Where is Asia’s Express Market going?

There’s only one way to go and that is UP. In 2007 we will see more new players entering the market as Asia’s economies continue to grow. Courier industry is characterized by high entry barriers. It needs huge investment in infrastructure and technology and there is intense competition in the industry. The market for courier industry can be divided into individual, corporate and small and medium enterprises. On the basis of type of delivery, it can also be divided into overnight delivery and same day delivery services.

Players planning to enter courier industry need to analyze their own strengths and weaknesses and analyze the external environment for various threats and opportunities posed by it. They should formulate marketing strategy based on this analysis. They should design effective marketing mix by offering superior services, pricing competitively, setting up extensive distribution network and promoting their services widely using various media. They should also take special care about people training, compensation, providing tangibility and enhancing their business processes. People Development and quality customer care will be essential, as customers will very easily switch when they encounter service failures. Unlike the financial services sector that practice ‘ below 40 years ‘recruitment policies, the express and logistics companies must retain and reward experienced talent. We in the industry recognize and appreciate the efforts of our senior colleagues who continue to contribute up to 60 years of age. At the same time most operators continue to bring in young talent to build our resources pool.

Courier companies are using information technology to enhance the quality of their customer service and obtain competitive edge. There are only a few global courier companies like Fed Ex, DHL, UPS and TNT and there is intense competition among them with each one trying to establish its superiority. In India, presently, DHL, Blue Dart and Elbee are the major players contributing to 70% of industry’s revenues. An interesting observation in the past three years , is that the big Four are now entering the domestic market, an area that they have been relatively weak in. This could also result to a backlash on their main core international businesss. Asia’s domestic courier market has always been the strength of the home-grown operators with intimate familiarity of the terrain.