MBR_ISSUE 54

Malta Business Review
ONLINE SERVICES
The choice of services found
in the eSeller platform
gives businesses the ability
to reach a global target
audience and deliver their
products to consumers in
Malta or abroad.
MaltaPost outlines eSeller
success for online retailers
MaltaPost’s recently unveiled eSeller platform for business has given local companies
the chance to substantially boost their online sales, with some indicating that their
international orders have doubled, if not tripled, since the facility was introduced.
The platform offers services primarily designed to help
businesses overcome the logistical challenges of sending
goods overseas, and it was crafted with SMEs in mind,
although some larger companies are also benefiting,
Charles Cilia, MaltaPost plc’s Head of Logistics and e-Commerce
Services said.
“The choice of services found in the eSeller platform gives
businesses the ability to reach a global target audience and deliver
their products to consumers in Malta or abroad,” explained Mr
Cilia. “It uses a harmonised system that facilities the process of
delivering products to their customers, both locally and abroad,
without them worrying about how much they are sending and
how often.”
This extremely convenient service uses a labelling system
that reduces the time for companies to label each product.
Beyond that, all of the related administrative tasks can be
carried out online from each business’ base or office, using the
MaltaPost dashboard. Once any product is ready for delivery,
the company can simply drops its items at a post office in bulk,
or order a courier pick-up at a time to suit its needs. Pick-up
fees remain the same whether there is one or more packages
to be collected, and MaltaPost handles everything from the
pick-up point onwards, while keeping the sender in the loop
continuously.
Among the businesses successfully using eSeller is Mdina Glass, a
company set up in 1968 as Malta’s first glass making company that
produces a wide array of glassware and decorative items made of
glass, and sells them locally and abroad.
Agreeing that eSeller has helped with their international trade too,
Mark Warner, Marketing Manager for Mdina Glass, explained that
the service has been both cost-effective and logistically sensible.
“Tourists often come into our shops and see things they like but
won’t be able to take back with them because of size or weight
restrictions, so a good postal service is vital to us,” he said. “Plus,
our e-commerce site ships across the world too, so it’s equally
important that we know how much things are going to cost to ship
and how long they will take to reach their destination.”
Mr Warner explained that, in the past, Mdina Glass’ logistics team
would pack a number of items and have them on standby, before
asking their driver to take them to the post office in Rabat or to
the MaltaPost headquarters in Qormi. This meant that a number
of people needed to be involved. “We would even cause a backlog
in the post office when we got there with our 20-or-so boxes,”
Mr Warner said. “Now, we just let our contact at MaltaPost know
when we have packages to be picked up, and they courier them
for us. This means our driver is free to do other things, while
the packages get on their way far quicker than they would have
in the past, and we even have the tracking numbers in-hand
immediately,” he asserted.
“With all of this in mind, we have certainly found eSeller to be very
well streamlined, and it has improved both our efficiency and our
international profitability. We now feel very confident about sending
shipments all over the world – safe in the knowledge that they will
arrive in good condition, for a reasonable amount of money, and in a
predictable amount of time. We would highly recommend it to other
businesses eager to boost their international output,” he added. MBR
For more information visit www.maltapost.com/eseller
20