SINGAPORE (Sept 29): Southeast Asia is on the verge of a logistics "boom" thanks to e-commerce, but will require huge investment in cities and last-mile networks to cope, says Pierre Poignant, the man behind the systems that keep Alibaba-owned Lazada moving.
Poignant, chief operating officer, said the Singapore-based marketplace, for its part, would continue to bet on delivery and other partnerships as demand grows. It already works with more than 100 companies in delivery and cross-border logistics, from Ninjavan in Singapore to ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek in Jakarta.
But it will expand its footprint to cut costs and improve services, with smaller local hubs closer to customers, as well as a major warehouse it can use in Malaysia for goods that move less often. Lazada, with 130,000 merchants on its platform, has 14 warehouses and over 2 million sf of space - and plans to open another five to six warehouses next year. It also has 130 smaller distribution centres.
