There is great potential for Malaysian SMEs to grow their business overseas through e-commerce. By 2020, it is expected that one out of five e-commerce dollars will be generated through cross-border trade. B2C e-commerce has grown at a faster pace than most other industry sectors in recent years, with premium cross-border shipments growing from 10% to more than 20% of the volumes of DHL Express.

This is further boosted by various incentives the government has provided to ensure the local e-commerce sector has the potential to lift Malaysia’s total trade to RM2 trillion this year. said Christopher Ong, Managing Director of DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei.

He was speaking at the DHL Express Malaysia’s inaugural “Take E-Commerce to the Next Level” conference together with Amazon for more than 100 local SMEs on how to take advantage of cross border trade in light of the e-commerce boom.

“We continue to strive to be the logistics provider of choice for Malaysian SMEs. DHL recognises that our home-grown SMEs have high-quality and innovative products that have great potential to expand into the international market place. As part of our commitment to SMEs including those who are currently our customers, we continue to create opportunities for them to gain the latest industry tips and insight so they have the confidence and know-how to look beyond local market opportunities.”

“The business journey does not end when a product has been sold. To maintain and improve sales, there are many factors to take into consideration to elevate a customer experience. This includes partnering with a logistics company with delivery capabilities to meet buyers’ fulfilment and shipping requirements in efficiently. For instance, DHL Express provides a Time-Definite International (TDI) delivery, which is well-suited for SMEs who are doing cross-border online business. This service helps them to navigate easily and quickly across borders to incorporate a premium option into their sales offering, enabling them to target new market and boost sales,” Christopher commented.

Gijae Seong, Head of Amazon Global Selling Singapore, Amazon shared, “Southeast Asia has quickly grown to be one of the most important regions for Amazon Global Selling. The “Take E-Commerce to the Next Level” conference by DHL Express is a great opportunity to reach out to Malaysian SMEs and encourage them to onboard onto the Amazon marketplaces; in the US alone, Amazon has over 150 million monthly unique visitors [1]. We hope that more local SMEs will consider expanding their business globally on Amazon in the future. SMEs can learn more about selling on Amazon by visiting our website.”

Datuk Ng Wan Peng, who is chief operating officer of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), welcomed the initiative by DHL Express Malaysia and Amazon. "DHL's commitment to Malaysia and its development agenda continues to boost our goal of inspiring more local SMEs to take their rightful place in the burgeoning eCommerce arena."

"MDEC, as the lead agency in driving Malaysia’s digital economy, has stepped up efforts on strengthening Malaysia’s position as a hub for key digital and industry activities," she further commented, adding that DHL and Amazon's move is aligned with a most fundamental objective of the National Strategic eCommerce Roadmap, which is to accelerate adoption of eCommerce in Malaysia.

"MATRADE is Malaysia's national trade promotion agency and we have the mandate to promote Malaysian SMEs overseas. Our eTRADE Programme offers financial incentive valued at RM5,000 per company which can be utilised to partially cover the onboarding cost to be listed on world's renowned e-Commerce platforms the likes of Amazon.com. We hope more SMEs can capitalise on the programme to kick-start their cross-border e-Commerce business." said Noraslan Hadi Abdul Kadir, Director, Transformation and Digital Trade Division, MATRADE.

DHL also organizes Seller Engagement Programs, Cross Border Trade Workshops and Facility Tours throughout the year for SMEs to better understand the complexities of trade and how to best grow their business overseas.