For Kerry Worldbridge Logistics Ltd – the Kingdom’s leading one-stop domestic express service and logistics solutions provider – the surge for on-demand and last-mile delivery services has led to a refocusing of its business strategies over the past year.

“The global Covid-19 pandemic has meant we have had to transform our work processes and the way we do things in order to meet the changing needs of our customers.

“With movement control measures in place, the outbreak intensified the shift towards online shopping that in turn triggered a rise in demand for express services domestically. As result, our renewed focus on coverage, efficiency and service became the catalyst for meeting this market shift.

“We provide a full range of services, from warehousing and transport to import and export. One major service for us is last-mile delivery because this puts us in touch with many end customers.

“Customer satisfaction remains the core focus of our daily operations. This is reflected in our constant pursuit of service excellence. We focus on service because this is what really sets a company apart from its competitors,” said Kerry Worldbridge Logistics manager Dickson Pang.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, with other regional offices in Thailand and Vietnam, Kerry Worldbridge began operations in Cambodia in 2015, and Pang sees the logistics firm as perfectly placed to capitalise on the sector’s growth.

Recent joint research conducted by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company indicates that there are some 360 million mobile internet users in Southeast Asia, with the region’s e-commerce sector projected to reach $150 billion by 2025, from $38 billion in 2019.

And with the Cambodian freight and logistics market expected to reach a market value of $2.25 billion by 2023, according to MarketReportsWorld.com, logistics is set to be one of the Kingdom’s sunrise sectors.

With expectations of exponential growth gaining traction, especially in the express and last-mile delivery service sectors, Kerry Worldbridge has accelerated its plans to become the one-stop service provider with the widest nationwide coverage.

“While we presently provide delivery services covering the entire country through an established network of 50 regional branches, there are plans to further expand operations to include service coverage to even the most remote areas in Cambodia.

“In order to generate wider coverage for our customers, we have created convenient parcel drop-off and delivery points in partnership with chains such as Aeon, Circle K and PTT service stations, to name but a few, that operate in both urban and rural areas. This year we plan to increase these points to more than 300, which will be supported by our extensive branch network.

“We are also in the process of upgrading warehouse infrastructure and increasing the capacity of our cold-chain logistics services to accommodate increased demand.

“Supported by our state-of-the-art warehouses and existing and brand new fleets of refrigerated trucks able to maintain temperatures between zero Celsius to -20C, our cold chain meets the highest international standards.

“While we mostly cater for the business-to-business segment, we are already in discussions with companies to expand it to business-to-customer.

“Our cold chain will be fully complete in the third quarter of this year,” Pang said.

With its competitive prices, and on top of managing the clearance, warehousing and transportation of various products for more than 200 corporate customers, Kerry Worldbridge makes an average of 4,000 express deliveries every day, he added.

And while Kerry Worldbridge embraces the latest technology – including looking at environment friendly vehicles – to provide the highest standards of service, Pang says it is investing in human capital that best pays off.

“Last year we invested millions in warehousing, equipment and IT to speed up the packing process. But this does not mean we will stop hiring people – providing jobs boosts economic growth and increases our coverage and the quality of the services we bring to the market.

“Our continual investment in logistics and delivery infrastructure together with the development of local talent has enabled us to reach 85 per cent delivery coverage nationwide – Cambodians make up 99.8 per cent of our 500-strong workforce.

“We promote a culture that realises the full potential of our staff, one in which they develop expertise throughout the entire logistics supply chain.

“We have automation solutions in place, but this will not replace people – we have no intention to use drones or other technology that replaces the human factor because we believe localisation is the secret to success in last-mile delivery,” he said.