Based in Bayan Lepas, Penang, EasyParcel is a Southeast Asian delivery service that specialises in providing shipping for businesses at competitive prices and operates in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
Yesterday, the regional e-commerce and parcel delivery player secured US$10.6 million in series B funding from Teleport, AirAsia’s rebranded cargo and logistics platform, and Gobi Partners.
This was announced by AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, Teleport CEO Pete Chareonwongsak, Gobi Partners Managing Director Malaysia Jamaludin Bujang and EasyParcel Founder and CEO Clarence Leong in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
“I’ve always believed AirAsia’s logistics business has a huge opportunity to be part of the social and e-commerce ecosystem,” said Tony Fernandes.
“Today, we are unlocking that potential with the help of EasyParcel, making parcel delivery across ASEAN more accessible and inclusive for everyone.”
“The fundraising is for us to strengthen our footprint across the region we’re in,” Clarence Leong said, referring to the 4 countries EasyParcel currently operates in.
The money will also be spent on customer acquisition efforts across the country. Clarence believes that despite having over 500,000 users, they’ve barely scratched the surface of the potential customer base.
*Editor’s Update: The information in the previous paragraph has been updated based on new information from Clarence.
According to Pete Chareonwongsak, EasyParcel leveraging Teleport’s capabilities will mean that customers, particularly SMEs (small and medium enterprises) will now find moving items from A to B easier.
“As a platform, EasyParcel is uniquely positioned to streamline the customer’s full journey by integrating end-to-end logistics services with its partners,” said Gobi Partners Chairman and Founding Partner Thomas G Tsao on their decision to co-invest in EasyParcel with AirAsia’s Teleport.
Gobi Partners has previously invested in over 250 startups such as Carsome, Visenze and iPrice.
A Shipping Process Even Better Than Before
We asked Clarence what this funding would mean for EasyParcel, and he said that it would enable them to make use of AirAsia’s vast belly cargo space for deliveries as only 15% of the space is normally utilised during flights.
Even before the announcement of the funding, the integration of EasyParcel and Teleport’s services was in motion.
This partnership marks the first of EasyParcel’s partnerships with freight services, a step-up from their usual courier partners.
There are 3 key things customers can expect from EasyParcel’s new direct delivery option through Teleport.
Shipping will now take a shorter duration, cost less and also be hassle-free when it comes to customs clearance.
Plans for standardising deliveries within a certain amount of time such as 48 hours or 24 hours may be in the works, said Clarence.
These advantages would open more doors for SMEs within the ASEAN region to export their products and gain a global customer base.
Funding Shouldn’t Be The First Priority
To startups looking for funding, Clarence advised, “Don’t put funding as the first priority because at the end of the day the reason for us being entrepreneurs is to get problems solved.”
“If there are no customers who are willing to pay you for the problem you are helping to solve then it means that it’s not really a big challenge.”
“The business logic and the business model itself should be able to generate the revenue if you are really solving a problem.”
Fundraising can only come after the core has been securely established, he said, and believing in your team and your team’s belief in your business is key to strengthening the core of the company.
- Find out more about EasyParcel here.
Featured Image Credit: AirAsia
