Citing ‘tremendous growth’ of e-commerce, Locad launches shipping platform for SMEs

Spurred by the “tremendous growth” of e-commerce, as seen from online mega sales generating several billions’ worth of transactions, cloud logistics provider Locad launched a shipping solution that allows small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to manage multiple couriers and deliveries.

“Through the shipping platform, SMEs who are banking on the strong growth of e-commerce, especially this coming holiday season, will be able to tap Locad’s wide third-party logistics integrations,” said the company in a statement.

Constantin Robertz, Locad’s co-founder and chief executive officer, recently told ANC that the estimated sales coming from 12.12 this year is P15 billion in total, reflecting the exponential growth of the Philippine e-commerce industry in the pandemic.

“I think Philippine e-commerce has seen a tremendous growth spurt, with industry estimates at $12 billion or P600 billion for total [in] 2021,” he told ANC. “12.12, as well as 11.11, are big drivers of that where we see up to 10x growth versus normal day.”

After a successful beta run with Kumu and Havaianas this year, Locad’s modular service is piloting in the Philippines, with indefinite plans of expanding to the rest of Asia Pacific.

This iteration aggregates trusted third-party logistics providers (3PL) such as NinjaVan, J&T Express, DHL, Entrego, XDE, LBC, and Lalamove, among others.

The platform also enables direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce brands to access various delivery options, from same-day delivery to affordable day-definite shipping. This should ease the challenge of “managing multiple platforms,” according to Locad.

Citing the 2021 e-Conomy SEA report by Bain & Company, Google, and Temasek, Locad pointed out that 95% of consumers will continue to use at least one digital service even after the pandemic, with 7 out of 10 rating delivery as the most important factor in online shopping.

The holidays are expected to “drive the rising demand in 3PL services, which further supports the need for efficient shipping management.” — B. H. Lacsamana