Originally founded in Indonesia in 2015, J&T Express entered the Philippine market in 2019, taking advantage of the burgeoning growth of e-commerce – a sector that got a significant boost when COVID-19 restrictions meant many Filipinos bought their needs (and wants) online. We talked to vice president Zoe Chi about how they expanded amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic and what lies ahead for e-commerce in the country.
Are there unique challenges in the Philippine market that J&T has had to deal with when it entered the country?
One of the unique challenges we had to deal with is that [the Philippines] is composed of islands. Rather than studying about these markets from scratch, we built a strong regional team with roots in many of these areas so we can better understand the needs and dynamics of these areas. With such local insight, we were enabled to create a unique strategy for those hard-to-reach areas.
How did J&T cope with increased demand from online sellers and customers as the Philippines went into lockdown and physical stores were forced to close?
J&T Express Philippines contributed to the turnaround of the country’s micro-economy by providing lucrative opportunities and alternative means of income through delivery services small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) with limited or no logistics capacity, including thousands of new online businesses registered during the Covid-19 lockdown.
By 2021, J&T Express has 600 facilities nationwide with more branches in the works to achieve its goal of making direct deliveries to almost every province in the Philippines. The company’s investments in operational assets also grew by the thousands, ranging from trucks to motorbikes; service demand with trusted transport providers like Foton, Isuzu and Hino Motors Philippines also increased.
Instead of employee downsizing during the recession, J&T Express enforced health protocols to provide continuous livelihood for thousands of office, delivery, and warehouse personnel.
Logistics players have talked of challenges in finding and training its people, particularly in the last mile. Has this been a challenge for you?
Even though there are Filipino sellers and customers that have wonderful products and are very good at what they do, the digital economy has yet to reach a vast number of them. They represent a massive segment for the country’s potential growth, and we aim to help foster that future.
It’s no secret that the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of e-commerce, but what’s even more inspiring is the growth in transactions even outside of Manila, especially on double sales’ day. Profitability in the Philippine market is rapidly increasing as a result of more development in the regions, and we don’t see this momentum waning anytime soon.
How is J&T preparing for the continuing growth in e-commerce in the Philippines, which is anticipated to unfold in the coming years?
Aside from investing heavily in building a strong IT team and digital infrastructure, we’ve also focused on the software that provides customer relationship management. Using technology, we strive to be an extension of our client’s business, rather than simply a third-party service provider.
On another hand, we are maximizing our JMS system which not only allows us to create efficient communication bridges with our clients, but also allows us to create a wealth of data that shows us where we need to improve in terms of speed and bottlenecks. On the other hand, we give our VIP clients direct access to the dashboard, which gives them transparent real-time updates on their shipments.
What role does J&T see itself playing as the Philippines, and the rest of the region, recovers from the pandemic?
To promote more economic development in all of the regions, we’ve focused our business on developing a nation-wide network, resulting in more than 600 branches spanning the north to the south of the country, and many places in between. Through this direction, we aim to empower more Filipinos across the country so that they can take on the future with confidence.
With a safe and trustworthy partner like J&T Express, e-commerce can continue to boom and fuel our economy while acting as a platform for Filipino entrepreneurs.
Many logistics services look for existing markets and opportunities, so we chose to explore creating them. At J&T Express, our goal is that there will be no Filipino business or customer that is too far-flung or too hard-to-reach for the wave of e-commerce that is taking over.