Prashant Saran, Director of Operations for Amazon MENA, talks about the evolving customer expectations highlighting various challenges faced by UAE’s SMB community and the pivotal role played by Amazon in helping SMBs tackling these challenges
What customers expect from online delivery has changed drastically during the past year. What pressure will this put-on UAE’s SMB community?
In the current digital era, customer experience is key, and success in this era after a customer clicks buy is underpinned by reach and speed of delivery. When it comes to customer fulfillment and last mile delivery, established retail players have upped the game in terms of geographic reach, shorter delivery times and full visibility of their orders through tracking and 24×7 customer service. This has raised the bar of customer experience; and here is where the challenge lies for SMB players today.
As an example of this customer evolution, research by consulting firm Kearney revealed that 57% of GCC customers expect one hour or same day delivery. Establishing a successful delivery process that is capable of meeting today’s customer expectations requires scale and advanced operating models. For SMBs, this calls for investment in best-in-class logistics infrastructure, efficient last-mile delivery, and real-time customer service, creating several barriers for SMBS to compete in the new economy
With 2 out of 3 UAE customers shopping online more in 2020, what specific obstacles do SMBs face when delivering an exceptional customer experience from a logistics perspective?
The logistics landscape has swiftly evolved, and today there is no room for error. Customers expect a seamless experience from the moment they click buy and place their trust in your business. Late deliveries have a serious impact on customer loyalty, while delivery of the wrong items can permanently erode trust. Creating an exceptional customer delivery experience is critical to retain and grow your customer base.
The UAE Government is taking significant steps to support the ongoing digital acceleration and the country is ranked as the most advanced ecommerce market in MENA. However, despite a willingness to adapt to new trends, an industry report revealed that 92% of merchants in the UAE have concerns about shifting their business online or increasing online presence.
Often, small businesses do not have sufficient funds for this. Further, the lack of standard addressing systems and postal codes, coupled with inadequate technical skills hinders their success. The average cost of package delivery in UAE is higher than the global best practice, affecting speed and cost-effectiveness. Tackling these challenges alone is daunting. While the landscape has been quick to evolve, it is unrealistic for SMBs to be able to perfect their systems overnight. Therefore, outsourcing the fulfillment and last mile process to a well-established, third-party logistics provider is a practical alternative to ensure that SMBs continue to serve their customers and grow in this new landscape.
How does Amazon as a third-party logistics provider support the SMB community in tackling these challenges?
Amazon’s infrastructure and operational expertise galvanizes UAE’s SMB landscape in two clear ways. SMB sellers benefit from our reliable delivery and customer service, powered by the latest in logistics innovation. Second, we partner with local delivery companies that deliver thousands of packages on our behalf every day, supporting indirect job creation, knowledge sharing, and ultimately the growth of these players whom we call Delivery Service Partners (DSPs).
Our DSPs play an important role in helping us reach even remote areas because they know the lay of the land in their own cities, and understand the local addressing system. As we continue to grow and reach more locations, building our network of DSPs will be crucial to enabling us to continue to fulfill the delivery promise.
How does Amazon’s fulfillment and delivery network help SMB sellers in the UAE?
Our Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) programme allows SMB sellers to store their products at Amazon’s Fulfillment Centres. Once an order is placed, Amazon picks, packs and ships the order, provides customer service and manages returns on behalf of the sellers. A single user-friendly interface provides SMBs direct access Amazon’s world-class fulfillment capabilities, while freeing up their time to focus on other areas of the business. Delivery Stations that receive goods from the Fulfillment Centres and ship them to end customers represent the last mile of the delivery network that helps SMB sellers to reach a wider customer base and tap into new geographies.
Today, services like same day and next day delivery, provided by Amazon Prime are now achievable for small businesses – something that would be extremely difficult to achieve without the scale and infrastructure of a third-party logistics provider.
We believe that customers have busy lives and package delivery should be easy and convenient. This is why we are always innovating, so we can deliver what customers need—when, where, and how they want it. Our bespoke services such as Cash on Delivery, Same and Next-Day Delivery, are built for customer convenience.
We leverage innovative technology to maximize efficiency on the road, provide guidance to drivers on delivery routes and reduce delivery times by placing delivery stations and other pick up points close to large customer populations. Sellers as well as DSPs can rely on Amazon’s decades of process improvement and innovation, that facilitate faster and more deliveries.
