Asendia Strengthens its Commitment to APAC with Strategic CEO and Managing Director Appointments

By: Asia Business Outlook Team | Monday, 16 January 2023

Senthil Kumar, CEO of Asendia Singapore/South Asia (Asendia Singapore Pte Ltd), and Stuart Foster, Managing Director of Asian Desk, APAC, have joined Asendia, one of the world's leading e-commerce logistics providers (Asendia Asian Desk). Senthil and Stuart's appointments strengthen Asendia's commitment to Asia-Pacific, in line with its e-commerce logistics solutions, which provide e-commerce focus companies with a strategic foothold in South-East Asia and North Asia.

“We are pleased to kick-start a new year by welcoming two industry stalwarts to Asendia. Senthil and Stuart are both highly experienced and bring with them a deep understanding of the industry and the region. They have great strategic vision to grow Asendia in Asia-Pacific while better serving our fast-growing customer-base. Asendia is on an expansion plan in Asia-Pacific, and we are excited by the region’s unexploited potential that we aim to be a market leader for sustainable cross-border e-commerce solutions by 2025.” said Lionel Berthe, Head of Asendia Asia Pacific.

The Asia Pacific B2C E-commerce Gross Merchandise Value is projected to increase from US$3,082.3 billion in 2021 to US$5,306.2 billion by 20261. Based on external data, Singapore has a significant 78% of online consumers shopped with international merchants, and cross-border e-commerce. While in Hong Kong, cross-border transactions make up 25% of all e-commerce sales2. “All these data forecasted great opportunity for brands and retailers, and Asendia is the perfect partner to support them as they leverage the full growth potential through the best and comprehensive e-commerce solutions. I am confident of Senthil and Stuart’s leadership and look forward to seeing them take the company to greater heights in the years to come,” Lionel commented.

Asia-Pacific supports a growing middle-class with rising disposable income. This, together with high levels of internet penetration and accessibility, as well as smartphone ownership, has resulted in organic demand for e-commerce. The popularity of social media among the youth has also fueled demand, with retailers using social media platforms to advertise and promote e-commerce3.

Senthil Kumar’s hire as the CEO for Singapore and South Asia is key to tapping the immense growth opportunities in Asia-Pacific for brands and retailers. “Although the current market situations are not ideal from a macro-economic perspective – South and Southeast Asia is still very rife with opportunities from a cross-border logistics perspective. Having successfully deployed growth strategies in various companies in prior years, I look forward to working and implementing fresh growth trajectories by synergizing the strong Asendia products with the market needs. Further to this, I look forward to working with the entire Asendia team and contribute to the company from all angles in these challenging and exciting times!” said Senthil Kumar, CEO of Asendia Singapore/South Asia.

Senthil is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of experience in general management, e-commerce, and logistics, having held senior positions at DHL E-commerce, Samsung, and, most recently, Janio Asia. He has extensive knowledge and experience in various aspects of logistics and e-commerce, which he has used to build cohesive teams and grow sustainable revenue and profit in difficult market environments.

He was awarded the Asian Business Fellowship Award (by the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore) in the early years of his career and has had market exposure and hands-on knowledge across various geographies (South Asia, Southeast Asia, North Asia and Oceania) that would be critical in his new role with Asendia Singapore.

Stuart brings with him 19 years of extensive and rich experience in the parcel delivery industry. He has built his career working in diverse functions from sales to the management of the pricing and customer solutions, and to international sales director. He believes that the success at an international level can be achieved with committed local partners and e-commerce players driven by good customer satisfaction.

Remarking on the need efficient Europe-Asia goods flow, Stuart Foster said: “The shipping routes from Asia to Europe are constantly evolving and the Asian Desk department of Asendia APAC is the single-entry point for all Asian clients who have facilities in Europe. We are taking care of the client on the operation and sales level. With Asendia APAC, we are not only talking about last mile but the entire parcel journey including the custom clearance. Joining a leader like Asendia, with its positioning across Asia, Americas, and Europe, is key to answer Asian client needs. Products like e-PAQ are aimed at ensuring that client needs are fully supported to high standards. We are also developing additional solutions to increase volume exchanges between Europe and Asia. Asian consumers are very keen on buying European goods. We want to facilitate the shipping process to empower European sellers on this strategic market.”

Stuart started his career with UPS before moving to La Poste France where he successfully launched the International Sales department of Colissimo (a subsidiary of La Poste) as the Head of International Sales. He led his team to support clients and local partners to develop cross-order shipments to France and Europe. His last stint was as Managing Director Asia for Seven Senders, a European leading delivery platform, where he oversaw the optimisation of international delivery services from Asia to Europe, and vice versa.