Courier Operators Shift Gear, Key into Commerce Delivery

Private Courier operators, were seemingly, taken by surprise when the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and Konga.com, Nigeria’s largest online marketplace, announced a partnership for the use of NIPOST post offices as pick up locations for Konga orders.

The UNILAG collection centre is the first in a series of collaborations by the two parties to address logistics and delivery issues experienced by eCommerce operators in Nigeria.

This, Dr, Simon Emeje, senior postmaster general of the Federation and head of the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD), told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, informed their decision to organize series of workshop and networking platforms for both parties to have a handshake, share ideas on e-commerce delivery through the indigenous courier firms.

Emeje said that although Africa’s logistics market opportunity is big and compelling with a potential of $300 annual return, CRD foresees a period most of the courier operators in Nigeria will leverage e-commerce delivery to better their worth.

According to him, the e-commerce logistics include warehousing, order processing and other services before actual delivery, but the unique challenges include infrastructure, talents, internet penetration, payments, and with peculiar to Nigeria, the need for improved regulations. 

Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek in his office on the matter, Mr. Siyanbola Oladapo, president of the Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) said that over the years, the industry players have been monitoring trends in both the capital market and e-commerce in Nigeria, and now view the latter as better option in the prevailing circumstances.

Although, Oladapo rule out complete exit of courier operators from the capital market, but he believes that e-commerce is favourably disposed to the members who are looking out for more innovative ways to restore the sub-sector’s lost glory.

There are close to 300 courier operators in Nigeria, majority of them are bent on delivering capital market dispatches like dividend- warrants, annual reports, among others.

However, the ANCO President said, “Of recent, we have been having a lot of seminars organized by ANCO and also the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) of NIPOST, then, our members are beginning to see the business sense in e-commerce delivery”.

Asked how he received the news of the NIPOST/Konga.com partnership, he said, “Well, it is part of the challenge we still face in on environment where a player also regulates. In actually sense, what NIPOST ought to link Konga to private operators who are decentralized, structured and professionals too.

“It is unlike we are not ready to play major role in the e-commerce delivery, for instance, another e-commerce platform (name undisclosed), approached ANCO and we agreed on our members carrying out their deliveries. If NIPOST, a government agency could take up the large chuck of the market, how can government claim to have the heart to cater for the common interest of the private operators?

“On our part at ANCO, we have been extending our tentacles to other institutions in search of ways to prevent dearth of courier operators in Nigeria”.

E-commerce is one area to look for continued growth and real opportunity in Nigeria.

In 2014 Nigeria recorded over $2 million worth of online transactions per week and close to $1.3 billion monthly.

Nigeria’s e-commerce market is developing rapidly, with an estimated growth rate of 25 percent annually, which spurred CRD to orgnaise seminars in 2014, creating avenues for courier operators to meet e-ecommerce platforms.

Nigerians are notorious for their love of shopping too; for instance, the Euromonitor Nigeria in a 2011 report revealed that Nigerians spend $6.3 billion per year on clothing.

In a recent survey conducted by Philip Consulting 38% of Nigerians prefer to buy products through the internet.

Also, Middle class consumers are the biggest purchasers online.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg, New York based financial newswire service report shows that Nigeria has been ranked among 20 fastest growing economies in the World.

Confirming the report, Kaymu.com.ng, leading online shopping community, attributed the nation’s listing to the upshot of e-commerce.

In an accompanying chart by Bloomberg, Nigeria with an expected growth rate of 4.9% was ranked sixth behind China (7%), the Philippines (6.3%), Kenya (6%), India (5.5%) and Indonesia (5.4%).

Evangeline Wiles, managing director of Kaymu.com, said, “Nigeria’s e-commerce space is the fastest growing in Africa contributing a monthly spends of 1.3bn to the Nigerian retail sector. The role the retail sector plays in driving Nigeria’s economy cannot be overemphasized as a country’s purchasing power is a major driver of the economy”.