Navigating Growth: Opportunities For SMEs To Leap Ahead

The digital economy, fueled by growth in e-commerce and cross-border trade, offers a path for expansion.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region remains resilient, compared to others around the world, despite ongoing global macroeconomic challenges. With the stabilization of inflation and interest rates, consumer confidence has rebounded in many markets in the region. Although businesses will continue to grapple with increasing operating costs and persistent geopolitical uncertainties, some promising offshoots have emerged.

The digital economy has been a major growth driver in Asia and this trend is expected to continue, creating new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The rise of cross-border e-commerce over recent years has been fueled by advancing technology and changing consumer preferences. Today’s online shoppers demand seamless experiences, cost-effective and speedy delivery, as well as hassle-free returns. Businesses capable of adapting and innovating to meet these demands are poised to capture more opportunities in this maturing e-commerce landscape.

At FedEx, we are responding to these needs by continuing to expand our network and services, such as introducing a new flight from Ho Chi Minh City connecting Asia and Europe through the FedEx Asia Pacific Hub in Guangzhou. Vietnam is a market increasingly in demand. It represents 24% of China’s trade with ASEAN.

Convenience and assurance also come at consumers’ fingertips today. For example, FedEx Delivery Manager International (FDMi) enables recipients to customize package delivery around their schedules, elevating the last-mile delivery experience. The integration of WhatsApp into FDMi adds another layer of reassurance, allowing customers to track their packages on their mobile devices. Innovations like Picture Proof of Delivery provide online shoppers with confidence that their packages have been successfully delivered to their door.

SMEs in Asia are increasingly investing in data and digital technologies to drive their businesses forward. The rapid advancement of digital transformation is helping to streamline operations, improve cost efficiency and make data-driven decisions.

From AI chatbots to data analytics around the purchase and delivery journey, Asia’s SMEs are going big on using technology to enhance the customer experience. At FedEx, we’ve been advocates for the value of owning and leveraging real-time data for decades. Having data at our fingertips allows us to develop smart tools that provide greater visibility of shipments, narrowing down issues, enabling us to intervene early and ensuring speedy resolution. We are combining big data with machine learning to create enhanced tracking to provide estimated delivery times and updates for shipments to our customers, and using predictive algorithms to prepare customs clearance information, ensuring that shipments can be delivered as soon as they arrive in their destination country. With all this and more, FedEx is embracing advanced technologies to explore new possibilities and drive operational efficiency.

In today’s business landscape, consumer awareness of sustainability influences their decisions. According to research, 74% of Asia-Pacific consumers expect brands to take the lead on addressing environmental issues and spearheading climate solutions. While speedy delivery is important, sustainability has become an essential and non-negotiable part for many consumers. By integrating sustainability into various aspects of their business, SMEs will not only attract environmentally conscious consumers but also differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace, foster brand loyalty and ultimately, drive sales.

Today, sustainability is no longer an optional extra for SMEs interested in expanding their e-commerce businesses. SMEs can make an immediate difference by thinking about the logistics connecting their supply chain all the way to the end-consumer. With FedEx^® Sustainability Insights customers can get better visibility of emissions within their supply chains to support reporting and future planning. Customers can view emissions data for individual tracking numbers as well as aggregated historical data of their shipments. This helps them decide how to meet their own customers’ expectations and drive their own business and sustainability efforts forward.

To foster this spirit of innovation and collaboration, FedEx is introducing a new digital platform, called fdx, which will offer end-to-end e-commerce solutions for businesses of all sizes. This first-of-its-kind data-driven commerce platform will connect the entire customer journey and make it easier for SMEs to manage their supply chain. The new platform will help merchants grow demand, increase conversion, optimize fulfillment and streamline returns. fdx will also provide data and insights that improve visibility and connected capabilities across the customer journey, and help businesses make more strategic logistics decisions from point of demand to delivery and returns.

As these transformative trends reshape the business landscape, SMEs find themselves uniquely positioned to harness the power for exponential growth. By strategically tapping these trends, SMEs can optimize their supply chains, drive innovation and champion sustainability, propelling themselves to new heights of success.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com on May 13, 2024.