THAILAND, Bangkok 2019 – At a recent event organized by CLMVT Cross Border Digital Trade, Mr. Santit Jirawongkraisorn, Managing Director, International Operations, of Lalamove, Thailand’s leading on-demand delivery service participated on a panel discussion. He appeared alongside by Ms. Gina Galvin, Managing Director of FedEx Express Thailand and Ms. Ariya Thongbai, Head of International Business Unit, Marketing and Business of Thailand Post Co., Ltd., Thailand, to speak on the topic of “Next Steps of CMLVT Cross-border Digital Trade Ecosystem: Logistics”.

The event focused on the outlook of the logistics market and Lalamove’s strategies in offering services that fit consumer demand. Mr. Santit spoke about the importance of building a trusting relationship with logistic partners for e-commerce businesses. Due to the region’s high demand for on-demand delivery services, the company is able to tap into opportunities and recognize inefficiencies in services that other businesses have yet to offer, such as document processing service and introducing a queuing service to purchase concert tickets in Manila. “Personally, I have experienced that some of the general services are inefficient. When I was launching in Manila, getting a postpaid mobile service required me to queue in line for 2 hours and that is the norm. So the queuing service is quite popular there,” shares Mr. Santit. Lalamove recognizes the differences in user behavior, culture, and business climate between Singapore, China, Thailand, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

The future of logistics providers lies in the ability to adjust to the fast-changing market dynamics and increasing demand as it makes up 10%-20% of Thailand’s GDP. On top of that, the government needs to take an active approach in terms of implementing regulations that will help support innovative startups in the private sector as well as transport infrastructure. Mr. Santit predicts that logistic services could one day become a commodity, where it is provided faster and cheaper.