ESW and SEKO Logistics in e-commerce alliance

SEKO Logistics and ESW, the direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce company, have entered into a new partnership agreement providing mutually complementary services to each other’s clients.

The alliance, which helps to address the rising cost of cross-border e-commerce for DTC brands, will unlock access to a global e-commerce market expecting record growth in 2022 to more than $5.55trn.

As part of the agreement, ESW will support SEKO’s roster of clients with global end-to-end e-commerce technology and services to help them expand their DTC businesses.

In turn, SEKO will give ESW’s clients immediate access to enhanced logistics and fulfilment support, including expanded in-country warehouse presence and returns centres at over 120 locations globally.

Dublin-headquartered ESW, with global offices in the US, UK, Spain, France, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, is an Asendia Group company, a joint venture between La Poste of France and Swiss Post.

“This new partnership will provide SEKO and ESW’s combined roster of clients with superior global DTC e-commerce solutions,” said Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, ESW’s president and CEO, Americas.

Bousquet-Chavanne added: “SEKO’s logistics leadership offers a globally scalable solution for warehousing and returns, bringing ESW clients all the benefits and growth potential of an e-commerce fulfilment network spanning 40 countries.”

The announcement comes as the world of global e-commerce, particularly in the last year, has shifted. SEKO said that the rising cost of airfreight has seen cross-border e-commerce brands recognise the need for local fulfilment to reduce shipping costs, expedite delivery times and address complex compliance issues.

Brian Bourke, SEKO’s chief growth officer, said: “The size and scale of our global fulfilment footprint, combined with ESW’s e-commerce technology, makes this partnership so exciting.

“We have customers in our portfolio who want what ESW offers, so we bring immediate basket aggregation opportunities. This type of collaboration is driving the growth of the e-commerce ecosystem.”

Bourke added: “Our partnership with ESW provides these solutions immediately, and we’ve already won our first fulfilment customers on the strength of our combined offering. We are giving SEKO’s e-commerce clients the chance to partner with ESW on their globalisation journey.”