New Normal Frontliners. The logistics and delivery sectors are at the forefront of enabling the country’s transition to a digitized future today.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the logistics sector remains much valued as it is the vital link that transports essential goods and critical medical equipment during the quarantine.

Nicky Gozon, director of Entrego Express Corporation, has observed that logistics and courier services, more than ever, play a critical role in spite of the crisis hurdling business operations.

“We started delivering essentials even at the height of the lockdown because logistics and courier service play a very important role in ensuring that the links of the supply chain are not broken. We need to ensure that all of the lines within the whole industry feeds everything,” he shared in a BUSINESSWORLD INSIGHTS forum last May.

Now, as most of the country transitions to a more relaxed quarantine measure, logistics and courier service are seen to be at the forefront of enabling the “new normal.”

The demand for logistics and courier services have increased, Mr. Gozon noted. The sudden change in consumption habits during the quarantine has pushed this increased demand.

While the pandemic has altered people’s consumption, it has also given way for contactless environments, as seen in the uptrend in work-from-home arrangements, contactless delivery transactions, and digital payments. “The increase in demand needs to be complemented by an increase in capacity with new health and hygiene standards in place,” Mr. Gozon added.

From Click to Brick. An important aspect of e-commerce is a robust on-ground network of logistics fulfillment that will allow them to reach customers anywhere in the Philippines.

Furthermore, as consumption habits have changed and contactless environments have been set in place, the shift from traditional retail to e-commerce has accelerated.

While e-commerce has already been booming before COVID-19, its potential has been further unleashed at a time when most brick-and-mortar stores remained closed during the quarantine to curtail the spread of the virus. Many experts have observed e-commerce’s reemergence both globally and locally.

On a global scale, American management consulting firm Bain & Company observed that demand in the e-commerce world has skyrocketed during the peak of the crisis, looking forward to its continued growth as consumers become used to buying online.

Here in the Philippines, e-commerce is expected to grow to five to six billion dollars within five years from one billion in 2019, according to Olivier Gergele, a partner in multinational professional services firm Ernest & Young Singapore.

Online shopping and marketing platforms will play a bigger role in the new normal, National Economic Development Authority Acting Secretary Karl Chua likewise noted, as businesses and consumers increase the use of electronic transactions like cashless payment system and other financial technology platforms.

Efficient logistics for a growing online market

With this observed presence and growth of e-commerce in the new normal, Mr. Gozon sees efficient logistics and courier services as enabler of e-commerce growth.

“Entrego is in a very important position in the new normal: bridging the online market to the end customers,” he said. “Our business is designed to connect the archipelago with our nationwide network.”

Entrego Express Corporation’s end-to-end fulfillment and logistics solutions serve not only e-commerce companies but also other industries including banking and finance, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, retail, automotive, fast-moving consumer goods, education, and construction.

Entrego Express Corporation serves business-to-customer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) needs of its clients with extensive value-added services. It also caters to domestic freight forwarding via air, land, and sea.

Entrego Express Corporation also offers a logistics solutions platform, myentregoaimed at enabling the country’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (msmes). This platform allows sellers and shippers to book their deliveries in a very convenient way.

In this new normal, Entrego Express Corporation is ready to empower businesses as they tap the potentials of e-commerce to reach a wider market. For Mr. Gozon, a fulfillment and logistics solution provider like Entrego Express Corporation serves as the other half of e-commerce. “With the fast growing market adoption towards e-commerce and a well-oiled logistics infrastructure, we will enable more businesses to grow,” he said.

For more information on Entrego Express Corporation and its services, visit https://www.entregoexpress.com.ph/.

Article from: https://www.bworldonline.com/enabling-businesses-in-the-more-digitized-new-normal/