A division of Deutsche Post DHL Group, DHL eCommerce focuses on providing e-commerce logistics solutions.
“Having launched the first DHL ServicePoints in December 2017, the company has been rapidly expanding its network towards the target of 1,000 outlets by the end of this year. We are on track and will team up with SE-ED book center and selected retail chains to further expand our footprint, providing more choices and convenience for sellers and buyers with extensive drop-off and pick-up locations,” he added.
The company launched DHL Parcel Metro earlier this year, a same-day delivery service for Greater Bangkok. Retailers can send parcels, weighing up to
20kg each, under a cut-off delivery time of 12 pm on the same day. It came as an addition to the existing next-day service across most parts of Thailand, and the two-to-three day delivery service to some rural areas.
“We will also introduce more SME-friendly services for small businesses, such as those needing less than 5 shipments a day. It will be mobile-friendly, with competitive and transparent pricings, without the need to open an account,” he added.
“Our upcountry pick-up capability enables Thai micro-SMEs, particularly those in the rural areas, to tap on e-commerce for an easy and convenient way to ship their parcels,” he said.
Kiattichai added that the company is very upbeat on the growth prospect of e-commerce in Thailand.
“2018 is an excellent year for us as we have seen very positive and encouraging growth in volumes and customers. Besides B2C (Business to Consumer), we have also been supporting B2B companies requiring domestic deliveries, including banks and retailers with multiple branches across the country.”
Last week, the Department of International Trade Promotion reported that the value of buy and sell transactions on the e-commerce channel totalled Bt2.8 trillion last year, due to greater
Internet accessibility and more people buying products from online platforms. Of the total, business-2-business e-commerce accounted for Bt1.67 trillion in value, business-2-consumer Bt812 billion, other kinds of e-commerce Bt324 billion. The e-commerce boom has led to continuous expansion of the logistic business with annual growth of 10 to 20 per cent, reaching Bt28 billion in value last year,according to department data.
Recently DHL eCommerce has enabled Kasemchaifood, one of Thailand’s major egg producers, to deliver fresh eggs directly to consumers within 24 hours by leveraging on DHL eCommerce’s nationwide delivery network in Thailand.
“Our team of e-commerce delivery experts are specially-trained to ensure they are able to handle all parcels with care and deliver a smile in the last mile – even for the most fragile item,” Kiattichai said.
DHL eCommerce has also worked with Kasemchaifood to design and test shipping packages with protective and shock-resistant packaging. It has also enabled a last-mile delivery technology platform for Kasemchaifood, making it possible for consumers to track their deliveries from farm to table.
He added that the e-commerce market is fairly new, still in its growth stage with many new players in a very competitive environment.
“However, quality is a huge issue and we are proud that our consistent quality remains to be the market-leading differentiator in e-commerce delivery. It is an excellent time to be in e-commerce and we are extremely excited to grow our service to become the market leader in e-commerce logistics,”.
“Innovation is a huge focus for DHL and we will continue to invest in small innovations (aimed at improving productivity) and big innovations (eg new business models) to digitize the logistics industry,”
“Our Innovation Centers in Singapore, Troisdorf in Germany and Chicago in the US are fully focused on developing, testing and rolling out new innovations such as Artificial Intelligence and we will do this with customer input to ensure we always provide value to them,” Kiattichai said.