Tracking Southeast Asia’s thriving ecommerce logistics

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Hi there,

Right after college, I worked for a large textile manufacturer in a city near Jakarta. What impressed me was that the company didn’t outsource its logistics warehousing services.

Handling logistics can be painful (financially and mentally), especially if you’re a smaller player trying to capture a slice of Southeast Asia’s booming ecommerce sector. Factoring in rising gas prices, even regional players like Lazada and Shopee, which have their own logistics arms, are struggling to keep logistics costs down.

According to Tech in Asia data, as of August, the total deal value for SEA’s ecommerce logistics and enablers this year stands at around US$494 million, which significantly lags the US$7.8 billion deal value in the space for the whole of 2021.

The funding winter might explain the slowdown but logistics is, despite all odds, still one of those must-watch backbone sectors. In this week’s Big Stories, my colleague, Jofie, explains the various business models of ecommerce logistics and enablers in Southeast Asia and the differences between them.

He also dives deeper into Ninja Van, specifically. In 2021, the Singapore-based company almost doubled its revenue while cutting its losses. What drove Ninja Van’s standout performance?

Meanwhile, for the Hot Take, I examine the implications of integrating WhatsApp and JioMart in India.

– Budi

THE BIG STORIES

1️⃣ The key ecommerce logistics players and enablers in SEA (update)

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Southeast Asia’s ecommerce logistics and enablers have raised funding recently amid tech winter and rising gas prices.

2️⃣ Ninja Van nearly doubles revenue in FYE 2021, while reducing losses

The Southeast Asian logistics unicorn’s revenue growth outpaced its cost of services, resulting in a healthier gross profit margin.

THE HOT TAKE

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW