Changing the Philippine eCommerce Landscape
During recent years, the Philippine e-commerce
demonstrated a remarkable growth as well as a promising outlook which is expected to continue during
the coming years. This continuous growth in e-commerce results also to growth
and change in the demands of the industry. Existing e-commerce platforms such
as OLX and Lazada are no longer suitable for the requirements of the small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)- there has to be a platform that will support
this part of the market.
PhilYes is the country’s first ever business-to business (B2B) e-commerce platform that addresses the growing requirements of the SME community. A company built upon the principles of innovation and passion, PhilYes continues to be one of the most promising brands in Philippine e-commerce.
The dynamic structure of the present-day market requires
companies to keep on evolving- providing suitable solutions to the needs of the
changing market. Those who stick to this concept reap the fruits of their labor
with enormous success in whatever business they engage to. This is a vital
responsibility for the leaders of an organization such as PhilYes.
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| Rachel Tolentino, CEO of PhilYes |
Rachel Tolentino, CEO of PhilYes is an epitome of passion and innovation. When we ask kids today what they want to be
when they grow up, the automatic response we get are the job or profession they
see on popular media, or perhaps an induced, dictated profession rehearsed by
their parents. But for Rachel Tolentino, she vividly recalls that her answer to
this question was just a simple - “I want to clean, Pasig river”.
Rachel appeared to be showing early signs of non-conformist
views in life making her exceptional. At such young age, she already figured
out important things in her life that she wants to accomplish. She knows some
of the things she wants to do are different from what her parents expect from
her and this kind of behavior was never a concern for her loving parents who
were very supportive of all her decisions in life. This side of her, she said,
was inherited from her mom.
“My parents taught us to be independent and encouraged us to follow our passions and interests in life”, per Rachel. “We enjoy the full trust of our parents, that’s why it was just incumbent upon us to not breach that trust - and I think the pressure to really do well in what you do is even greater because they really support you full time unconditionally.” Rachel adds.
Rachel co-founded PhilYes with her close friends in 2014. “We are a young organization who dreams of revolutionizing the eCommerce landscape for business owners, small and medium enterprises in the country. We intent to facilitate the growth of local businesses by maximizing technology.” Rachel explains. True to its promise, PhilYes currently manages close to ten million pesos worth of daily transactions, deals and contracts closed in its online platform. “The response we are receiving from our local partners and members are overwhelming. When you see your efforts are coming into fruition, and you hear encouraging words from your peers, it’s an indication that you are on the right track.” Rachel exclaims.
This young hands-on CEO is not new to corporate
leadership. Rachel built her career in the family owned Autohauz, a Kia car
distributorship, while still a college student in Ateneo, she was already
working as management trainee, eventually went full time to work for the
Autohauz doing sales, marketing and later on acting as Chief Finance Officer.
“My stint in Autohauz made me realized how difficult and challenging it was to
source, maintain and deal with different suppliers. It was not easy to survey
for quotes for services or goods you need for your business. We area small organization and definitely we don’t
have a huge procurement department that will do the dirty work for us.” Rachel
says. “This is one of the pain points that help build the initial framework of
PhilYes. We want to address efficiency for buyers and at the same time provide
scalability and reach for sellers.” Rachel expounds.
As a leader Rachel considers herself as a “Cool Boss”.
“I don’t see the need to instill fear to my subordinates, it was never my
style.” Rachel said. “I guess my style is just to be really open and honest to
them. I’m particular with deadlines and my team knows I’m really serious about
work. And I have long spoused the open-door policy to everyone in our office
where people can talk to me about anything without pretenses about ranks and
titles.” Rachel explains. “I believe in this day and age, collaboration and
constant thirst for innovation are key to ensure that your company would stay
relevant.” She adds.
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| James and Rachel as husband and wife |
Rachel recently got hitched with PhilYes Chief Technology
Officer, James Gatlabayan. She said her union with James, was a well thought-of
decision because they are working for the same company. “Our consideration
mainly is who will be the boss moving forward.” Rachel says, followed by big
laughs. “But James knows me inside-out, and I’m really sure there will be no
conflict at work because I married my best friend who knows my deepest passions
in life. We share the same interest and advocacies and it was just meant to be
that he will be my partner for life.” Rachel adds.
At 29, Rachel is just starting to achieve her dreams
in life: pursuing her eCommerce advocacy for business owners and the same time
building her own family. We would hear more from her as her journey has just
started.
For more information, visit www.philyes.com or send email to info@philyes.com and support@philyes.com. You may also reach them via facebook at https://www.facebook.com/philyes/.
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