The Managing Director (MD) of DHL Express in Ghana, Mr. Kader Coulibaly, has advised companies in the export trade business to use the e-commerce platform to penetrate the global market.
According to him, marketing products through the e-commerce platform will position exporters to compete in the global space and also serve as an enabler for the country to improve on its trade imbalances against exports.
Of the 21.4 million tonnes of cargo that passed through the country’s ports last year, data from the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) showed that 14.16 million tonnes were exports and 1.07 million tonnes amounted to transit trade.
To reverse this trend, Mr. Coulibaly in his address at a workshop on e-commerce by DHL Express on October 4 in Accra, said exporters should take advantage of the e-commerce platforms to market their products on the global market.
He observed that it was crucial for exporters to market through the e-commerce platform instead of them waiting to go through an age-old trade arrangement where foreign buyers visit, purchase and export to various destinations.
“We see e-commerce as not only an enabler to importing goods from foreign countries but also a platform for Ghanaian exporters to use to market their products in the global space.”
“This is one of the reasons why DHL has today organised training to equip exporters with the know-how to take advantage of the e-commerce platform”, he said.
Potential for E-Commerce
He stated that the potential of e-commerce in the country, for instance, was huge, as DHL alone recorded more than 300 per cent growth in business per year.
“The growth in e-commerce business for DHL alone is more than 300 per cent growth in business per year and that represent five per cent of the company’s operations in the country”.
“Our products on the Ghanaian market ranging from artifacts, skincare products and canned foods could easily be exposed and exported to the global market”, he said.
Improving Profitability
Mr. Coulibaly indicated that the e-commerce offered an opportunity for businesses to improve their profitability by extending their customer base in a cost-effective manner.
E-commerce can be defined as a system of buying and selling of goods and services, or transmission of data or funds over a secure electronic network, mostly the internet, or a closed network.
It takes place only when a transaction is conducted end-to-end online without a face-to-face interaction or offline payments. However, he said, the various platforms such as business-to-business, business-to-customer (which is the most popular form). Customer-to-business or customer-to-customer involves an individual providing goods and services for other individuals or business entities through electronic means.
“In the actual process itself, there are a number of variations such as where a seller provides customers with information about the goods and services online on offers available but no online transaction takes place as sellers are connected to buyers to conduct face-to-face transactions.”
Source: Daily Graphic
