Japanese express operator Yamato Holdings has launched a new express door-to-door delivery servicefor small parcels in Malaysia expanding its presence in Southeast Asia.
The ‘Ta-Q-Bin’ service, meaning ‘Home express parcel’ in Japanese, is already available inSingapore, Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Next year, the company plans to launch the service inThailand, according to the Mainichi Daily News.
Ta-Q-Bin is operated through Yamato Transport, the subsidiary of Yamato Holdings, which wasset up in Malaysia in 1988 to offer air and sea freight as well as trucking services.
Kazushige Higurashi, managing director of Yamato Transport, commented: “Malaysia has one ofthe highest internet penetrations in the world, with 65.7 per cent of its population going online.There are 16.2 million internet users in Malaysia. Significant numbers are involved in onlineretailing and e-commerce companies. We believe there is an opportunity for Yamato to tap into andoffer the Ta-Q-Bin services.”
Higurashi said the company has invested MYR 10 million (€2.34 million) in the new venturespending a major part of the investment on purchasing new trucks and information technology relatedproducts. He expects 1.5 million parcels to be delivered by the end of 2012 and hopes to gain 11per cent market share in Malaysia over the next five years targeting sales of YEN 3.5 billion(€32.95 million).
Yamato Transport will start operating the service with 33 vehicles and 74 drivers from sixbranches in three key areas including Kuala Lumpur, Penang State and Johor State. Higurashi saidthat the company would expand the express delivery service to 139 branches by 2020 throughoutPeninsular Malaysia with over 5,000 employees and 1,500 vehicles.
“We intend to secure a 30 per cent market share in the Malaysian courier market and increaseour delivery volumes to 50 million parcels in 2020, as part of our goal to become the No. 1 serviceprovider in Asia, offering logistics and life solutions,” he added.
According to Yamato Holdings President Makoto Kigawa, Yamato’s Ta-Q-Bin service held 42.2 percent of the market share in Japan for the financial year 2010.
