BE International: Modernizing direct selling globally with Cloud and AI
Supported 10x-plus increases in app traffic during marketing campaigns with no performance impact
Enabled the organization to enter a new market and build its business without a physical presence
Improved productivity with immediate responses to internal workplace queries
Enabled intelligent, personalized responses to members and prospects 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Reduced and streamlined recruitment processes
BE International, a Malaysian direct-sales business, chose Google Cloud's scalable infrastructure and AI services to enhance member experiences, expand into new markets, and improve operational efficiency. Implementation of an AI-powered digital assistant supported 10x traffic growth, improved productivity, and drove seamless entry into new markets.
BE International, a Malaysian direct-sales business, chose Google Cloud's scalable infrastructure and AI services to enhance member experiences, expand into new markets, and improve operational efficiency. Implementation of an AI-powered digital assistant supported 10x traffic growth, improved productivity, and drove seamless entry into new markets.
We found Google Cloud met our primary requirement for cost-effective scalability, while providing the security and robustness to support our operations.
Ir Lee Suet Sen
Founder, President, and Group Managing Director, BE International Marketing
Multinational ecommerce platforms and generational changes in consumer behaviors pose a challenge to organizations selling products directly to their members. For Malaysia-based BE International, an agile infrastructure and AI-powered services from Google Cloud are helping them respond with improved member experiences, more efficient operations, and growth into new markets.
Established in 2017, BE International sells health and wellbeing products ranging from health supplements to beauty products and far-infrared-equipped apparel from Japan.
Having started with 20 employees, the team has grown to almost 200, with the business supported by 516,000 members, with operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Hong Kong, and Indonesia. Founder, President, and Group Managing Director Ir Lee Suet Sen ascribes the business’s growth to individuals’ increased awareness post-pandemic of the need to remain healthy.
From its inception, BE International has invested in technology to differentiate itself from the competition and meet member demand for efficient app-based ordering and fulfilment. This model enabled the business to grow during the pandemic when many direct-sales companies that relied on members visiting stores to collect or buy products struggled to adapt.
However, as BE International grew, its technology infrastructure couldn’t scale quickly and cost effectively to support demand. The business reviewed options to address the issue and evaluated Google Cloud against another cloud provider. “We found Google Cloud met our primary requirement for cost-effective scalability, while providing the security and robustness to support our operations,” said Lee.
The business then engaged Google Cloud Partner Matrix Connexion to deliver the project. “The partner was extremely cooperative and customer centric, which ensured the project proceeded smoothly and enabled us to quickly realize value from our new infrastructure, AI, and collaboration services,” said Lee.
Driving operational efficiency and innovation
BE International now uses a seamless ecosystem comprising infrastructure services including Google Kubernetes Engine, Google Workspace for productivity, and Gemini and Vertex AI for AI. “This helps us drive operational efficiency and innovation,” said Lee.
Using Google Cloud’s AI services, BE International has deployed a digital assistant, BE-GPT, to its website to respond to queries from distributors, members, and team members. During BE-GPT’s first three months, the business has added about 2,800 prompts per month to enable the assistant to respond effectively to questions about product knowledge or company background. “Our members and prospects can obtain personalized responses instantly, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, instead of searching our corporate website or calling our customer service agents,” said Lee. “This enhances our brand with stakeholders including our distributors and internal team members, and reduces the workload of our customer service agents, who can focus on addressing more complex queries.”
As a business, AI is our top priority for exploration and investment. This includes looking at further applications of Gemini and Vertex AI and upskilling our people to make better use of the technology.
Ir Lee Suet Sen
Founder, President, and Group Managing Director, BE International Marketing
Within BE International, Gemini for Google Workspace is driving a range of workplace productivity improvements. “Our team members use Gemini for Google Workspace across applications including Gmail, Drive, Meet, Sheets, and Docs,” explained Lee. “For example, today team members can simply ask Gemini how many days of leave they’re entitled to based on the number of years they have worked for the company, instead of searching for the relevant document within Drive and reading through it to locate the information. The response includes an accurate answer and the name of the relevant document.”
In recruitment, BE International team members use Gemini for Google Workspace to compare resumes and identify which candidate best meets the criteria of a job description. The tool provides the comparisons in table format, saving considerable time by enabling them to quickly eliminate those who are unqualified and progress viable candidates.
“As a business, AI is our top priority for exploration and investment,” said Lee. “This includes looking at further applications of Gemini and Vertex AI and upskilling our people to make better use of the technology.”
Delivering scalability to support demand peaks
With Google Cloud, we were able to activate our business in Indonesia during the pandemic when its borders were closed and none of our people were in the country. With that experience, we have the confidence to start our business anywhere at any time.
Ir Lee Suet Sen
Founder, President, and Group Managing Director, BE International Marketing
BE International now runs its workloads, including its app, on Google Cloud infrastructure, centered on Google Kubernetes Engine, which delivers the scalability and flexibility to support a growing business with fluctuating demand. “During marketing campaigns, visits to our app increase tenfold or more and Google Cloud provides the elasticity we need without any degradation of performance or availability,” said Lee. “During certain very hot campaigns, we will see a few million clicks within a 15-minute timeframe.” The cloud platform also enables the business to control costs and align them with resource consumption to assist with budgeting.
BE International also relies on Security Command Center to protect sensitive customer and corporate data, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “Having heard of a lot of breaches and vulnerabilities across the business community as a whole, Google Cloud’s threat detection, continuous red-teaming, cloud posture management, and built-in responses to security issues give us confidence our systems are well taken care of,” said Lee. “This enables us to focus on our core priorities of sales and member recruitment.”
With a resilient, high-performing cloud architecture, the business is well positioned to execute plans to enter another two to three countries in the next few years. “With Google Cloud, we were able to activate our business in Indonesia during the pandemic when its borders were closed and none of our people were in the country,” said Lee. “With that experience, we have the confidence to start our business anywhere at any time.”
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, BE International is a direct marketing and selling business with over 516,000 active members across the globe.
Industry: Retail
Location: Malaysia
Products: Gemini, Gemini for Google Workspace, Vertex AI, Google Kubernetes Engine, Google Workspace, Security Command Center
About Google Cloud Partner- Matrix Connexion
Matrix Connexion (MatrixC) has been a leading force in Malaysian cloud computing for over a decade. As a trusted Google Cloud Partner since 2008, they empower businesses of all sizes to achieve their goals through the power of the cloud. MatrixC is actively aligning itself with responsible AI practices and fostering community engagement.
