WORLD MAIL & EXPRESS Returns to Asia Pacific
After an absence of several years, Triangle is delighted to announce that the World Mail & Express Conference and Exhibition is returning to Asia Pacific this year. It is something our sponsors, exhibitors and regular delegates have long been asking for, and we are honoured that Singapore Post, undoubtedly one of the leaders in mail, express and logistics in the region, is our host sponsor. The dates for your diary are 26th to 28th June 2012. The venue will be Marina Bay Sands.
The review featured Asia Pacific a few issues ago, and contrasted the vitality and optimism of the region with the less buoyant economic projections from other parts of the world. Whilst there have been some signs of a slowdown since then, as the region's key export markets in North America and Europe comes under pressure, even the downscaled growth projections for AsPac in2012 are still way better than anything in the "developed" world.
The Action is Around E-commerce
Perhaps unsurprisingly, e-commerce dominates the industry headlines in Asia Pacific as it does in the rest of the mail and express sector. As the manufacturing hub of the world, China and its neighbours make a huge proportion of the goods bought on line by consumers accessing local retailers in their home countries. This in itself generates major logistics opportunities.
But, beyond that, there is a move towards cross border online buying which is having a huge impact. Not just cross border within the region, Hong Kong selling to mainland China for instance, but online purchasers globally accessing AsPac sellers directly.
As a result, posts around the world are establishing closer relationships with their Asia Pacific partners. USPS has been one of the leaders in this development. It has signed agreements with a number of posts, including those in China, Hong Kong and Singapore, to offer 'ePac' lightweight tracked parcels services aimed at internet based retailers in the region that want to sell to consumers in the United States.
EBay is a partner to these agreements as it pursues rapid growth in the region. In August last year it predicted shipping more than 140m parcels from Asia in 2011, rising to 200m in 2012. The top five eBay exporters were China, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Korea. It has also created a similar type of alliance with Japan Post, including plans for a new support service helping Japanese merchants market overseas in English, the lack of which is seen as a major barrier to growth.
In another development, Europe's bpost has signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese e-commerce platform Trade2CN, with the intention of using bpost's capabilities in shipping, logistics and customs to facilitate Trade2CN's medium sized e-tailors selling into Europe.
Posts are also becoming very active in promoting e-commerce to domestic and regional consumers. Singapore Post has launched its high-end Clout Shoppe and Malaysia Post has introduced its user friendly Postme.com.my website which is making internet shopping much more accessible to Malaysian consumers.
Other Developments
In the wider parcels and express market the global integrators continue to focus on Asia Pacific, and have been making huge investments in the region. They are also pursuing alliances and partnerships with national posts as part of their own drive to get a better foothold in B2C to complement their traditional strengths in B2B. That said, many of them have been experiencing short term pain, as James Cartledge explains elsewhere in this issue.
China has just announced plans to reform its huge courier and express delivery market, where there is a big gap in standards between the global players and the many, typically family owned, local courier companies.
Posts throughout the region continue to develop their retail networks, and to expand the range of services on offer. Australia Post is one of the leaders, working on a 'post office of the future' with more services and expanded access. The plan is for outlets with a dedicated area for online traders, a travel service zone, and a private lounge where customers can complete more complex financial and identity services transactions. There will also be a 24/7 zone where customers can send and pick up parcels at any time, plus vending machines for stamps, packaging materials and the like. The first of these new look stores will be opened in Brisbane.
It seems that acquisitions are still very much on the agenda for some posts. Here is just a flavour of Singapore Post's activities as an example. It has taken complete control of DataPost, the Singapore based printing and mailing business; bought a stake in Postea, a technology solutions provider; invested in Efficient E-solutions, a Malaysia based data processing company; and purchased a 20% stake in Shenzhen 4PX express, a cross-border online delivery firm, and 30% of Vietnamese logistics firm ITL.
As a counter to all these positive developments, it is as well to remember that the industry has had to deal with more than its fair share of natural disasters in countries such as Japan, Thailand, and New Zealand.
'Industry Innovation: Delivering Economic Leadership'
With everything that is going on, it is not difficult to see why innovation and leadership are two of the key words that define our theme for the 2012 Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition.
In the opening session of the conference, top level CEOs from posts and express operators will share with us 'The Big Picture'. This will be followed by plenary sessions focussed on e-commerce, logistics and developments in technology. We believe that World Mail & Express in Singapore in June will be an outstanding event. Do join us. |
