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Covid-19 pushes the growth of E-commerce businesses. How businesses can adapt to build greater strength.

After the Covid-19 time has passed, the world will never be the same as before. All businesses are facing challenges from all sides after many lockdown measures have been imposed and it has affected the majority of the population. This has stimulated people to turn to using technology in ordering products through online channels, leading to a rapid growth in e-commerce businesses. With the increased pressure, both small and large businesses strive to find ways to adapt in order to survive by attaching greater importance to the location of their production factories. The industrial park is one of the golden locations that many businesses turn to, together with changing the former means of logistics to a logistics system and distribution center that are nearer to city centers in order to achieve faster transportation.

Trends in locations, growth of factories, warehouses and distribution centers

The Covid-19 epidemic has shaken the original structure of the business sector and made it necessary to be resilient in order to reduce the pressure and for survival. Since online sales show a continuous growth, the competition in transportation has become increasingly fierce. In 2020, there was a calculation by over 22 major transportation companies in Thailand which found that there were over 4 million packages delivered per day, representing a market value of over 66 million baht. Because customers demand speed in delivery, there has been a scrummage over locations for factories, warehouses and distribution centers to ensure that these facilities are in appropriate locations in order to meet customer’s needs in terms of transportation convenience and speed. In order to solve the issues of traditional business models to be in line with technology, many businesses are accelerating to upgrade their capabilities by investing in relocating factories and warehouses to industrial estates or renting ready-made factories in industrial parks to reduce the cost of transportation and raw materials in production to be more competitive and generate more revenue.

Investing in E-commerce business network

It is possible that e-commerce businesses will continue to grow after the recovery from the Covid-19 epidemic from the consumer’s behavioral change. Formerly, to order products online was an unfamiliar practice that people were not used to. However, after  regular use, people have become more familiar and feel safer to do online shopping, also with the shortening of the required delivery time. Therefore, it is essential to take part in the e-commerce business network, similar to that of shark lice that feed off the shark, by moving the business closer to the distribution centers or in industrial estates that are closer to the city centers. Since a logistics system is the management of warehouses and transportation that covers items from raw materials or incoming goods, storage of goods, production process, all the way to transportation of outgoing goods to shops or customers completely, investing in a relocation is considered as creating a new standard in having products readily available for transportation faster than ever before. This can address the weakness of online shops that need to send products to customers promptly.

Moving from a physical store to an online platform

Once e-commerce has gained more popularity, many businesses rush to compete for customers’ attention by moving from physical store sales to online platform sales to be in line with the technology and the change in customers’ behavior that has shifted to do more online shopping and use more delivery services. However, these businesses face a challenge concerning the location of the production plant and the transportation distance. We would like to recommend renting ready-made factories that are located in industrial parks and turn them into warehouses. Industrial parks are well equipped with comprehensive management system, basic infrastructure and facilities, as well as a large distribution center with spacious parking area that can facilitate a number of large trucks. This is a perfect solution for moving businesses from physical store sales to online platform sales.

For investors searching for feasible locations, 304 Industrial Park is open for site visits. The industrial park provides land rental service for factory construction, as well as ready-made factories with basic utilities and facilities to support all forms of production. It is located in Prachinburi and Chachoengsao, which receives tax privileges and promotion from the BOI. Additionally, there is also a large labor source so there is no concern regarding a labor shortage. Adapting to the future is made easy and it is a business advantage for sustainable growth in the years to come.