Latin America is a market proportional to its size, so it is giant. With a great demand for goods and services; depending on the area and conditions, they mean a business opportunity that impacts the interests of the global entrepreneur.
Being aware of the development and consumer trends in other countries, is an intelligent task of an innovative entrepreneur. It can be a source of new opportunities and alternatives for the generation of business growth strategies that few or none of the European companies should ignore.
3 powerful development areas, which will be booming in 2019 in Latin America.
Technology and new services related to logistics play a fundamental role. These areas can become the gateway for your company in this part of the world:
AI & CX (Customer Experience). Practical solutions of AI (Artificial Intelligence) based on the cloud for CX.
The virtual agents promoted by the IA present a significant potential to improve the customer experience.
Artificial Intelligence, linked to the CX and the NLU (Natural Language Understanding), which allows voice recognition, as well as the compression and processing of the message correctly located in its intention and context; generates an opportunity for the application of this in the form of customer service agents, allowing the process to be automated.
According to a study conducted by Frost & Sullivan, 20% of the companies with customer service in Latin America, have plans to adopt some type of solution promoted by AI in the near future.
An example in action: SmartAction
SmartAction is a startup dedicated to the creation of virtual agents that automate the conversations that live agents perform from voice, chat and text. Using NLU they automate the types of calls and repeated conversations, collecting data before passing to a human agent, controlling the flow of calls and outgoing messages.
E-Commerce Latin America in a period of modernization and restructuring facing the growing demand.
It is expected that by 2019, E-Commerce in Latin America will grow by 20%. Of this volume, almost 10% will be retail traffic. This leads to the need to supply, store and monitor the delivery of physical products. It requires a level of service faster, accessible, responsive to customer needs and more traceable in terms of logistics.
The 3PL (Third Party Logistics) operators in Latin America are modernizing and restructuring as quickly as possible to keep up with the growing demand for E-Commerce.
The retail market in Mexico and Brazil has begun to prioritize and evaluate the capabilities of reverse logistics, as well as the flexibility and ease offered by its suppliers. Gradually, 3PL suppliers have begun to offer a wider range of services, including product repairs and reconditioning, re-packaging, reshipments and, when necessary, resale of used products through intermediaries.
Companies in Mexico are increasingly eliminating the fleets of underutilized vehicles and storage facilities and prefer to subcontract these costs in a variable manner. For many consumer goods companies (and some B2B firms), their greatest cost, outside of labor, is logistics.
On the other hand, cross-border e-commerce represents a growing opportunity for foreign merchants to have access to new customers who want more options and better prices than those offered by less competitive domestic markets.
An example is the company Logiety, which simplifies foreign trade processes through technology.
The moment for disruptive startups in the logistics sector.
New logistics companies in Latin America focus on reducing costs and accelerating the service speed in the most inefficient stages of the supply chain through the use of four factors of change: technology to improve productivity, “uberization” of activities that require a lot of labor, the use of marketplaces and intelligence in the design of business models. These 4 approaches reduce costs. Startups are focused on creating a light, adaptable business model, with the priority to understand the commercial and consumer needs to offer a better service.
Enviaya. A light and empathetic business model. The best shipment from the comfort of your home or office.
The company Enviaya is a platform that allows to compare and quote parcel services that exist in the world market. It works with the main parcel companies (UPS, FedEx, DHL) and the consumer chooses with which company to make the shipment.
Different languages, cultures, circumstances. Any company wishing to enter the Latin American market successfully must combine the necessary tools to establish a path with firm steps.
Being informed and prepared, knowing and studying the market multiplies the possibilities of impacting the target market. Understanding culture and cultivating personal relationships can be a more important asset than technical experience. Generating contacts and trust alliances become a good alternative to build a network and reap the fruits of an adventure that can be beneficial for the future of the company and the potential trigger for its growth.