figure much to the dismay of our Green Revolution activists.

What are the main reasons why the Bill or receipt is printed at any Point of Sale.

1) A copy to check and ensure that the right items have been delivered with the correct prize
2) A Record for the Consumer to maintain if he/she is disciplined enough
3) A Copy for the merchant to do the internal accounting/audits
4) Used when a situation to exchange items
5) Used when warranty for an Item is to be claimed
There could be some more reasons but we will not need to worry about that.

The Amount of Paper printed across all the Point of Sale account for so many number of Trees being chopped to obtain the wood. The other resources that
are alternatives to Wood are Sugarcane based Baggase.

A simple idea which causes maximum impact could create a new evolution to prevent the issue of environmental problem caused by the printing of Papers.
What if every Point of Sale is Internet enabled, which means every transaction bill, which I would refer as Green E-Bill, can now be sent over Email to the consumers Mailid.This ensures that no loss happens and at the sametime a digital copy is always available for the consumer for any future action. Typically a simple plugin can ensure that all Green E-Bills are henceforth Emailed instead of Printing. Ofcourse if a consumer demands then printing option should be available but then the Email option can also ensure that the Retailer can attract the Consumer with some additional Loyalty points and hence contribute to the Green revolution.

This is a Global problem and a solution therefore would most likely attract the Urban areas first and then the Rural areas.There are some further services that can be introduced/enhanced to the Green E-Bill Email option.A Simple Software client can ensure that all bills sent by retailer/Date of purchase/Amount can now be tabulated on demand and provide a weekly/monthly expense report to the End Consumer.

The Retailer on the contrary can create a very effective Digital Marketing Information repository which then will attract Market research companies to purchase such Analytical Data for a Good Price. Such Cross marketing information will help the Retailer enhance their profits as well as allow the retailer to understand and control the buyer behaviour to a large extent.

The Market Opportunity lies in converting every point of Sale into an Internet Enabled POS which can send the Bills to any Emailid and at the same time cross collate other Consumer related information such as Loyalty points etc. Further additional Value added services like providing personalised Analytics for Consumers can create a New Form of Customer Loyalty across Market Segments and Geography.Additionally such VAS can be complemented by targeted Advertisements resulting in effective Market Campaigns and improved Customer Loyalty across regions for a Fee which the Retailer can add to their Topline.