Logistics technology company Shippit has announced its expansion into Malaysia, as well as new partnerships with regional-serving courier Ninja Van. Shippit’s latest announcement marks its second Southeast Asian market expansion in just two months as it continues its growth in the region.
Lavneesh Arora, Director of Market Development at Shippit, said, “Malaysia is experiencing a surge in online retail transactions, which started when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented earlier this year to curb the spread of Covid-19. While this is a great opportunity, this brings another challenge to the fast-growing e-Commerce market, as many have not been able to adapt, causing delays and negative customer experiences.”
Through Shippit’s expansion into Malaysia, the logistics tech startup plans to tap into Malaysia’s e-commerce market, focusing on improving delivery experiences for end customers and helping local online businesses grow by offering more delivery options to customers at the check-out whilst streamlining how they fulfil their orders.
Shippit’s platform makes Ninja Van’s Cash on Delivery capabilities easily accessible to online businesses of all sizes, allowing them to drive their growth amongst unbanked and underbanked populations in Malaysia and throughout Southeast Asia.
Shippit’s new partnership will enable the regional courier to expand its market reach with Small to Medium business in Malaysia, deepening Ninja Van’s e-Commerce presence. As Shippit aims to support e-Commerce growth across the region, simplifying access to Ninja Van’s delivery services and Cash On Delivery capability through Shippit’s platform will be hugely beneficial to growing online businesses.
Speaking on their partnership, Adzim Halim, chief executive officer of Ninja Van Malaysia, said, “We’re excited to be collaborating with Shippit as they step foot into the Malaysian market. With more people shopping online nowadays, we understand that great e-Commerce experiences need to be paired with great shipping options. As a tech-enabled express logistics company, we will be working hand-in-hand with Shippit to liberate businesses from logistical pain points, allowing them to focus on growing their businesses.”
Although Malaysians are generally digitally-savvy with an internet penetration of 80.1 percent and mobile commerce accounting for 47 percent of the total e-Commerce market, only 45 percent of the population is fully banked. There are currently a total of 12 million people in Malaysia that are underbanked and unbanked, with a preference for cash payments.
Adzim added, “Through our partnership with Shippit, we will be offering Malaysians the option of Cash On Delivery (COD), thus opening up another payment method to the underbanked end customers, and allowing e-Commerce merchants to reach a previously untapped segment of the market. This is in line with our commitment to provide all customers a convenient and hassle-free delivery experience, through one delightful delivery at a time.”
Founded in 2014 in Australia, the logistics Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company has raised almost US$10 million, led by Asian investment firm Aura Group. By using automation and machine learning to simplify the order fulfilment process, Shippit serves more than 6,000 customers a month across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, powering delivery for Sephora and CottonOn, among thousands of other leading retailers. It recently announced the launch of its Southeast Asian headquarters in Singapore, partnering with Shopify regionally and SingPost in Singapore.
With 83 percent of its population making purchases online, Malaysia has the highest percentage of digital customers in the region, and an e-commerce market valued at approximately US$4 billion in 2020. This figure is expected to more than double to US$8.1 billion in 4 years, making Malaysia one of the largest and fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia.
Shippit is also set on improving retail logistics in countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. To accelerate its growth ambitions across Southeast Asia during the e-commerce boom, Shippit is evaluating a potential capital raise before the end of 2020, where it would look to raise in excess of RM30 million.
