UPS is gearing up for growth in Malaysia this year with a raft of service and capacity enhancements for larger firms, SMEs and e-retailers as the country’s exports continue to perform well.
In 2018, Malaysia’s strong export performance helped to drive total trade to RM1.876 trillion. This was bolstered by a 9.1% increase in manufacturing exports, as well as overall growth in exports to China, ASEAN, the United States and European Union amongst others, the company said.
“The Malaysian economy is experiencing an evolution as SMEs, manufacturing and e-commerce take more central roles in driving growth,” said Lim Tze Hsien, Managing Director of UPS Singapore and Malaysia. “It is with these factors in mind that we have bolstered our offerings in Malaysia, with network and service enhancements designed to reduce time-in-transit and turnaround times, give local recipients greater control over their shipments, and extend our geographical reach so that businesses across the peninsula can have access to the same high-quality logistics services available to businesses in major metropolitan and industrial areas."
In recent months, UPS has introduced faster delivery and extended pick-up times for export shipments from Malacca to Europe and within Asia Pacific, and from Kuantan to the U.S., Europe and the Asia Pacific region, along with next-day delivery for intra-Asia shipments exported from Malacca. These are priority markets for high-tech manufacturers, where speed-to- market is critical due to short product lifespans.
In addition, the company offers speedier receipt of import shipments from the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific region to businesses located in Klang Valley, Southern Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. UPS Worldwide Express shipments with time-definite delivery by 2:00 PM have been expanded to more postal codes, impacting over 240 lane pairs. Moreover, the newly-launched Saturday pick-up in the U.S. enables U.S. imports to be delivered in Malaysia one day faster than before.
Among other developments, the new UPS eFulfillment service will help Malaysian sellers streamline fulfillment and shipping services to consumers in the U.S. and Canada.
For recipients in Malaysia, the company has increased retail access points in Malaysia by 70% to almost 180 across 43 towns in Peninsular Malaysia, closing the gap between businesses located outside major cities to international markets. The introduction of UPS My Choice gives package recipients access to e- mail and text notifications when a delivery is on its way, as well as day-before delivery alerts and delivery notifications. In Malaysia, users can route packages to another address, reschedule deliveries for another day, or give instructions to leave packages with a neighbour.
The company also recently appointed 26-year UPS veteran Michelle Ho to the position of President, South Asia District, UPS Asia Pacific, to drive strategic growth for UPS’s express operations in over 28 emerging and mature markets across Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, based out of Singapore.
“We’ve made considerable progress in improving transit times for shipments in and out of Asia; with many intra-Asia shipments being delivered the next day— continuing to build on these improvements will be one of my key goals in heading up our South Asia District,” said Ho. “In the last quarter of 2018 alone, UPS saw an average of 10% export volume growth year-on-year across Southeast Asia. As Malaysia continues to bolster its SMEs, fast, efficient logistics will be fundamental in importing complex components for high-tech products, ensuring international retailers have sufficient stock of Malaysia-made products, and driving increased satisfaction for online shoppers.”
