As LazBeat turns one, we look back at the memorable stories from the past year that resonated most with our readers.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series, which looks at the professional and personal lives of Lazadians, has been a hit. One of our first and most popular stories is a profile of Thanh Doan in Vietnam, who joined Lazada when it was just a start-up in 2012 and built the FMCG category from scratch. Another popular profile was that of Pat Mallari, who became a life coach to help people pursue careers that aligned with their personal goals and passions – a path that led her to join the talent development team at Lazada.
The story of an innovative partnership between Lazada and one of Singapore’s most creative content companies SGAG that uses fun and trendy content to drive commerce, sales and push boundaries of Shoppertainment also garnered many positive responses. Similarly, readers were drawn to a LazBeat article on inmates finding second chances through an initiative by the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Corrections in Thailand. Through the initiative, inmates were able to sell their handicrafts on eCommerce platforms like Lazada to raise funds for occupational skills development as well as accumulate savings to rebuild their lives upon release.
Sugeng Wibowo’s story on how he found his second chance and success through digital commerce also touched the hearts of many readers. An Indonesian seller whose eyesight was compromised from an accident in his youth, Wibowo struggled to find a job, until his friend introduced him to Lazada. Today, Wibowo runs a successful business selling home décor and beddings, and was even able to sustain the livelihoods of his staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each story is poignant and inspiring in its own way. Collectively, the stories are significant in registering a larger narrative of the pivotal role that digital commerce plays in changing the retail landscape in Southeast Asia, especially the way we shop and the way we live. More importantly, they tell the stories of the people changing this landscape – the people who are powering a vibrant and dynamic digital economy in this brave new world.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“Everyone thinks the business of logistics is typically a man’s world. But in the six years that I have been working at Lazada Logistics, I have never once felt that being a woman was a hindrance to me in doing my work and doing my part to help the team.
I juggle a lot of hats. At home, I am a single mother to my two children, having been widowed five years ago when my husband unexpectedly passed away. I would say it was one of the toughest times of my life. But I make sure I do my best to give my children what they need to live simple but comfortable lives.
At work, I am a supervisor to my team. Similar to the support I give to my children, I make sure I give my team not only my guidance as their leader but also provide them with the support that they need to keep them motivated and inclined to go the extra mile.
During these times, it is quite difficult living the life of a logistics frontliner. I worry a lot about my team’s safety and well-being, and the daily struggles that we face due to the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic. But I also believe that as logistics frontliners, we play big roles in helping to shape the everyday lives of our fellow Filipinos.
Seeing how we can help a customer live his or her life as normally as possible makes everything all worthwhile. From providing the groceries homemakers need to feed the family to fulfilling orders for people to enable their home office set-ups or helping deliver furniture to new homeowners – these are the reasons I wake up every day, rain or shine, to come to work. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’m thankful that through the years, this job has given me an opportunity to learn and grow – both as a logistics professional and as a person.”
This profile was compiled by Mina Cunanan from the Lazada PR team in the Philippines.
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“The storm came on a morning when I had a lot of parcels to deliver. It was very sudden, the wind was extreme, and soon after, it rained heavily. Luckily, I had just delivered a parcel and was at a customer’s apartment building at that time so I was able to take shelter there. The wind was so strong and so loud that I did not realise that my motorbike had toppled over until I looked out and saw some parcels on the ground. I ran out to pick them up and tried to get my bike standing again. But the wind was so strong, it nearly blew me away! Other delivery riders ran out to help me, and residents on the upper floors also helped by directing us to items that had been blown a little further away so that we wouldn’t lose anything. What a day it was!
I had never thought I would be a delivery rider. Before the pandemic, my two brothers and I worked in the factories while my sister was a teacher. The fixed shifts at work made it difficult for me to take care of household matters. About six months ago, my father fell very ill, so I had to find a job with a more stable income but also more flexible working hours that would allow me to take care of him. That’s how I started working at Lazada Logistics.
A lot of people ask me if I’m afraid to deliver during the pandemic. Yes, of course, who is not scared? But I think love overcomes fear. Firstly, it’s my love for my family. When COVID-19 happened, my sister and brothers all lost their jobs. I became the sole breadwinner in my family of 10. So whether I’m tired or scared, I still choose to go to work. My family depends on me.
Secondly, it’s the love for our customers, who also depend on us. These include consumers who have to stay at home waiting for goods to be delivered and businesses who have gone online to try to survive. That is what motivates us as riders to try our best to deliver as many orders as possible, no matter rain or sun.
A day after that stormy morning, I woke up to see myself on a TikTok feed. A clip of me and the other riders in the rain trying to pick up the parcels and my bike was going viral with more than 600,000 views and lots of positive, encouraging and empathetic comments about my profession. It really touched me. It made me realise how much the community appreciates us. For me, that’s the best reward.”
Our “Humans of Lazada” series takes a look at the professional and personal lives of the more than 8,000 people who work at Lazada. Click here for more stories from this series.
“‘Don’t worry. It’ll only last for two weeks.’ That was what I told my mother, confident that I would return to see my family in Pasir Gudang, Johor, after 14 days. Little did I know, weeks turned into a month and then it turned into many, many more.
It was on March 17 last year when my mum told me to come home. She was worried, since news broke that Malaysia was going to implement a movement control order to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. I told her not to worry and that it would blow over soon. As the breadwinner of the family, I was determined to stay in Singapore and continue driving for RedMart. Do I regret my decision? No. My parents are old and they have always been there for me. Now it’s my turn to provide for them.
For years – probably a decade – I had been commuting to Singapore daily. When the pandemic hit and the borders closed, I had to stay in Singapore. In the years that I’ve been working at RedMart, it’s always been the little acts of kindness from customers that brighten up my day, and this is especially true now when I’m away from my family. Some customers provide bread and snacks by their door and some would offer drinks.
It’s definitely not easy being away from my parents and siblings. I can’t even begin to describe the sadness and uncertainty over when I can finally see them again. It was hardest during this Hari Raya, since I wasn’t able to celebrate the holiday with them for a second year. I felt really homesick. When I do video calls with my parents, they sometimes refuse to show their faces because they don’t want me to see that they are crying and that they miss me a lot.
What will I do if the restrictions are lifted tomorrow? I will drive home, appear at the doorstep and surprise my parents. I can’t wait for that day to come.”
Featured photo above: Maswandi Bin Basir (fourth from the right) and his family.
This profile was compiled by Norasikin Bte Ahmad from the Lazada Regional Communications team.
The Southeast Asian eCommerce market is evolving at breakneck speed, and innovation, cutting-edge technology and premium customer experiences are essential in helping brands tap into this growth, speakers at the second edition of Lazada’s LazMall Brands Future Forum said.
The hybrid event, held on Sept. 1, welcomed in-person guests at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore as well as virtual attendees who tuned into the livestream from all around the world. More than 3,400 guests in total attended the event.
It was the first BFF to be held since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, and Lazada Group Chief Executive Officer Chun Li discussed the pandemic’s impact on what was already a fast-changing digital commerce landscape in Southeast Asia.
“The past year has not been an easy one for any of us. And I am sure we all experienced many firsts and also learned many lessons in both our personal and work lives. We have seen resilience and at the same time experienced innovation,” Li remarked during his welcome speech. “As we look to the future, I am very optimistic that all of the countries across Southeast Asia will be able to flatten the curve and emerge stronger than ever.”
Indeed, last year saw 40 million new internet users go online in Southeast Asia, meaning that 70% of the region’s population now have access to the digital economy. At Lazada, there are now more than 150 million monthly average users, and online transactions on the platform grew 100% year over year in December 2020. Last month, the eCommerce giant also released its first Digital Commerce Confidence Index, which showed that online sellers across Southeast Asia remained optimistic about growth prospects even during the pandemic.
This eCommerce boom has been reflected most pertinently through the rapid rise of LazMall, Lazada’s dedicated destination for authentic brands. The platform, which celebrated its third anniversary during this year’s BFF, is home to more than 32,000 local and international brands and has seen a doubling of new shoppers in the first half of 2021 compared to the year before.
The launch last month of LazMall Prestige for premium brands is further testament to the changing attitudes towards online retail; when Lazada was founded in 2012, shoppers and sellers alike were unsure about online commerce and used it mostly for low-priced items, said James Chang, who heads the company’s strategic accounts and retail. Nowadays, not only are consumers increasingly embracing eCommerce, they are more confident about purchasing bigger-ticket items across more categories online.
For brands, this means greater opportunities but also a more pressing need to go beyond utility and price-driven factors to create memorable purchase journeys for consumers. At Lazada, this is done by creating one holistic and synchronised experience across a brand’s go-to-market channels so that it has the resources, flexibility and agility to respond to customers’ evolving needs while also being able to effectively communicate its brand story.
Raymond Yang, Lazada’s chief product officer and head of platform operations, also took to the stage at BFF to explain how the company constantly develops and rolls out new solutions to empower brands to win big online. The platform’s partners have access to an extensive toolkit, which includes customisable storefront features, promotional and marketing solutions, livestreaming, loyalty programmes and special campaigns – all of which allow for better engagement, stronger customer trust and, as a result, greater success for brands, he said. Lazada also recently launched a new customer-insights data solution and is currently in the midst of upgrading its customer engagement management function to further boost brand partners’ performance.
“Leveraging Lazada’s capabilities in tech, data and logistics, and with our partners’ strengths in product assortment, marketing and customer engagement, our goal is to continue to win customers’ loyalty across Southeast Asia. We are fully committed to help our brands achieve long-term success within Lazada’s ecosystem,” Yang said.
This year’s event also featured the second BFF Awards Ceremony to celebrate the top-performing and most innovative global and Southeast Asian brands on LazMall. Recognising the incredible evolution of the eCommerce industry, especially amid the pandemic, the ceremony featured nine industry awards – four more than the previous edition – with honourees including the Estée Lauder Companies, Samsung, Nike, Coach, Lancôme for Lancôme Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate, Shiseido Group, Starbucks, Synagie and the L’Oréal Consumer Products Division.
Olive Tai (left), the managing director and co-founder of Synagie, receives the Lazada Partner Award at the BFF Awards 2021. She is pictured together with Chun Li (right), the CEO of Lazada Group.
Andrew Kang (left), the regional head of online sales at Samsung, receives the Best Brand Partnership Award presented by James Chang (right), the head of strategic accounts and retail at Lazada Group.
As part of BFF, Lazada partnered with Handprint, a software company that helps companies with sustainability solutions. Through the joint initiative, approximately 14,000 trees will be planted at East Java Green Shield – West Bank 9 and Central Grove 6 at Situbondo, Indonesia. This will absorb 3,360 tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to 13,440 return flights between Singapore and Jakarta.
BFF also set the stage for Lazada’s first year-end mega sales campaign, 9.9. This year’s campaign reflected a growing support for homegrown brands as well as consumer demand for enhancing wellbeing through engaging experiences, skincare and work-from-home essentials. About 125,000 logistics frontliners came together to ensure that customers received their parcels swiftly and safely. The fastest delivery only took 13 minutes in Indonesia.
In some markets, like Thailand, 9.9 was also a time of “mega-giving”. Under the LazadaCARES initiative, Thai shoppers redeemed enough coins on the app to donate 99,999 care packages to communities and people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lazada Thailand partnered with nine brands to provide essential items in the care packages, which were then distributed by Lazada Logistics to nine charitable foundations to help the needy.
Featured image above: Lazada Group CEO Chun Li at the LazMall Brands Future Forum 2021.
As part of its ongoing commitment to creating a strong and sustainable eCommerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia, Lazada Group last month announced the official rebranding of its logistics arm. The new Lazada Logistics division brings together what was previously known as Lazada eLogistics, which managed third-party providers, and Lazada Express, the company’s own parcel-delivery service, and also introduces multi-channel logistics services that allow for the fulfilment and delivery of orders across all eCommerce platforms.
The rebranded Lazada Logistics reflects the eCommerce platform’s efforts and commitment to create a one-stop end-to-end logistics solution for brands, sellers and other partners in a region that’s becoming an increasingly significant player in the global eCommerce boom, especially amid the coronavirus outbreak.
“In the current climate, consumers have grown accustomed to the convenience of a new shopping norm, and of having their purchases delivered to their doorstep – intact and on time. It is more important than ever that we continue to innovate and introduce new solutions that will help our merchants and eCommerce partners meet the growing demands and expectations of their customers,” Lazada Group Chief Logistics Officer Andy Huang said.
The consolidation of logistics resources and the rollout of multi-channel logistics services means that orders can be handled and dispatched via Lazada’s own fleet, third-party partners or channel-nominated fleets, creating greater flexibility for partners while also ensuring a better and more consistent customer experience.
“More and more, the services that Lazada offers are becoming essential services that people rely on, not just as a point of convenience but a point of must,” explained Lazada Thailand CLO James Marchant. “That really drives how we set up our business and how we look to service people,” he added.
WATCH: Introducing Lazada Logistics
Delivering Innovative Solutions
While upgrades to Lazada’s logistics operations have no doubt been accelerated by the pandemic, innovating new solutions in the management and flow of parcels has always been a core part of the company’s ethos, especially as eCommerce demand has grown exponentially throughout the years.
For example, Lazada Vietnam’s logistics lead, Thinh Vu, recalled how major changes were implemented following the explosive surge in customer orders during the 2017 12.12 mega campaign. “That experience made us change our strategy, to build up our capacity and scale,” he said, adding that, instead of resting on its laurels, Lazada has continued to challenge itself to maintain its position as the region’s eCommerce logistics pioneer.
“Our main mind-set is to always question ourselves on how we can be better, how we can serve our customers better. Everything is about improving service,” echoed Philippe Auberger, who heads logistics at Lazada Indonesia. The opening of multifunctional hubs and mini fulfilment centres as well as the decision to get some last-mile fleets to do first-mile pickups are just some recent examples of improvements made to operational agility and flexibility, Auberger said.
For Lazada Singapore CLO Gerald Glauerdt, the Lazada Logistics rebranding serves as a particularly meaningful milestone that shows just how much the company has invested in building up its logistics capabilities. When Lazada started out in 2012, orders were processed manually on Excel sheets and facilities left much to be desired (ask Glauerdt and he’ll recount tales of snake infestations and conniving landladies with a laugh). Now, the logistics division offers smart inventory and routing solutions powered by advanced technology, and its network spans over 400 state-of-the-art facilities, including warehouses, sortation centres and hubs.
“The market is developing very fast. For example, in 2012 or 2013, just the mere fact of getting something delivered and it appearing at your doorstep with a driver was already fantastic and a great customer experience. Obviously now, customers have evolved. And if it’s next-day delivery, it’s almost not good enough. People are requesting same-day deliveries, or two-hour deliveries. This evolution and constantly looking for new ways of doing transport and fulfilment will continue. And it’s very important that it never stops,” Glauerdt said.
Lazada’s state-of-the-art logistics warehouse.
Powered by the People
Aside from its cutting-edge technology, robust network and advanced supply chain infrastructure, Lazada Logistics is also a celebration of the resilience and dedication of the people who deliver the company’s first-in-class service.
“We have been evolving in our systems, we have been evolving in our processes, we have been trying to fine-tune and get our networks much better, but it’s always the people who continue to amaze me with how much they go way beyond in order to get the job done and to make our customers happy,” Lazada Malaysia’s logistics chief, Sunil Singh, said.
The professionalism of Lazada’s logistics personnel has seen them confront earthquakes, floods and, of course, COVID-19. During the height of the pandemic, logistics frontliners across the region continued to work tirelessly to ensure that the public could still access daily essentials from the safety of their homes. In the Philippines, some staff members even walked for kilometres to get to work when public transport was halted during lockdowns, said Lazada Philippines CLO Allan Ancheta.
“I am amazed and humbled at how our people just go above and beyond,” Ancheta said. “That to me is just amazing, and it epitomizes the spirit that we have at Lazada.”
Malaysia is known for a rich cultural legacy that encompasses everything from architectural elegance to traditional arts and crafts. But as a result of the pandemic, Malaysia’s culture and arts industry has experienced a significant loss amounting to RM85 million over the past year.
Due to this, many micro, small and medium enterprises in the arts and culture sector had to pivot their strategies to focus more on online efforts to stay connected to their customers. One such local MSME is Penang-based Batek-Lah Collection, an authentic traditional Malaysian batik brand that started its eCommerce journey on Lazada.
Traditional hand-drawn batik.
“From what I saw, traditional culture and arts were slowly dying out as younger generations were adapting to a more globalised and modern world,” said James Lim, the owner of Batek-Lah Collection. “Even prior to the pandemic, the interest in traditional and cultural arts like batik had been fading among Malaysians as they seemed more interested in buying and wearing branded goods. Today, not many people own even a single piece of batik clothing because it is perceived as old-fashioned and untrendy.”
To make batik trendy again, Lim took over his family’s business in 2012. Lim Trading had started out in 1980 as a wholesale batik supplier. Formerly a mechanical engineer, Lim, who was 27 at the time, had little knowledge of the centuries-old craft of batik and had to learn the ropes on his own, eventually revamping the wholesale business to become Batek-Lah Collection.
Batek-Lah Collection specialises in small-batch, handmade products produced by Malaysian artists and artisans. Lim’s products had been especially popular with foreign tourists visiting Penang, who appreciated traditional handmade crafts and helped spread the word about his store by posting online reviews on tourist sites. Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit and travel bans were imposed, sales dropped to almost zero.
Instead of viewing this as a setback, however, Lim took this opportunity to ramp up his digital strategy and also shifted his focus to getting local Malaysian consumers to appreciate the craftsmanship of batik. To reach young and digitally-savvy Malaysian consumers, Lim began actively focusing on the Lazada store he set up a few years ago. He began participating in seller campaigns and even experimented with digital tools on the platform, such as Seller Picks, a free feature that allows eligible sellers to boost their potential best-selling products on search pages. He also tapped into Lazada’s free shipping mechanism and Sponsored Discovery tool, which enables shoppers to discover products via Lazada’s search results or browsing similar products.
Meanwhile, to change the common perception among young Malaysians of batik being old-fashioned, Lim launched a new line that reflects the latest trends. The line features batik designs on sleek and stylish items, such as face masks, men’s short-sleeved shirts, women’s tank tops and zipped dresses. All these efforts have helped increase Batek-Lah’s visibility on Lazada, leading to a 30% growth in the store’s customer reach.
Batek-Lah Collection’s new line turns batik into stylish fashion statements.
“The ongoing pandemic and lockdown have certainly impacted the livelihoods of those in the culture and arts industry, including business owners and craftspeople. We hope to be able to provide more businesses, especially MSMEs in this sector, with a platform to showcase their art, help them build their online presence, reach new audiences, build their network and become more exposed,” said Darren Rajaratnam, the chief operating officer of Lazada Malaysia.
Featured image above: James Lim, the founder and owner of Batek-Lah Collection.
Anoushka Bhar is a senior manager in Lazada’s PR team in Malaysia.
