HÀ NỘI – Express delivery and fulfilment services do not yet meet the requirements of the fast development e-commerce sector in Việt Nam.

At least 24.9 per cent of online purchasers complain about the express delivery services while 48 per cent of clients refuse to buy goods from e-commerce business, citing late delivery as the reason, according to Lương Tú Anh, director of Mắt Bão Corporation.

Lương Tú Anh made the observation at a seminar on ‘Fulfilment of Services’ in Hà Nội on October 24, organised by the Vietnam E-Commerce Association (VECOM) with a view to connecting express delivery companies with e-commerce firms.

Speaking at the seminar, Nguyễn Thanh Hưng, Chairman of VECOM, said a survey carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that of the 50 million estimated internet users in the country, about three-quarters shop online.

Clearly, that reflects the great potential that e-commerce has in Việt Nam.

However, Hưng underlined that the e-commerce sector as of now was experiencing great difficulty in meeting buyers’ expectations.

Many customers had returned products as these were delivered too late, and customers were by that time no more interested in them.

Hưng said express delivery and fulfilment services act as catalysts for the development of e-commerce. Hưng said express delivery services did not keep pace with the e-commerce trend, leading to a large ratio of consumers being dissatisfied with the quality of the services.

Hán Văn Lợi, director of Boxme, said in Thailand, 99 per cent of Kerry Express’s purchase orders were delivered on time. Compared to it, in Việt Nam, average purchase orders were handed over to buyers after 5-7 days, and at times even after 10-15 days.

At the moment, very few e-commerce companies were using inventory management system in a professional manner and many businesses ended up losing goods without knowing about it.

Actually, when making a delivery, e-commerce businesses often resort to methods such as using their employees or hiring shippers.

They want to hire shippers from professional delivery companies to cut their transport costs and expense on human training and to minimise risks involved in delivery.

Foreign direct investment companies in Việt Nam have plans to rent human resources from other companies, said Anh.

According to Hưng, e-commerce companies should do their best by coming up with ideas and implementing technology applications and waiting just till online buyers decide to click that basket of goods.

Once that happens, these companies should try their level best to outsource by hiring services from different companies such as warehouse, packing, shipping and other related services.

However, he noted that if they rent all the services, they may fail to do business at all. E-commerce businesses should be smart enough to decide what components they needed to rent in order to use resources in the most effective way.

Currently, some businesses have been shifting traditional delivery services to fulfilment services, including delivery, packing and shipping. However, e-commerce companies should be fully aware of the risks, including disputes, damaged goods and counterfeit goods, to take appropriate steps, said Hưng. -- VNS