VietNamNet Bridge - E-commerce has been developing more rapidly, thanks to the cooperation between online distributors and forwarders on a COD basis (cash on delivery).

In late 2012, PeaceSoft, the developer of ChoDienTu.vn, an online market, launched Shipchung.vn, a forwarding and COD service provider.

This was the first time in Vietnam an online trading floor developer launched delivery services through a third party – Shipchung.vn. Individuals and businesses that provide e-commerce services could choose to cooperate with the forwarders suited to them.

According to Han Van Loi, director of Shipchung.vn project, Shipchung.vn has had over 10 partners who cooperate with it to fulfill delivery orders. These include EMS, Viettel Post, Kerry TTC, Netco and Nasco.

Shipchung.vn is structured in a simple way, which aims to create most favorable conditions for sellers. 

Sellers just need to access to www.shipchung.vn to register their accounts and hand in money into the account to begin using services. They have the right to choose forwarders from the list of partners.

Also according to Loi, approximately 20,000 sellers have been using Shipchung.vn, delivering 100,000 goods packages every month with a monthly growth rate of 20-30 percent.

“Shipchung.vn now deals with 3,000 transactions every day, 95 percent of which are COD transactions,” Loi said.

“We collect money from buyers from all over the country and pay money through NganLuong.vn, an electronic wallet, on every Tuesday and Friday,” he said. “These are completely non-paper transactions, which means that sellers do not have to sign any documents.”

When asked why postal service providers have not joined the e-commerce forwarding market, Luong Duy Hoai, CEO of Giaohangnhanh, a forwarding agent, said it was more complicated to provide delivery services for e-commerce than for normal cargo.

“You will not only act as the deliverer, but also act on behalf of sellers to collect money and pay back to sellers,” he explained.

“A lot of unexpected problems may arise when you provide services. Meanwhile, the e-commerce market, though developing rapidly, remains very small, which is less than 10 percent of the total revenue of postal service providers. This is why they (postal service providers) have not jumped on the bandwagon,” he said.

The 2014 White Book on Information Technology and Communication showed that 110 companies confirmed they were providing postal services in 2014, while the figure was 79 in 2013.

VNPost is leading the market in terms of revenue, accounting for 36 percent of the market share. DHL-VNPT joint venture ranks the second with 15 percent, followed by Viettel Post with 11 percent of the market share.

In fact, Viettel Post’s CEO Hoang Quoc Anh said he is aware of the great potential of the market and is making hectic preparations to join it.

DNSG