If you’re a business trying to expand across borders—be that into a different city, state, country, or even continent—one thing that you cannot ignore is logistics.
That’s why logistics company Ninja Van’s white paper is not to be overlooked. With coverage in six countries across the Southeast Asian region, here are some insights from their white paper that can help hack your business’ growth.
1. Direct-to-consumer is the best way for you to test the waters
In its whitepaper, Ninja Van breaks down three different supply chain models that businesses can employ when moving goods from Malaysia to neighbouring countries.
This includes:
- Source + Production + Local Fulfillment: This is the riskiest and most expensive approach. What if your goods don’t sell well in that chosen destination country? What if the quality of goods don’t meet your expectations? What if the production cost exceeds your budget? All these uncertainties make this approach a high-stakes gamble.
- Bulk Shipping + Local Fulfillment: While it enables faster delivery times and can even facilitate parcel returns, there’s the risk of understocking or overstocking your fulfillment warehouse. This means paying for extra space.
The best option is to go direct-to-consumer. Through this method, you’ll be able to manage inventory only in one country and ship your goods only when shoppers in that destination country place an order.
While it may take longer, a good logistics company can ensure your goods get delivered on time and in full.
2. Commercial service as a delivery option is your most competitive bet
On the topic of shipping, there are a few routes you can take. There’s express service, which is quick but costly. This is typically the best option for high-value or perishable goods.
There’s the budget-friendly option of using the postal service, but this usually takes a longer time and might not have the most accurate tracking.
Commercial service, a service designed for ecommerce businesses with a competitive lead time, strikes the ideal balance between speed and cost savings. As such, it’s often the go-to choice for businesses, and for good reason.
Not only does it offer competitive pricing, but it also provides reliable delivery speeds that cater to various business needs.
3. Southeast Asians love supporting neighbouring countries for these reasons
“The suggestion for you to expand into neighbouring countries wasn’t made lightly,” Ninja Van shared. “We’ve backed our suggestion with internal data coupled with external research.”
The company actually partnered up with market research firm Milieu Insight and surveyed 1,200 shoppers across six countries in November 2024.
With that, they are able to better understand these customers outside of Malaysia and prepare to sell to them.
Aside from Indonesians, shoppers across the rest of Southeast Asia generally have favourable opinions of their neighbours’ brands, suggesting a strong likelihood of purchasing from the region.
This is proof that there is a regional market out there for the taking.
During their survey, Ninja Van found that many respondents cited “unique products that can’t be found in my own country” as a reason why they want to buy from other Southeast Asian brands.
39% of them also shared that “quality craftsmanship” is a reason why they buy from other countries.
4. Fashion & accessories is the most popular category for cross-border shoppers in SEA
Interestingly, the most popular category of goods in the region is by far Fashion & Accessories.
The next popular category is, not surprisingly, Food & Beverage. We Southeast Asians certainly enjoy our food. Following that is Health & Beauty products.
So if your business happens to be in these categories, you’re in luck. Even if it isn’t though, you should look into how you can still tap into the more niche markets in each country.
5. SEA shoppers like buying from marketplaces
According to the whitepaper, 82% of Southeast Asians shop from neighbouring countries via platforms like TikTok Shop, Lazada, and Shopee.
That’s a pretty big number, which is why brands must really learn how to navigate these platforms. If you still haven’t looked into social commerce and leveraging livestreams on these platforms, there’s no better time than now.
51% of shoppers said they buy from social media platforms, while 39% purchase directly from official brand websites.
Understand the market to earn their trust
Southeast Asian countries may be geographically close, but that doesn’t mean that shoppers are all just a monolith.
Each country is unique, and so are its shoppers. With that in mind, even as you expand into a neighbouring country, you need to really do your research and tailor your approach to their behaviours.
As Ninja Van shared, “It’s not just about brand discovery; it’s about earning their trust. In the age of scams and fraud, how do you convince your shoppers that you’re trustworthy?”
To answer that question, Ninja Van tapped digital media solutions company CPXi Asia and brand and PR agency Antics@play, into their expertise to uncover how these strategies can be done effectively.
To understand the landscape, they shared the following tips:
1. Invest in social media ads as they are the top method for brand discovery, especially on Facebook and Instagram.
2. Focus on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and use Google Ads to capture search traffic from consumers actively looking for products like yours.
3. List products on the top ecommerce platforms in Malaysia and retail websites to maximise reach.
4. Run TV ads and create your own website as additional brand discovery channels to reach a broader audience.
5. Align promotions with the above promotional periods, considering your nature of business.
They also pinpointed specific actionables based on each country’s habits, so if you’re thinking of going regional, be sure to refer to their handy whitepaper.
It’s great to see Ninja Van disseminate the data and expertise that they have, as well as recruit the right people to share more actionable insights.
At the end of the day, it’s all about being prepared. So before you bite the bullet and spread yourself too thin, be sure to do your proper research and analysis before bringing your business abroad.
Featured Image Credit: Vulcan Post