With the developments of technologies the b2c model

with the developments of technologies the B2C model has developed to a better version called “Last-mile
logistics” and Lazada has successfully adapt it to Vietnam. In a simple way the supply chain was built based on
the B2C model aim to provide customers with goods directly through the supply chain of the company.
Specifically, Lazada uses two operation models to operate in Vietnam which are marketplace model and
inventory/retail model. Firstly, for the inventory/ retail model, all of the products have to go through the large
warehouse of the company and then picked up by the staffs of Lazada and shipped to the customers. Similarly,
the second model which is marketplace model also operates through the warehouse. The difference here is that
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instead of using their staffs for the transportation, Lazada collaborates with 3PL (third-party logistics)
companies for the transportation which requires more steps than the first model due to the fact that the
merchandises have to be prepared and packed by the Lazada’s employees and ready for 3PL to pick up. By
successfully applying the two models, Lazada has become one of the biggest firms in e-commerce industry in
Vietnam, alongside with its competitor like Tiki, Zalora and Shopee (Calbeto et al., 2017).
Discussion
Supplier management issue and the needs of tackling counterfeit products
For firms in e-commerce industry like Lazada, it is crucial to strategically manage its suppliers. According to
Choi and Mai (2018), Vietnamese customers are traditionally not familiar with shopping online. Researches
show that among countries in South East Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, Vietnamese
customers have the lowest reliability in terms of shopping online (Choi and Mai, 2018). There are many reasons
behind this scenario, one being the fact that Vietnamese customers are extremely aware of counterfeit/fake
products. Among countries in the region, end-customers in Vietnam complain about fakes and quality of
products the most. They also get so used to go to physical stores to directly chat with suppliers and check the
quality of products instead of shopping online. According to Choi and Mai (2018), apart from the high
awareness of fake products, Vietnamese customers also have the highest rate of order cancellation. The main
reason is that the quality of the product is not as expected, accounts for more than 30% of product rejection.
Therefore, it is crucial for e-commerce firms like Lazada to build trust in the market when it comes to the
authenticity of products on sale. Lazada is shown to be very strict about the credibility of suppliers as well as
the quality of products themselves. Special teams were formed to examine products from foreign suppliers,
making sure that the product were genuine and surpassed Lazada’s qualification. To build trust and create a
more enjoyable shopping experience to customers, Lazada offered secured payment options, one of them being