Monish Ramchandani the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of QCON General Trading LLC speaks about his entrepreneurial journey

Tell us about QCON’s B2B e-commerce platform.
The QCON B2B e-commerce platform was introduced in 2018 and updated in November 2021 with the latest DIY, home improvement, and retail features. Construction and Building materials were offered on the platform to gamify customer experience through personalized incentives and multi-tiered reward points for in-store and online spending.

It is an Omnichannel fulfillment medium that provides total customer support from start to end by implementing new solutions and integrations with ERP/CRM and WMS targeting. A few of the striking features of the QCON B2B e-commerce platform can be listed as follows:

• Acquiring meaningful leads
• Sales conversion
• Customer loyalty and retention
• Easy check-out
• Return management
• Accepts multiple currencies
• Better customer engagement

Customer feedback surveys help monitor customer experiences and provide an opportunity to improve the same. QCON e-commerce is available 24/7 and customers can use their loyalty points to redeem rewards effortlessly during checkout on their e-commerce store or point-of-sale.

How is it different from similar platforms on the market?
One of the distinct features that give QCON e-commerce an upper hand in the market is successfully launching and integrating the ‘Rewards, Referral and Affiliate Program’ in the Construction and Building Material industry with the vision of giving back and rewarding the customers. Personalized incentives and multi-tiered reward points can be used by customers for in-store and online spending, referral product reviews, and social media activity.

Additionally, 1000+ construction industry best ideas and advise, inspirations, and system solutions are being offered by QCON which is the first of its kind in the region. Product quality calculators, material selection charts, easy return approval online policy, and multiple redemption options have given QCON e-commerce an edge against its competitors in the market.

When did you set up your company? Tell us about the initial days.
We started our journey on August 15th, 2015, and celebrated our 7th-anniversary last month. We initially started with only five employees and distribution of four brands in 2015. With the hard work, dedication, and passion of the whole QCON team, we have come a long way offering a warranty on every product for the 16,000+ active product portfolio today.

We have grown to become a major stockist in the region with 30+ world-leading construction brands under a single roof offering warranty on our products. This in turn helps customers to minimize wastage, damages, delays, and duplication of work. Being the number one authorized technical distributor and powerhouse for construction chemicals, QCON is a one-stop solution for all new construction, refurbishment, and home improvement needs.

What is your leadership style?
As a leader, I follow the coaching and affiliative leadership style which is ‘people come first. I always try and be there for my teammates whenever they need my support. If they need help with an ongoing task or even upskilling, I coach them on that. I always try and motivate them to do better every day. However, as a leader, I use different leadership styles depending on the situation such as Authoritative ‘Follow Me’ and Pacesetting ‘Keep Up’. I minimize stress by focusing on the bigger picture, scheduling, and time management.

What sort of trends have you seen in the construction and refurbishment arena in the UAE?
Registering a CAGR of 4.69% over the forecast period between 2022 to 2027, the construction sector is the essence of the UAE economy and is expected to touch USD 133.53 billion by 2027. The Government is also planning and working on smart cities and planning to digitalize up to 1000 government services and install 2,000 Wi-Fi hotspots. Open trade policies are also playing a vital part to attract foreign FDI and boost the UAE construction market.

A few of the latest trends can be listed below:

1. Building Information Modelling (BIM)
   BIM goes hand in hand with AR (Augmented Reality) in the construction sector and is central to current developments. 5D BIM and 6D BIM improve overall workflow efficiency and enable fast testing in simulated environments.
2. Construction Robotics
   Being one of the most labor-intensive industries, in the construction sector many repetitive, time-consuming tasks can be performed faster through robotics and automation. It also provides safety for dangerous tasks while reducing human errors.
3. Advanced Building Materials
   With time many innovative and sustainable materials have evolved which are replacing older ones like 3D printed concrete and basalt. Manufacturers are researching sustainable materials which are durable, low-maintenance, and energy-efficient.
4. Offsite Construction
   One of the emerging industry trends is offsite construction which allows designing, manufacturing, and fabricating building elements in a factory. Offsite construction offers many positives like sustainability, worker safety, and quality. It incorporates a range of innovative materials, 3D printing technology, and novel assembling techniques. The first part of offsite construction involves volumetric construction which includes modular and pod construction. This technique allows the prefabrication of heavy 3D structures like rooms and homes. The second aspect includes panelized construction under which the factory develops flat panels for use in walls, floors, or roof panes. Modern commercial buildings use this technique to install partitions and support elements.
5. Green Building
   The ultimate future of the construction industry, Green Buildings optimize energy, reduce waste during construction and enable buildings to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
6. Refurbishment and Repurposing of Buildings
   We have a lot of buildings that need refurbishment in the UAE. It involves making builds more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Repurposing commercial buildings are also being considered to save the asset from further losing money by keeping them in their current state. Life extension projects are also of prime importance in the energy and infrastructure industries.