Trust, integrity and quality are the hallmarks of any business. In the competitive world of logistics, these values form the pillars of success, which Lalamove fully embodies. The on-demand delivery platform has swiftly established itself as a market leader in the field despite only being launched in 2013 in Hong Kong.

Arriving in Malaysia in 2018, the company brought the same fast and reliable on-demand delivery service that cemented its global reputation to the local market.

Backed by technology, Lalamove has revolutionised the local logistics market by offering pay-per-use and same-day deliveries, along with advance-order deliveries. Scalable for local businesses of any size, the company also offers convenient cost-effective solutions for operators such as multi-stop delivery. Furthermore, businesses have the option of selecting from a wide variety of vehicles for their delivery tasks.

Lalamove started out with car and motorcycle deliveries in the Klang Valley in 2018, at first only offering point A to point B on-demand delivery services. Over time, the company began identifying the pain points and specific needs of its customers. Armed with this insight, it started expanding its business, focusing on creating a tailored delivery fleet as well as expanded offerings such as delivery insurance, scalability and long-distance delivery.

“We began looking at expanding our fleet with a wide range of vehicles to cater for all delivery sizes,” explains Jane Teh, managing director of Lalamove Malaysia. “We also invested heavily in digitalising our business by enabling API (application programming interface) and e-commerce integration for seamless order creation.”

By adding a variety of new vehicles to its fleet such as motorcycles, cars, 4x4 pickups, vans and lorries, Lalamove was able to quickly add services such as multi-stops, helpers to ensure proper handling of heavy goods, cold trucks for temperature-sensitive merchandise and long-haul deliveries to its range of services. Plug-ins on e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and EasyStore also helped facilitate last-mile delivery for online merchants.

According to Teh, the major makeup of Lalamove's current clientele are small and medium enterprises, since they account for 97% of business establishments in Malaysia. Lalamove’s straightforward on-demand service allows SMEs to optimise their logistics needs with a cost-effective pay-per-use scheme with no contract required. Best of all, they can leverage Lalamove’s fleet and delivery options and scale up or down according to market demand.

“We serve to empower SMEs from all industries,” stresses Teh. “Lalamove provides a lower barrier of entry for SMEs as they don’t have to recruit drivers, purchase vehicles, train drivers and maintain the fleet. They can use our fleet anytime they need it.”

“We are constantly looking at the market and engaging with our customers to learn more about their needs,” says Teh. The company has already introduced additional service offerings such as dismantle and assembly services to ease the transport of furniture. Consumers who wish to engage the service of a personal shopper can request for the Buy4U service.

“Customers pay according to vehicle type, distance and add-on services, so they get what they want, according to their convenience and budget,” Teh explains. She adds that Lalamove consistently upgrades its app to improve the user experience.

“We encourage business owners, especially SMEs, to sign up for our business account to facilitate better management of their deliveries. Business account holders gain access to perks such as account management support, API, insurance coverage, multiple Lalamove account holders and a centralised business wallet, be it last-mile or mid-mile delivery.”

The company has also introduced its own reward programme for its customers. With Lalamove Rewards, customers get one LalaPoint for every RM1 spent on deliveries. The points can be redeemed for delivery coupons and vouchers from Lalamove’s retail partners.

“By evolving our business to industry needs, we have gained a lot of trust from SMEs and MNCs (multinational corporations) to serve them as their last-mile delivery partners,” elaborates Teh. “We have also allowed customers to leverage more delivery types and services — everything from delivering a surprise birthday cake to moving house. Branching out from the Klang Valley to Penang, Johor and Melaka has also expanded our presence and reach across the country, bringing our reputable services to these states as well.”

There is no doubt that the pandemic has transformed many industries over the past two years. With many forced indoors during the lockdowns, demand for e-commerce and delivery services surged and Lalamove was one of the few companies that mobilised to serve the community. According to Teh, Lalamove’s business model contributed to the company’s success during the health crisis.

“We saw a significant jump in demand for our flexible and cost-effective digital on-demand delivery as it allowed operators to have a leaner business model. This allowed businesses to reinforce their logistics chain with our on-demand fleet, with significantly lower costs.

“Rather than looking at us as a temporary solution to weather the economic downturn, most of our clients have partnered with us permanently since they see the value in on-demand delivery while transferring the liability of fleet and driver management to us,” she explains.

The surging demand saw Lalamove immediately setting out to grow its fleet. According to Teh, the company’s delivery partner community grew over 100% from 2021 to 2022. Today, it boasts 50,000 delivery partners across all vehicle types.

Taking it a step further, Lalamove has initiated steps to enhance its income and incentive programme for its delivery partners. In addition to commissions, additional incentives are offered to high-performing delivery partners and those who display Lalamove stickers. The company has also inked partnerships with workshops as well as providers of motor insurance and third-party rewards programmes to offer a holistic driving experience for its delivery partners.

As it looks towards the future, Lalamove remains steadfast in its mission of continuing to empower local communities by making delivery seamless, fast and cost-effective. “Our focus will continue to be on adding more value-added offerings for our customers, and providing highly transparent delivery solutions to SMEs,” explains Teh.

Under its Make a Winning Move campaign, Lalamove is offering RM20 in delivery discounts to businesses that sign up for a Lalamove business account. Small businesses can also sign up for individual accounts and apply the coupon code LALAWIN to receive discounts of the same amount. The offers are valid until July 31.

To find out more about Lalamove’s range of services and logistics options, visit www.lalamove.com/winningmove