Indonesia is the first country where Ninja Easy is launched, but Ninja Xpress is also looking at Thailand as their next target
Ninja Xpress Country Director Indra Wiralaksmana (left) with Ninja Easy users Michelle Worth (Mermaid Inc.) and Ria Miranda (Ria Miranda)
Ninja Xpress (the Indonesia branch of Singapore-based logistics startup Ninja Van) today launched a new mobile app called Ninja Easy in Central Jakarta.
The app targets small enterprises in Indonesia that operates their business via social media, with the aim to to provide “easier” logistical experience for them.
Instead of registering their shops on online B2C or C2C marketplaces, many small enterprises in Indonesia are using popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram as their primary or even sole online presence.
A typical interaction between sellers and potential buyers usually began with sellers posting photos of their products on Instagram or Facebook, completed with contact details.
Potential buyers will then contact sellers via messenger apps such as Whatsapp, LINE, or BBM to ask details about the product, manually calculate shipping fee, and send proof of payment before the product is being shipped to the buyer.
Ninja Easy wants to shorten this process by enabling sellers to upload details about their product on its platform, and generate a link that they can share to potential buyers.
The link includes detailed information about the products and a feature to calculate shipping fee through Ninja Xpress service. Buyers can directly hit purchase and track the shipping process real time.
Ninja Easy also has subsidised on-demand pick up service for sellers, and facilitate them with real-time tracking and cash-on-delivery payment option.
To use the Ninja Easy service, buyers do not need to download the app, but Ninja Xpress already has a long term plan for the app.
“When we are talking about visions for the future, [we want] Ninja Easy to be used by both sellers and buyers. As a seller, once you have collected the money from your buyer through COD, then there will be some balance left on your account in the platform. You can use this to shop from other social commerce. But things like this need to be implemented gradually,” explained Indra Wiralaksmana, Ninja Xpress Country Head, at the media briefing.
Indonesia is the first market where the service is launched, with Thailand following up soon as the country is also familiar with social media-based small enterprises.
Social commerce in Indonesia is expected to grow from US$5 million to US$10.1 million by 2020, according to data by CSLA.
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Jumping into the market
Available in seven countries, the company entered the Indonesian market in 2016.
In the past six months, the company claimed to have covered 35 cities, with its fleet having had grown four times since its launch.
It also has launched 53 Ninja Points (a counter for users to drop packages to be sent) in Greater Jakarta Area, Bandung, and Surabaya.
Running a logistics business in Indonesia brings its own challenges. While Wiralaksmana said that some are beyond the company’s capacity, such as the country’s infrastructure, Ninja Xpress has been focussing on building solutions for those that are within their capacity.
“For example, doing [e-commerce] business by implementing COD is actually a very risky move. There is a point in the process where the courier has to pick up cash from users, and there is also the reconciliation process, and the process of returning the funds to the seller. Our system is sufficient enough to conduct this process smoothly, even big e-commerce players have acknowledged our strength in this,” he said, citing Tokopedia, Lazada, and Blibli as some of the company’s users.
“These are the things that we see as an opportunity in this market,” he closed.
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