Luís Simões highlights the importance of e-commerce for logistics operators

ICIL 2016 was meeting point for distributors and retail sector companies

Luís Simões participated, on 21 April, in the debate organized by the ICIL Foundation "Towards a Sustainable Distribution Chain". The event, which took place in Madrid, brought together distributors and manufacturers in the retail sector, to discuss about the current situation of e-commerce in Spain and trends of this new sales channel.

At the meeting, Javier Hernández Colom, Regional Director of Business Development of LS pointed out that "e-commerce is generating very high expectations and gives us for the first time, a high profile face to the customer". The official also said that "we must reinvent ourselves and be imaginative. In this case, the process more complex is the home delivery, so we are working on this issue with our partners to improve the shopping experience of the end user. "

Regarding the existing trend in this field, the Regional Director of Business Development of LS said that the industry will be subject to change in the near future, since most digital buyers are individuals aged between 16 and 39 years, which means that in 10 years the general population will be very different from the current buying habits. "We must take into account the kind of markets to which we turn, since there are many factors that influence its development. The facilities in access to an online purchase, the degree of interaction with the different channels or the security of payment systems are some of these examples, "said Javier Hernández Colom.

Also present were several experts as Jesús Sánchez Lladó, Head of Unit for e-commerce and mail / parcels; Pol Lligoña, Supply Chain Spain's Privalia and Juan José Ojeda, Head of Logistics of Camper; and Cristina Martínez, Director of Business Development & Account Management Consumer MLEMEA DSC-CHL Supply Chain in the role of moderator. Stakeholders have exposed several opinions focusing on issues such as the strategy followed in e-commerce from the logistical point of view, distribution and customer.

All speakers agreed that the online sale, although it has penetrated well in Spain and present an annual growth of 15 to 20%, has a long road ahead. In Spain, only 13% of companies use this sales channel, a number that is concentrated in the sectors of health, beauty and fashion, which means that there is a large percentage of companies that do not follow the trend.