Global reach is critical
• Customers also expect one-stop solutions in digital world
Accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing global connectivity and the consequent growth of digital marketplaces, global crossborder and domestic e-commerce has experienced significant growth in recent years.
Online shopping increased 77% year on year in SA in the early part of the pandemic, accelerating the innovation and adoption of digital commerce by half a decade. Shopping, working and socialising online became commonplace. According to a report by eMarketer, global cross-border ecommerce sales reached $4.28-trillion in 2020, a 27% year-over-year growth.
The ability of the last mile couriers to adapt to this new normal has been critical to their success. The transformation is underpinned by a changing demographic with millennials increasingly fulfilling decisionmaking roles and expecting mobility and choice on last mile deliveries. This calls for innovation and because supply and demand are no longer necessarily housed within the same country, global solutions and reach both globally and intra-country are critical in providing one-stop solutions to a demanding audience.
By way of example, the complexities post-Brexit for UK-based e-commerce companies into the European market varies vastly from those in SA, the latter characterised by its own unique set of wellpublicised challenges. Yet, there remains a common thread of traditional logistic principles that require optimisation. These include scale to leverage supplier pricing which translates into affordable services, bi-directional load balancing on international lanes and global presence to provide control in delivering a seamless, visible service to end consumers.
Tommy Erasmus, group CEO of SkyNet Worldwide Express, explains that “SkyNet found itself in an ideal position to react to this changing environment in that we had access to a global network of SkyNet branches with strong domestic networks and global coverage combined with an entrepreneurial agility to adapt quickly. An example of this agility was providing solutions to UK-based SMEs where access to the European market had become difficult due to the introduction of onerous crossborder vat and duty processes post-Brexit.
“By partnering with Eurora, a company geared to providing seamless translation of product description into legally required Harmonised System (HS) codes combined with giving SMEs access to Import One Stop Shop import validation not readily available to smaller exporters, we have been able to restore market access and competitiveness for these SMEs.
“The automated solution is not only available to UK customers but to all customers globally including South African exporters into Europe and anywhere else in the world. The ability to communicate in advance to the end consumer the full array of traditionally hidden VAT and duties payable on import, and enable payment upfront, not only reduced costs for the consumer but provides a seamless and accelerated clearing and delivery process on arrival in the import country of delivery.”
SA, however, needed different solutions in this space. SkyNet has responded to the need for improved security by partnering with security company Fidelity to deliver high value items in cash-in-transit vehicles.
As the e-commerce space evolves and matures, a critical element has become the speed of delivery. Consumers have become increasingly accustomed to delivery of their online purchases often within minutes rather than days. Driven primarily by the grocery sector, this expectation, together with the visibility in delivery tracking on a real time, live basis is fast becoming an expectation within other e-commerce sectors. Locally grown online courier companies such as Droppa are offering their mobile techdriven on-demand services to corporate SA with ambitions to expand internationally following their partnership with couriers such as SkyNet.
Their ability to have hyper local presence within suburban metropolitans gives them access to consumers within minutes at an affordable price point. This space within the logistics world is paving the way to what no doubt will become the new norm.
“As a South African company with an aggressive acquisition strategy and investment into new mobile technology companies such as Droppa, we are confident that we can rival and improve on any global competitor’s e-commerce offering,” says Erasmus.