forwarding is totally
different
Andrew Jillings E-COMMERCE
origin locations will require
additional space and resources
to perform value-added tasks,
such as extra screening or
repackaging.”
Tigers makes the leap
Andrew Jillings, Chief
Executive of Hong Kongbased
forwarding and logistics
fi rm Tigers, reckons that
e-commerce forwarding
is “totally different” from
traditional freight. Tigers does
in fact get involved in last mile
logistics, which can involve
delivering to private homes or
blocks of fl ats, for those of its
customers that don’t have an
existing contract with another
fi nal mile delivery operator.
The fact that the majority
shareholder in Tigers is
the French postal operator
Geopost gives a clue to Tigers’
business model. While the
relationship is hands-off,
the involvement of one
of Europe’s biggest postal
organisations perhaps gives
Tigers more of a last mile
... e-commerce
traditional airfreight are now
gaining larger shares.
The new requirements
What new requirements has
e-commerce brought as far as
the freight forwarder, handler
or airline is concerned?
Lau explains: “The
sector is using the latest
technology, including track
and trace functions, to meet
the customer’s expectation;
delivery and visibility are seen
as part of the product. For
most commodities, we believe
that the desire of e-commerce
vendors to control shipping
costs will continue to drive
consolidation of traffi c up
to the latest possible point
– that is, the fulfi lment
centre; and that will preserve
traditional airfreight’s role
in the e-commerce supply
chain. Traditional airfreight
has used various technologies,
including track and trace
functions, but these were
previously applied on a B2B
basis. However, all air cargo
players are now catching
up and can provide greater
visibility and connectivity
between elements of the
supply chain, which will assist
e-tailers and their suppliers
to manage supply chains and
stocks more effectively.”
E-commerce does have
implications for the physical
design of airports, warehouses
or handling sheds, Lau
believes. It introduces
new, sometimes small and
unknown shippers with
limited knowledge of correct
packaging and procedures.
“While Hactl and Hacis have
been taking steps to educate
shippers and their agents
about their responsibilities,
there is little doubt that cargo
terminals in e-commerce
some cutting-edge online
fi rms, many of whom have
started out as e-commerce
retailers, as opposed to
traditional bricks and mortar
chains that have tried to add
online as an adjunct to their
existing activity. What Tigers
has done, relates Jillings, is to
create an enterprise solution
that includes B2B, B2C and
e-retailing.
It’s also unusual among
logistics and forwarding fi rms
in that it offers the ability
to trade online to those of
its customers that require it.
Not all fi rms want to use a
giant platform like Amazon
or Alibaba, or at least not
exclusively, preferring to take
a more independent approach
to their online presence.
Operating independently
of the giant platforms can
mean larger profi t margins
and allows a more “boutique”
approach. Tigers can also
provide fi scal representation in
overseas territories.
Individualism
Vice President of Marketing at
SEKO Logistics, Brian Bourke
believes that while some of
the processes involved in
e-commerce are not new –
home delivery, after all is
as old as the industry itself
– it has led to “a complete
redesign of the supply chain”,
in his words. It has, for
example, prompted an upsurge
in individual shipments
moving across borders.
Retailers have also had a
complete rethink of their
warehousing operations: on
the one hand, not everyone
now holds stock in the
country of consumption whilst
on the other, there has been
an upsurge in warehousing
in the middle of urban areas,
The sector is
using the latest
technology,
including track and
trace functions
Vivien Lau
focus than most other freight
forwarders.
Jillings points out that
all its facilities around the
world are omni-channel, able
to handle both e-commerce
and traditional freight. The
warehouses are typically
racked out with picking areas
for e-commerce within easy
reach at ground level, and
with traditional racking above.
But it’s the invisible aspect
of the operation that is the
clever bit, he points out.
The new SmartHub:Connect
system offers visibility across
all aspects of the operation,
meaning that there is no need
to split off e-commerce from
other freight activity, which is
possibly unique.
And while it is by no means
the world’s biggest deliverer
of e-commerce, with a volume
of perhaps 11-12m parcels a
year, Tigers does work with
26 February 2019 www.airlogisticsinternational.com
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