Innovation, Investment, Structure Upgrade Key Drivers In E-Commerce Growth-Expert

The Country Marketing Manager at UPS, Mr Morolayo Igeleke, has said that innovation, investment and structure upgrade are the key drivers needed to expand the e-commerce and the logistics industry in Nigeria.
Igeleke made the remark during the recent Jumia 10th Anniversary Celebration and panel discussion to boost the e-commerce industry at Victoria Island, Lagos.
He stated that the e-commerce brought alot of ease to Nigerian consumers and that it was because at a click of a button, they get their packages.
He, however, said what customers did not  know was that before getting their deliveries, the supply chain goes through a lot of rigors such as horrible road networks.
“Technology had to move at a very fast pace, people had to become more innovative by bringing more innovations, so that a package is delivered to the customer at the right time.
“We also had to get the right kind of drivers, training, logistic trucks, cars and people in the industry had to step up to ensure that there is no disruption in the supply chain of packages to consumers.
“To reduce some of this rigors, it is necessary that we look deeper and better into innovation, our investments and structures ,” he  said.
Similarly, the Country Manager at DHL, Mr Muyiwa Adeseyoju, noted  that startups in the e-commerce sector needed an enabling environment to establish their businesses.
Adeseyoju, informed  that setting up an e-commerce platform in Nigeria was really challenging, noting that things had improved quite a lot with the advent of platform like Konga, Jumia and some others.
He explained  that for new startups in the e-commerce industry, cyber security was another big challenge, adding that cyber criminals hack into their websites.

According to him, cyber criminals go as far as getting customer details, which can  lead to fraud issues.

The Country Manager said logistics was also another issue a new startup could face, because premium logistics were needed to get packages faster to consumers and they were very expensive.

“Payment on delivery is also hindering the growth of e-commerce in Nigeria. This is because the addressing system in the country is very poor.We usually go through several rigors to get to customers location. We urge the government to do something in that regard,” he said.

On his part,  the Managing Director of FMCG Distribution Ltd., Mr Gandhi Anandan, said improvement of services to customers was necessary for the growth of the e-commerce industry.

The theme of the panel discussion was, “The Promising Future of Nigeria’s Logistics Sector”.