Tags: Entrepreneurship, Transportation
By Anna Valmero
PASAY CITY, METRO MANILA – Global forwarding company DHL said it is starting a program to help local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) gain access to the global market by expanding their product distribution to markets abroad.
Filipino SMEs are mostly family-owned businesses who own no logistics or infrastructure abroad to expand their footprint, said Amadou Diallo, chief executive of DHL Global Forwarding Africa and South Asia Pacific.
“Instead of traveling abroad that is very expensive, we provide them a platform to distribute their goods to their target markets,” Diallo said.
Simply put, Filipino representatives of DHL who have knowledge of international markets would serve as the “bridge” or representatives of local SMEs for their expansion.
Over 50 percent of the 900,000 shipments handled by DHL last year were products for SMEs, given their strong growth at a rate of 200 to 300 shops opening up each year.
Based on government statistics, SMEs make up 99 percent of all businesses in the country and employ over 70 percent of the local labor force.
“What they just need to do is to talk to our representatives here in our local office instead of investing huge amounts of money to travel abroad and understand how they could deliver their products there,” added Diallo.
The executive added that the company is eying to help the fashion and garments, automobile, and infrastructure industries for expansion into markets such as the United States, Indonesia, Germany and China.
“In fact, the Philippines has not yet penetrated the Latin America and Africa markets and we see this as potential markets for Filipino SMEs,” said Diallo.
At present, the Philippines mainly exports products to United States, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries, said Diallo.
For the first half of the year, exports in the Philippines soared by 40 percent while imports increased by 28.5 percent.
Sam Ang, chief executive of Southeast Asia DHL Global Forwarding added that they are optimistic about the forecast of eight percent economic growth in the first half of the year. They said investors like them are also waiting for the Aquino administration’s economic plans for improving infrastructure and trade.
“If this continues, we will surely see more trade activities locally but of course, the government should do its job to facilitate business trade, especially in the logistics market by reducing the paper trail and bureaucracy at the Customs division to make it efficient, by putting up more infrastructure like roads and ports to speedup delivery to remote areas, and to improve the security.”
“The Philippines has a lot of young talent that could be employed here instead of going abroad,” Ang said.
If the growth forecast continues over the next few years, DHL promises to continue expanding and adding jobs in the country
Just last weekend, DHL opened its 40-million-peso office near the international airport in Pasay City. The new facility spans more than 10,000 square meters and comprises 3,500 square meters of warehouse space.
Diallo said the new facility co-locates all DHL teams, customers and employees under one roof to provide greater synergy for operations and to help local SMEs enter larger markets.
“We are working to help SMEs so that the Philippines can become a big player again in Asia given its location, talented young people and natural resources. We want to help the local Filipino SMEs because they are the global business leaders of tomorrow,” he said.
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