BUSINESS PROFILE customers , conscious that this growing crossborder trade is a vital market driver and central to everyone ’ s future success .
What has your career looked like so far ?
I have been CEO of South Asia since March 2020 . I have worked in the postal and parcel industry for 20 years holding senior management roles in consultancy , sales , commercial and business development . After my first experience of the cross-border e-commerce market in 2009 with DHL , I joined DPD Group in 2012 to become the Business Director for DPD Global Solutions . I have built innovative cross-border B2C delivery solutions to help the largest e-commerce brands expand globally including for the Asian and US markets .
Today I oversee 60 employees in Asendia Singapore . We have also expanded the team in Europe to support the West-to-East Initiative . This team is dedicated to supporting European retailers who are looking to enter and grow into the APAC region .
What have been some of the business highlights from the last 12 months , such as the launch of West-to-East ?
We ’ re helping brands grasp the West-to-East e-commerce trading opportunity . Supporting this specifically , Asendia ’ s West-to-East initiative in Singapore provides a one-stop-shop for supply
chain fulfilment into the region , combined with essential ‘ digital enablement ’ services , such as social marketing and customer communication , required for Western brands to meet the expectations of digitally advanced audiences .
More and more brands in Europe are looking to this market for growth opportunities . There will be an increase in West-to-East imports of products driven by demand from young consumers in Malaysia , Indonesia and Cambodia , for example . But there are also opportunities for domestic brands that want to sell to wider audiences , in Southeast Asia and beyond to the US and the UK , Australia and India .
Asendia ’ s West-to-East initiative will help Western brands master country-specific online marketplaces , social commerce , localised payment , fulfilment and customer service communications .
What are some of the key challenges your end users are experiencing and how are you addressing these ?
The landscape for cross-border e-commerce has changed drastically over the last 12 months affected by the pandemic , as well new customs rules in the UK since Brexit , in the USA with Stop Act and Europe with IOSS . With these complications , it has become impossible for brands to operate their e-commerce from a single global distribution centre and this has created the requirement for regional warehouses .
Olivier Linchet , CEO South Asia Asendia
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