Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Eugene Laney, Head of International Trade Affairs at DHL Express (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: What are your observations then? These small one or two-people e-commerce merchants who are sitting on top of third-party logistics providers, are they then working directly with DHL Express or is there another layer of third-party intermediary before you come in to the picture?

Eugene Laney: They’re very dependent on us.

Sramana Mitra: Who’re dependent? Is it the people who own the website or is there a layer between them and you that is a logistics provider layer?

Eugene Laney: In most cases with these small to medium sized businesses, the CEO is also the CFO and also has a variety of hats. A lot of times, we’re on phone calls with the person who started the business.

Sramana Mitra: I got that. Is this little company directly working with DHL or is there another entity in between?

Eugene Laney: With these small companies, there’s no one in between. I speak a lot of times directly to the person who started the business.

Sramana Mitra: DHL Express is the third-party logistics provider that is catering to this vast number of small merchants who are basically outsourcing fulfillment to you.

Eugene Laney: Not all fulfillment. We provide a variety of services based on the need of the individual company. A lot of these companies are looking for a way to get their goods there and to comply. Once they reach a point where they are familiar with fulfillment and compliance, they outsource through other companies. If you think about it, if you’re starting a business, you don’t know about all of that. You’re doing all of your warehousing in your garage or in whatever facility that you have.

A lot of these entrepreneurs reach a point where they have these warehouses. They depend on us a lot to guide them along the way and help them understand how they can grow their business. That’s why we work a lot with the Department of Commerce to educate some of these small to medium sized businesses on how to go out and outsource some of their more complex needs whether it’s warehousing, fulfillment, setting up a larger site, and doing analytics around their site. DHL doesn’t do that. Where we come in is we help them be compliant and get their goods to the final customer.

This segment is part 3 in the series : Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Eugene Laney, Head of International Trade Affairs at DHL Express
1 2 3 4 5