MALAYSIAN e-commerce market has expanded significantly in recent years. Ninja Van Malaysia recently held a panel discussion on the trend and consumer preferences when it came to express logistics.
The event saw the participation of industry players like Signature Market, EasyStore and PayRecon.
Titled "Meeting Modern Consumer Demands", in addition to highlighting the current e-commerce developments, the session also sought to offer a comprehensive analysis of the approaches and tactics that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could use to grow in the digital economy.
Sharing his thoughts on the current e-commerce landscape, EasyStore head of marketing, Amirul Mokhtar, said businesses needed to have a multi-channel e-commerce strategy in order to sustain long-term growth as people no longer stick to one platform. They will instead browse various platforms in searching for the best deal.
"As the e-commerce landscape continues to expand, consumers now have more shopping options such as buying directly from an online brand's website, scrolling through TikTok or searching for a specific item on popular marketplaces. That's why establishing a multi-channel e-commerce strategy is a necessity to sustain a long-term growth," he said.
For an e-commerce enabler, PayRecon, having a well-developed end-to-end solution also plays an important role, especially for scaling-up.
Its founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Sean Chew, echoed Amirul's statement, especially since cross-border selling was developing well.
"There has been a steady growth of social sellers on TikTok Shop. With the rise in cross-border selling, we will continue to develop end-to-end software solutions to help sellers scale and run their businesses more efficiently," he said.
PayRecon provides a multi-channel selling system that empowers over 5,000 direct-to-consumer as well as well known brands to sell across different e-commerce marketplace platforms effortlessly. Among the companies Chew works with are CarloRino, Gintell, F.O.S., Camel Active and BilisBenta.
The hour-long discussion also explored the role of logistics business in ensuring that online marketplaces continue to thrive.
"Our goal is to enable SMEs growth by providing comprehensive logistics solutions that allow them to meet their consumers' needs and demands.
"At Ninja Van Malaysia, we are committed to enhance our products and services to help SMEs succeed," said Fariz Maswan, head of sales and partnership of Ninja Van Malaysia.
He said SMEs too must leverage digitalisation to increase efficiency, streamline processes and adapt to changing consumer behaviour more quickly.
Recollecting his experience working with Ninja Van, Signature Market's co-founder and CEO, Edwin Wang, shared that its decision to roll out next-day delivery initiative with the tech-enabled express logistics firm has benefited the company tremendously.
"The biggest breakthrough we had with Ninja Van was with our next-day delivery initiative. In the past, when customers ordered Signature Market products, it would take around 10 days to deliver.
"Now, at least 80 per cent of our customers are able to get their products the next day if they place their orders before noon," he said.
According to Wang, the new convenience enables customers to try the "freshly baked" experience offered by the Malaysia-based direct-to-consumer, e-commerce brand for healthy and natural products.
From an e-commerce enabler, logistics as well as an online store owner standpoint, being in a technology-driven environment where everything is on the fast lane, all parties need to work together.
No business can survive without a reliable delivery system, which relies on an effective end-to-end solution to ensure hiccup-free delivery, which won't exist if there is no demand.