The 2018 United Nations Conference on the Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Business-to-Consumer E-commerce Index ranked Kenya in 7th position in ecommerce uptake in Africa and position 85th globally. Leading the Africa pack is Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco and Ghana respectively. Globally, Netherlands took the lead having improved from a being placed 4th on the same in 2017. While Africa needs to boost Internet penetration to grow e-commerce, it also needs to get more of her existing Internet users to trust the online market for making purchases, secure servers, bank accounts, a clearly marked and mapped address system.
The UNCTAD report further estimates that that the B2C e-commerce market in Africa is worth about $ 5.7 billion in 2017, which corresponds to less than 0.5% of GDP, far below the global average of over 4%. However, the uptake of eCommerce in Africa has seen online shoppers surge at an annual rate of 18% which is way above the global rate of 12%. There is no doubt that e commerce is fast emerging as a new frontier in Africa and in the global market. As eCommerce continues to grow, retailers need to expand their distribution networks, build more fulfillment centers, and leverage more on 3PL partners. At the same time, online retailers must place greater focus on conveniently locating their fulfillment centers close to their markets to facilitate faster deliveries.

Reliable and solid logistics and supply chain interventions are the heart of successful ecommerce. This will ensure that the sector thrives and sufficiently satisfies customer demands for availability of goods purchased, timely deliveries and safe and secure deliveries exempt from breakages, bends or losses as well as favorable return policies. In Kenya, ecommerce players heavily rely on third parties who provide storage and shipping services. These services can build or break the customer experience as they make their purchases online. Meshack Kipturgo, Siginon Group’s Managing Director states, “The eCommerce sector is a new frontier in business that calls for close synergies between the ecommerce players and back end logistics to ensure a positive customer experience from that first click to eventual delivery.”

Logistics players play a critical role in supporting the ecommerce process by shipping, managing stock levels as well as making final deliveries to end destinations. The inventory must therefore be secure, and the services offered must be efficiently and safely delivered yet offer best value for money to ensure the customer appreciates the value of goods bought. Meshack adds, “A solid and long-term partnership between logistics players and ecommerce partnerships will ensure growth and expansion for both parties at the end of it all, the e-customer emerges the winner.”

Several systems have been adopted to integrate ecommerce retailers and logistics entities to allow for a seamless process. Today, warehouse management systems have been adopted that enable inventory owners to view their stocks on demand. For ecommerce players, these systems allow them to view available stocks, guide re order decisions as well as ease the stock taking process. Logistics players are also able to receive online instructions of goods that need to be stocked out as well as received and report them same via bar code systems and other stock movement detectors. It is also an industry best practice to provide the tracking numbers to customers in their confirmation email so they can keep track of where their package is.
Amazon, the global ecommerce giant, has evolved over time since its inception to have one of the most advanced fulfillment networks in the world. The Amazon fulfillment centers provide storage as well as the subsequent logistics of picking, packing, shipping, and providing customer service for the various products. Meshack concludes; “The opportunities for ecommerce retailers are growing steadily particularly with younger shoppers who are more tech and internet savvy. Logistics companies have also positioned themselves to tap into the opportunities that come with ecommerce to satisfy the needs of the ecommerce customer”. Ecommerce in Kenya presents a new frontier in doing business and will no doubt open more opportunities for trade in Kenya. More and more logistics companies must adopt technology to facilitate their processes to facilitate the demands of this new market.

Real estate players have identified warehouses as a growing property class in Sub Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, the demand for warehouses outweighs the availability for the space required to satisfy consumers. The consumers today requires a modern warehouse space that is built to high technical specifications to support modern retailing, distribution and manufacturing practices. In addition to availability of a modern warehouse amenities such as security, power, water, internet access, access roads; today’s customers is increasingly demanding warehouses that enable convenient and efficient inventory management coupled with optimal use of warehouse space.

As such, Siginon Global Logistics has installed a state of the art system to streamline operations in its warehousing business. The new system enhances warehousing efficiency as well as gives customers the convenience to view their inventory remotely so long as there’s internet connection. The customers, through internet connected gadgets, will be able to remotely create orders, receive updates on stock movement and accurately locate inventory within the Siginon warehouse.

The cloud based system was installed at the Siginon Global Logistics, Nairobi warehouses in January 2018 and pre tested by a South African technology firm that has done similar installations across the globe. The 24 hour system will cover all inventories at the warehouses and comes with minimal pressure on the internet bandwidth. Winstone Akweyu, the Siginon Global Logistics Operations Manager adds, “The new warehouse management system has been driven by Siginon’s needed for continuous improvement, value addition as well as aligning the warehousing business with technological improvements in the logistics landscape.”

The Siginon warehousing customer today can today view their stock reports off site without the need for being physically present for a physical and usually tiring and time consuming stock take. This then provides the customer with the agility to make inventory decisions such as re-ordering, forecasting as well as maintaining just-in-time inventory to manage operational costs from any location.

Operationally, the system Siginon will provide great ease in generation of customer reports by interested as well as ease the billing process with an assurance of accuracy.