Indonesia’s ecommerce giants put rivalries aside to shape the future of the industry

Some of the biggest names in Indonesia’s ecommerce industry met yesterday to take stock of an upcoming government-produced ecommerce roadmap.

The content of the roadmap has been hinted at by Indonesia’s ITC minister, Rudiantara, on several occasions, but is not yet finalized. Rudiantara told the Jakarta Post that the regulatory framework is going to cover logistics services, payment gateways and tax, and is due to be finalized within the year.

First major meetup of industry and government

The industry-wide meetup was organized by idEA (the Indonesian Ecommerce Association). The association’s members are major players of the ecommerce industry such as Tokopedia and Zalora, as well as related industries like epayments and logistics.

Rudiantara attended the event and led the guests in an impromptu singing of the Indonesian national anthem before Daniel Tumiwa, idEA’s chairman, took to the microphone for his opening remarks.

“Ecommerce is now reaching a tipping point after a period of organic growth,” Tumiwa said. “It’s time to get back to the drawing board to lay out the rules.” Rudiantara added that his mission here was primarily to listen. “The smart people in the room are the industry players. But unfortunately, the government is the ones who signs the papers,” he joked.

What became obvious in the presentations is that the industry is united in its major pain points: the country’s poor infrastructure, the difficulty of epayments, and security.

Here are six topics brought up during the event that will likely find their way onto the ecommerce roadmap.

1. Infrastructure and border procedures

Indonesia’s infrastructure challenges cannot be solved by one company alone. The industry expects the government to take the lead. Insufficient digital infrastructure and the poor state of roads, seaports, and railroads were frequently bemoaned.

A representative from logistics service provider RPX pointed out the inefficient cross-border customs procedures. On this end, the government will have to commit to reforms and investments.