Ready businesses for global market

Business leaders, entrepreneurs, industry experts and legislators must make a concerted effort to build the right environment for local businesses so that they can succeed globally, said RS Subramanian, senior vice-president of DHL Express for South Asia and managing director of DHL Express India.

"And countries that can implement regulatory reforms more quickly, and create favourable policies that encourage cross-border trade will stand to gain the most," he said.

He made the comments while speaking at the Bangladesh Business Awards 2022 at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka on September 2.

Subramanian praised Bangladesh's commendable growth history.

The country aspires to become an upper-middle-income nation by 2031 and is expected to graduate from the UN's list of least-developed nations in 2026.

"You all have overcome many obstacles and crossed many bridges to get Bangladesh where it is today," said Subramanian.

He elaborated on the collaboration across geographical borders and emphasised the need to be aware of the megatrends that are dominating the world economy.

Megatrends like e-commerce, digitalisation, globalisation, and sustainability are changing how people lead lives, interact with each other, and how global trade will shape the future.

E-commerce, for instance, has changed the game for retail completely, he said.

"At the click of a button, you can reach the world. You need not be restricted to one physical storefront, one city, or even one country."

According to Subramanian, the biggest roadblock in the past used to be the inability to find a customer.

"You had to go through various forms of middlemen, agents and forums. But today you can reach your target consumer directly – at his home, his place of comfort. With e-commerce, you are rightfully moving up the value chain."

Subramanian, who has more than 30 years of experience, thinks the risk to reward now has certainly improved.

"We have seen so many stories, even within our global network, of one-off store owners, home entrepreneurs, small to medium entrepreneurs creating a whole new revenue stream by going online."

DHL has invested 750 million euros in the Asia Pacific region into training its employees and enhancing the network infrastructure. A large part of this push is because of the e-commerce surge that was greatly influenced by the coronavirus pandemic.

The DHL senior official also talked about the changing behaviour of consumers.

"Consumers are mostly on mobile now, and are no longer asking, but expecting you to be able to reach them at their place of operations."

Business-to-business e-commerce, or B2B, is no longer considered the underdog of e-commerce, said Subramanian.

In fact, corporate customers prioritise suppliers and partners that allow them to trade online without first speaking with a sales representative.

By 2025, 80 per cent of all B2B sales interactions between suppliers and professional buyers would occur online, according to the B2B E-commerce White Paper of DHL for 2021.

"So, none of us has the option to ignore the disruptive change that is taking place all around us," Subramanian said.

"Without a doubt, consumers – across the spectrum - want you to cross this bridge, this digital divide and connect with them more meaningfully and efficiently. Hence, digitalisation is another megatrend we all need to pay heed to."

The great thing about digitalisation, Subramanian said, is that it brings about genuine efficiency and transparency, and as a result, it has a significant influence on the bottom line.

"Doing business inside and outside our border is becoming simpler thanks to digital tools."

"So, the key point is that if we want to join the future trillion-dollar club of countries, we need to start thinking big today. We need to make the right connections."

He says DHL believes Bangladesh has great potential and will continue to make significant investments in its infrastructure and in assisting SMEs in expanding internationally.

"DHL is proud and thrilled to have contributed to Bangladesh's success narrative and aspires to continue serving as a catalyst for development in the years to come."