Asia becomes destination for international delivery companies

UPS, the world's largest package delivery company, has pinned its growth on the Asian e-commerce market.

Western delivery companies are seeing growth opportunities in the Asian market.

The growth of e-commerce and the increasing number of consumers choosing to buy from abroad have created a turning point in the trend of borderless delivery, said Mr. Nando Casarone, CEO of UPS.

The Asia-Europe freight relationship is booming thanks to e-commerce.Asia has long been considered a factory for many goods exported globally. But things started to change when Asians spent big to buy and ship products from European brands.

"Spending power continues to grow in Asia and Europeans seem to be interested in selling to this market. Previously, Asian goods were shipped to Europe, but this balance is gradually changing," Mr. Nando commented.

E-commerce is becoming a boon for global delivery companies as more customers seek out ways to get products they once had to buy in-store. UPS is therefore focusing particularly on Asia, where there is a rapidly growing online shopping population, many of whom buy products from overseas, many of them high-value or technology items.

According to data surveyed by the Ecommerce Foundation (an international non-profit organization) in 2015, Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region for e-commerce in the world (44.3%). This leads to the highest annual growth in demand for delivery.

To prepare for the rapidly growing demand for deliveries here, UPS is expanding its investment and on-site technology to upgrade its services here to match its operations in the US and Europe. These measures aim to improve delivery times from suppliers to buyers, while also investing more in solutions for shipping sensitive items such as medical supplies. According to Reuters, the company also plans to open a 3D printing facility in Singapore and Japan, expanding its list of services it offers.

Every night, the Boeing 747, the largest aircraft in UPS's fleet, takes off from its European hub, carrying packages to Asia, and the number of flights is "increasing significantly," a UPS representative confirmed. To meet the growing demand for shipping, UPS Korea has had to expand its hub at Incheon International Airport by 60 percent compared to 2014, reaching 9,000 square meters.

According to VNE