Keeping commerce in motion<\/p>\n
The courier and air cargo industry, with their massive
\nnetworks around the world, has substantially affected global and
\ndomestic economies.<\/p>\n
The services provided by air express and air cargo companies
\nhave become an important engine of economic growth for most
\ncountries. With their express services, the companies have
\nmanaged to constantly keep the global and inter-island trade in
\nmotion.<\/p>\n
For local export-oriented companies, their services have
\nbecome an integral part of their activities.<\/p>\n
\"We use a courier service from the start of export activities,
\nsuch as from the sending of export samples to foreign buyers
\nuntil the shipment of export orders,\" said Doddy Soepardi, the
\ndirector of exports at publicly listed PT Great River
\nInternational.<\/p>\n
PT Great River, one of the country's major garment exporters,
\nuses an air courier to send export documents and export samples
\nto foreign buyers and to deliver important raw materials from
\nforeign producers.<\/p>\n
Doddy said that the company's garment exports, destined for
\nthe United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Singapore,
\nMalaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Britain, Taiwan and New Zealand, were
\nstill mostly delivered by sea transportation.<\/p>\n
\"But for goods urgently required by buyers, we usually use an
\nair cargo company,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Like other export companies, PT Great River generally hires
\nforeign air courier companies, such as DHL, United Parcel
\nServices (UPS), Fedex, TNT, Green Star and Hong Kong Courier to
\ndeliver their export documents, export samples and other urgently
\nneeded materials.<\/p>\n
Air express and air cargo services from Indonesia to other
\ncountries and vice versa are still dominated by foreign
\ncompanies.<\/p>\n
For corporate customers, these foreign companies offer them
\nmore services. Most of the world's major courier companies have
\nintegrated their air courier and cargo services with
\ndistribution, logistics and warehousing management services.<\/p>\n
Some of them even offer exporters a payment settlement
\nservice. This explains why the country's international air
\ncourier and cargo services are still dominated by these foreign
\ngiants.<\/p>\n
The chairman of the Association of Indonesian Express
\nCompanies (Asperindo), Johari Zein, acknowledged the dominance of
\nforeign couriers in the country's international trade.<\/p>\n
\"They are stronger not only in capital but also in technology.
\nThat's why local couriers still focus most of their services on
\nthe delivery of documents or goods between cities in the
\ncountry,\" he told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
For local couriers, business potential in the domestic market
\nis more than enough. \"With a growth rate of between 15 percent
\nand 17 percent a year, the local market looks quite promising,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Solid growth in the domestic courier business can be seen from
\nthe sharp increase in the number of companies getting involved in
\nthe service over the past three years.<\/p>\n
The association's members, which also include subsidiaries of
\nforeign express companies, reached 634 companies. In Jakarta
\nalone, that number has reached 110 companies, reflecting a steady
\nrise in membership from only 72 in 2000.<\/p>\n
\"The actual number of companies involved in express services
\nhas far exceeded 634. Many companies have not yet joined the
\nassociation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Although the local companies are still mostly involved in the
\nhandling of documents or packages, some serve international
\nmarkets. Some others have also combined their services with
\nlogistics and warehousing management services.<\/p>\n
TIKI, for example, has opened representative offices in the
\nUnited Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and
\nSingapore to take advantage of the growing number of Indonesian
\nworkers in these countries.<\/p>\n
\"The international courier market is tight with the presence
\nof many courier giants in almost every country, but our market
\nsegment is different,\" said one of TIKI's executives.<\/p>\n
Pandu Siwi Santosa, a local major player, also offers
\nintegrated services, including air express delivery, logistics
\nand warehousing management.<\/p>\n
\"We received an ISO 2000 certificate for our logistics
\nservice,\" the company's corporate secretary, Budi Paryanta, said.<\/p>\n
Pandu Siwi, whose clients include local and multinational
\ncompanies involved in oil exploration and production, insurance
\nand banking, has a service network covering almost all major
\ncities in the country.<\/p>\n
He said rapid growth within the courier business in the
\ndomestic market would continue in the coming years with an
\nincrease in business activities outside Java.<\/p>\n
An increase in business activities in provinces, such as
\nKalimantan and Sumatra, will undoubtedly stimulate interisland
\ntrade. \"This will in turn create more business for courier
\ncompanies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The association's chairman, Johari, acknowledged the great
\npotential for couriers in the domestic market. But he said that
\nlocal companies could not fully benefit from the growing business
\ndue to uncertainties in the government regulations in this
\nsector.<\/p>\n
He said the law regulating the courier business was out-of-
\ndate and needed to be revised in order to cope with rapid changes
\nin modern courier services.<\/p>\n
The existing law, which was issued mainly to protect state-
\nowned postal company PT Pos Indonesia, does not clearly state
\nwhat kind of services should be solely handled by the state-owned
\npostal company and what services can be handled by private firms.<\/p>\n
At present, PT Pos holds the exclusive rights to delivering
\nletters and other postal products, such as aerograms.<\/p>\n
\"However, the definition of a letter in the law is ambiguous.
\nIt seems simple but it can create a big problem. If the document
\nis categorized as a letter than we cannot have its business,\"
\nJohari said.<\/p>\n
The association has been fighting for years for the revision
\nof the current law in order to provide a strong legal base for
\nlocal couriers, which would allow them to grow. Attempts made to
\nrevise the law had all failed until the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) proposed a new bill on courier businesses late last year to
\nreplace the current law.<\/p>\n
\"House members have formally proposed the new draft law and we
\nhope the bill will enter the deliberation process by the end of
\nthis year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Important points in the bill include the removal of PT Post's
\nmonopoly in the delivery of letters and the protection of local
\ncourier companies against foreign players, he said.<\/p>\n
-- The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/keeping-commerce-in-motion-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }