One of the biggest challenges you will have to overcome if you are new player or an established merchant in the e-commerce space is the choice of the best logistics company in Nigeria to settle with.
There are so many logistics company in Nigeria who simply over-promise and under-deliver, if care is not taken, their poor work ethics and service rendering will force you back to the “village.”
Giving room to establish the street tag on you, that “village people have succeeded in your mata.”
While I’d advise anyone who is entering into mini importation in Nigeria not to settle for only one courier company, deciding to settle for more than two would equally be a death sentence.
Alright, Let’s examine some of the leading courier companies in Nigeria that have performed above 50% using basic factors like speed, customer service, remittance and affordability.
The 4 Best Logistics Company in Nigeria For E-Commerce
Since the demise of KOS, one of the best courier companies in Nigeria, other logistics coy have tried to up their game but has anyone been able to fit into the shoes of KOS?
Remember, we earlier made a comparison between Konga and Jumia, it’s seems Jumia finally got the last laugh, despite the company failing to make profit in several successive years and Rocket Internet offering it up for sale.
Please note that this article is purely written for guys who want a check out which logistics company can handle their “Pay on Delivery” market strategy in a better way.
1. Fedex
Fedex is run by Redstar in Nigeria, they offer basic pay on delivery services for small and large scale merchants in Nigeria. The company has a tracking system that reveals very little information at best. They are quite fast, but they make only two delivery attempts and thereafter, your items are scheduled for return.
In terms of remittance of payment, the company has a platform, called Saddle where you can easily track your payment. Remittance of payment is the best you can get from any logistics company in Nigeria.
One draw back is that you don’t have access to different centers to enable you easily monitor your deliveries. If something happens, you have to contact the headquarters in Lagos, and then wait for a relay information.
Overall, in terms of remittance and returns, you have nothing to worry about. You will hardly have a missing item.
2. Cedar Express
This logistics company is extremely fast in some states, especially Lagos, Abuja, Benin and Port Harcourt, but they are completely manual. You will have to make use of the old fashioned receipt, manually written and then you begin to track your items yourself.
This means, you have to constantly call your customers about the status of their delivery, and be sure you have got some friendly customers otherwise, you’d become a nuisance.
Cedar Express doesn’t have a central payment strategy, every center remits your payment independently. So, if you have a payment that is pending, simply put a call to their center to find out what caused the delay.
They have some friendly staff, they will continually try to delivery your items, and items not delivered could be at their office up to a month, if the customer has a cogent reason for being unavailable.
3. GIG Logistics
They are pretty cheap, one of the cheapest logistics companies in Nigeria and extremely fast, thanks to their transportation company that aids the process. Their tracking system is mediocre and not worthy to be called a tracking system, you will still have to rely on manual tracking to ensure your items are being delivered or there is an attempt on delivery.
Several guys have said the company will “never” remit more than N110k per week, and this could be an issue if you wanted all your payment paid in full. They operate a kind of archaic system, in that, they can only remit what has been paid into the Logistics company’s account.
Therefore, if the dispatchers runs with your money, you are on your own. The logistics company might take responsibility, but that would be after you must have had your throat gotten sour from screaming and yelling at their customer service.
In terms of returns, you will get most your items recovered and I need to point out here that GIGL doesn’t cover the full country. You will need to walk into their office to get a list of cities they cover as any information you get on their website could be well, outdated. Trust me. However, they do have some friendly dispatchers.
4. Ace
This is a small courier company, they cover deliveries in only three states and only areas where you have big boys and good access road. To buttress this point, they don’t cover the whole of Lagos and they equally don’t cover the whole of Abuja and Rivers state.
Their delivery is pretty fast but could be marred by complexities at times. Overall, if your business is just in three states, you could consider working with them.
That’s about it. Keep in mind that, although Logistics companies play a major role in the success of your e commerce business, it would be funny to put all the blame on them. You will find these set of customers:
- They will order your item and assure you of cash in their pocket, when you eventually release your item, they will either switch off their phones or tell you their “father died this morning.”
- They will say they are sorry, “they thought it was a scam.” Oh yeah! You can’t fight from your phone and people say, “customer is always right”. *Laughs
- They will start bargaining for a new price at the point of delivery, leaving your dispatcher frustrated. But don’t worry, they are used to it and you have to start getting used to it.
- They will tell you, you brought a different product, they will even you tell you a product you don’t sell.
- They will say, “oh, it was my son that ordered it,” that’s after you have confirmed the order. Then you wonder, is this for real?
Well, it’s for real. There is a general trust issue in Nigeria, from merchants selling fake things and marketing same as top notch to customers pretending to buy, thus “dashing” money to courier companies. Emphatically, you will need to have a big heart to succeed, even if you have the best logistics company at your disposal.
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