Nordic e-commerce is growing exponentially. A year or two ago sales stood at more than SEK 140 billion. In many ways, logistics are the lifeblood of e-commerce. With its modern logistics solutions, Malmö Industrial Park is consequently a perfect hub for e-commerce.
During 2014 an average of 12.4 million people shopped online in the Nordic region each quarter. Nordic residents are sensitive to changing trends, and typically, almost all age groups in the region – from 15 to 75 – shop online. Clothes and shoes are the major products, followed by consumer electronics, books, cosmetics and sport and leisure items.
”The Nordic region is leading the way, and one of the reasons is that we were early to establish online companies such as Boo.com. In addition, we have had a high level of internet penetration for a considerable time, which has given consumers access to fast internet services”, says Sarah Wittbom, CEO of the Malmö-based company Nordic e-Commerce Knowledge.
Boo.com was founded in the late 1990s, largely focusing on online international clothes sales. The company attracted almost as much attention for its spectacular bankruptcy, but is still viewed as one of the pioneers within e-commerce.
Today’s major actors have logistics facilities throughout the world, and it is this type of company that CMP and Malmö City Council want to attract to Malmö Industrial Park, with companies being offered centrally located industrial sites – from 20,000 square metres upwards. The area is located immediately adjacent to Copenhagen Malmö Port – a full service port that handles all types of ships and freight. The multimodal logistics solutions are well developed and make it simple to move freight between ship, train and lorry. In addition, Copenhagen’s airport Kastrup, which is the hub for airfreight in Northern Europe, is just half an hour by car from Malmö.
”Malmö is also part of Öresund, a multicultural region where a large number of languages are spoken. This is of interest to e-commerce companies that want to establish large customer centres”, Sarah Wittbom observes. ”And even though the Öresund region is a comparatively small market, it can function as a starting-point for a larger expansion, primarily through proximity to the countries in the Baltic region.”
The industrial park’s strategic location also makes it simple to distribute incoming and outgoing flows of goods – both in a north-south direction to Scandinavia and Northern Germany and in an east-west direction to Poland, the Baltic States and Western Russia.
Sarah Wittbom points out that e-commerce is 90% about logistics. That’s why the quality throughout the entire logistics chain is so important for these companies. She also feels that haulage contractors and other specialists must take on partially different roles to match the requirements from e-commerce.
”It involves supporting companies with strategic expertise in everything from transportation and stock optimisation to packaging and environmental issues”, she says. ”As I see it, the logistics suppliers must get better at business development and have the courage to invest. Quite simply, more innovation is needed – new, more tailored services that are suitable for e-commerce.”
Fact box about e-commerce in the Nordic region*
– Turnover of some SEK 140 billion.
– Almost 90% of people who live in the region have shopped online at some time.
– About 30% shop online every quarter.
– The major products are clothes, shoes, consumer electronics, books and cosmetics, sport and leisure items.
– Credit card is the most popular payment method.
– Nordic residents who shop online demand fast deliveries.
– On average, 93% of the population in the Nordic region have access to the internet.
* Source: PostNord – ”E-commerce in the Nordic region in 2015” – Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland