AAI unit teams up with M Lhuillier

BLACK ARROW Express (BAE), the courier unit of total logistics solutions provider AAI Group of Companies, has partnered with non-bank financial services provider M Lhuiller (ML) to expand its customer reach.

In a statement, AAI Group said Black Arrow Express signed a memorandum of agreement with ML to allow consumers to drop off their packages and book them for shipment in any of the more than 2,000 ML branches nationwide.

ML is a national pawnshop network which has expanded to provide financial and remittance services nationwide.

“This latest BAE-ML partnership will likewise enable small businesses riding the e-commerce wave to ensure quick and timely delivery of their products to their customers,” AAI Group said.

Black Arrow Express offers clients “same day, next day” delivery fulfilment using its mixed fleet of motorcycles, vans and trucks. Its clients include Shopee, ABS-CBN TV Plus, Bench Online, among others.

Black Arrow Express is one of the key pillars of growth for AAI Group, which may sell a “meaningful minority” stake in the holding company to an investor this year to accelerate growth ahead of a proposed P5- billion initial public offering in 2020.

Proceeds from the share sale will enable Black Arrow Express to scale up and boost its share of revenues to 50% by 2020 when revenues would have ballooned to P12 billion from the current P2 billion.

Black Arrow Express has been operating for only 19 months, but now accounts for 30% of AAI Group’s business. Bulk of the revenues still comes from the traditional freight- forwarding business under AAI Worldwide, but company officials had said that is expected to change given the rapid growth of e-commerce.

Black Arrow Express reached its millionth delivery in July, with more than 97% of its volumes coming from e-commerce. It is on its way to hit the three millionth delivery milestone by the end of the year.

AAI Group offers the full range of logistics solutions from largesize and volume shipments, storage and handling, all the way to retail express delivery across the Philippines. —