E-commerce fulfillment in APAC: maximize your sales with professional logistics

“These are really exciting times for e-commerce in APAC!” says Thorsten Mendel Ott, Head of DHL Fulfillment Network APAC. “E-commerce in Australia is back on a healthy uptilt after the Covid boom, with revenue growth from 2024 to 2028 forecast at 37%. And taking Asia as a whole, predicted revenue growth is even higher for the same period: 42.7%”
(Source: ECDB).

Revenue growth in Southeast Asia in particular is expected to more than double from US$170,010 m in 2024 to an enormous US$362,029 m in 2029 (Source: ECDB). “We’re already seeing a huge boom in Southeast Asia, which is because of, and being intensified by, population growth and increasing consumer wealth,” continues Thorsten.

“What’s also really noteworthy about our region is how diverse it is,” notes Thorsten. “There is of course huge cultural diversity, which gives rise to certain consumer choices in terms of products, spend, buying patterns etc. But the other big difference is the prevalence of marketplaces. There are of course dot com websites out there – where you can buy directly from brands – but the main buying platforms, certainly for Southeast Asia, are e-commerce marketplaces, for example TikTok Shop, Shopee and Lazada. It’s through these marketplaces that the majority of e-commerce sales take place. So, essentially, e-commerce in APAC spans large global corporates, right through to Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).”

Marketplaces are a great enabler of trade, allowing brands to become established and successful without the need for their own e-commerce website. Thorsten points out a key feature of them: “Usually marketplaces operate on the basis that fulfillment takes place in country. In other words, instead of shipping cross border, retailers using their platforms store inventory in each country in which they are selling. It might sound like this approach creates multiple workstreams, however for a good fulfillment provider that operates in multiple countries, once they have the retailer’s ‘credentials’ on one of these platforms, they should be able to plug this into their systems and start warehousing and fulfillment in a new country for that retailer.”

“We see high sales in a few key sectors,” says Thorsten. 

Across all these sectors and others, we see both new existing brands growing and broadening their product offerings, aided hugely by e-commerce solutions that take any challenges out of reaching consumers.”

“I regularly hear that brands can feel torn between on the one hand grasping opportunities for growth, yet on the other hand wondering how to make a success of it. After all, APAC is the market with the biggest geographical spread, and trying something new can seem like a hill to climb,” notes Thorsten.

“My advice is to find a fulfillment provider who can offer you flexibility and scalability. You want to trial a new product in a new country? You want to offer a bundle for Black Friday? But you want to scale back afterwards? Fine!” Thorsten exclaims. “What you need to do is work with an e-commerce provider that gives you the flexibility to scale up and down.

“I also recommend finding a provider that’s courier agnostic, meaning that they partner with third-party shippers in-country who have expertise in different locations or different types of goods.”

Thorsten goes on: “It’s also worth exploring with a provider what their onboarding process is like. Is the set-up likely to be protracted, or can integration happen easily?"

“Here’s where the buzz words come in!” laughs Thorsten. “The DHL Fulfillment Network is a one-stop shop for your e-commerce fulfillment. We’re world class. We’re a global logistics provider. Your goods can be dock-to-stock in 24 hours. Our onboarding process is plug-and-play. We give you visibility and transparency.

“We’re flexible, and scalable. All our customers, as standard, have access to our advanced inventory insights, so they can see stock levels in all locations, and use these to make key planning decisions.

“And we can contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions, which is something millennials are increasingly demanding of brands: we have so many warehouse locations globally that customers can store their goods close to their final destinations, reducing transport emissions (and also costs).”

Thorsten gives an example of a happy customer: “One of our clients is a major global player in the leisure/sport sector. They’re a European brand, selling in APAC but wishing to really ramp up their sales in the region, in response to demand. We have become really trusted advisors to this company and, as a result, our fulfillment services cover their sales in 10 APAC countries. Because we’ve made it so easy for them to scale up, they only have 4 or 5 people in head office responsible for logistics. One of them said to me: ‘We’ve grown a network, but we haven’t grown in complexity.’ I take this as a big win for both us and them!”

Thorsten has observed that very many businesses in APAC are SMEs – family businesses who are very close to their customers and very passionate about their products. “This spirit is really reflected in the DHL Fulfillment Network’s team here in APAC. They’re amazing and I want to give them a shout-out!” says Thorsten. “People make the difference. We and our customers share a very entrepreneurial spirit. We are also really transparent with our customers, meaning we can iron out any pain points and create a trusted environment for everyone.”

Talk to our in-country experts today. If you are shipping 1,500 parcels a month and upwards, then leave the e-commerce fulfillment solutions to us while you concentrate on what you’re best at!