The document explores the establishment of a circular reverse logistics system for e-commerce in Asia, focusing on enhancing return policies to maximize material value and mitigate waste. It highlights significant investments by major Chinese tech firms in Southeast Asia, the challenges of trust in cross-border e-commerce, and the need for improved regulatory standards. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of industry collaboration and data in transitioning towards a circular economy model.

1. What will it take to
create an e-commerce
circular reverse logistics
system in Asia?

2. This presentation focuses on 2 aspects:
1. Establishing circular systems for
returns based on economically
viable solutions to prolong or
capture their material value.
2. Establishing a circular e-commerce
industry
E-Commerce Circular Footprint

3. E-commerce Growth
Visual Perspective

4. Source: Think with Google
Projected Growth
Financial Value Perspective

5. E-commerce consumer spend

9. Chinese tech giants engage in a spending &
investment spree across the SE Asian region
❖ Alibaba: 18 June 2018: opens first SE Asia office in
Malaysia and launches the group’s first overseas
electronic world trade platform (eWTP) hub and in
2018 invests US$4 billion into Lazada.
Lucy Peng, co-founder of Alibaba “...we feel very
confident to double down on Southeast Asia.”
❖ JD.com: Partnership with Central Group, Thailand,
follows investments into Indonesia and Vietnam.
❖ Tencent Holdings: diversifies its revenue sources
outside of China particularly in gaming.

10. Returns Policies
and Procedures
Indian e-commerce sites have
much easier to navigate returns
policies and procedures.

11. Source: Caixinglobal.com
Are Asian E-commerce Sites
Customer Focused or Sales Focused?

12. What the Research says
on Returns in Asia (1)‘Embracing the E-Commerce Revolution in Asia & the Pacific’,
Asia Development Bank, June 2018
➔ Complex border-crossing procedures, regulatory burdens,
and uncertain return processes continue to hinder the
development of cross-border e-commerce.
➔ ...consumers need the option to return goods, which also
builds trust between the two (e-commerce platform and
buyer)
➔ Pickaboo in Bangladesh offers a 3-day return policy. Trust
can grow if trade associations and government agencies
help develop and enforce regulations and Standards -
creating what is known as institution-based trust.

13. What the Research says
on Returns in Asia (2)‘Handbook on E-commerce and Competition in ASEAN’,
Competition Commission Singapore, 2017
➔ ...there is a lack of trust among customers when
completing transactions online, for instance with regards to
data protection, banking fraud, unfulfilled deliveries, and
the inability to return products
➔ Last mile delivery and the locker system in Singapore: ...it
also means returning a product is easier as goods can
simply be left in the locker ready for collection.
➔ The return of products is one of the biggest challenges for
online retailers. Many companies offer a free returns service
to reduce the burden on the customer, whilst others still
charge a fee to cover the associated costs.

14. BluPort - One of the largest automated parcel terminal networks
in Singapore, you can find a bluPort within easy reach,

15. Current Practices
(international)
The ‘Returnless
Refund’

16. Returnly, the post-purchase payments company for
retailers and brands that care about customer loyalty, today
announced the availability of Green Returns™ enabling
retailers to offer smart return policies that guarantee the
best business outcome for the brand and the planet. Green
Returns are especially well-suited for beauty and intimates
retailers that are often required to dispose of used and
opened products that pose a potential health risk, adding to
the 5 billion pounds of waste that retail returns create each
year.
Returnly Press Release
Issued 22 May 2019
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190522005111/en/Returnly-Online-Returns-Beauty-Intimates-Friendlier-Shoppers

17. Circular E-commerce Industry
& Reverse Logistics
A circular e-commerce
industry provides the
opportunity to improve:
1. Material use & material flows
2. Energy use
3. Packaging
4. Product use (design for the
9Rs)
5. Supply chain
6. Water

18. The Circular Rs
Form the
Foundation
of the
Circular
Economy

19. In a Circular & Climate Emergency World
are these Metrics Appropriate?

20. One Example of the Importance
of Circular Metrics
This is in the US.
What is it here in Asia?
While this information
comes from a survey,
Asian e-commerce
market research firms
do not survey this
information - why?

21. E-commerce Winners will be
Decided on Circularity / Sustainability

22. Circularity Will Also Include
(+ESG)
Energy Products Packaging Supply chain
Materials Water Emissions Waste

23. Closed Loop and
Material Flows

24. Questionnaires, Supplier Scorecards
& Monitoring

26. No easily available
data on returns
or the
operations
from the
Asian
e-commerce
industry

27. NO
For a circular reverse logistics system

28. But we have
many of the
pieces

29. The Requirements for a
Circular Reverse Logistics
Operations in Asia

30. Circular
Reverse
Logistics
Operations
What We Have

32. Circular
Reverse
Logistics
Operations

33. This has potential to be a game changer

34. Circular
Reverse
Logistics
Operations

35. Optoro’s returns optimization reroutes returned and excess inventory to the
next best home, reducing financial, operational, and environmental waste.
Increasing number of
innovative technologies

36. Circular
Reverse
Logistics
Operations

37. Logistics has many
different offerings

38. New startups are changing
the logistics landscape

39. Circular
Reverse
Logistics
Operations

40. A world of
choice for
manufacturers

41. Circular
Reverse
Logistics
Operations

43. What We Do Not Have

44. We Do Not have
Any Information on
➔ Secondary markets
➔ Types or volume of returns
➔ Percentage of returns that are deemed as ‘waste’
➔ Percentage of returns that are resold, repurposed,
repaired or recycled

45. Secondary Markets In China
https://www.ecommercestrategychina.com/column/what-opportunities-brought-by-the-secondary-market-to-the-e-commerce-business
-in-china
A circular economy extends the lifecycle of a product so it can be re-used
by another user in various forms. For example, Huishoubao.com
classifies recovered mobile phones into three grades: excellent, good
and faulty. Excellent products are used for secondary sales. Good
products are disassembled and re-circulated in the maintenance market.
And faulty products are recycled directly and the precious metals are
recovered by the environmental protection agency. It respectively
represents the three main ways of recycling a product: second-hand
sales/refurbished sales/recycling of components. No matter what type of
recycling is used, they all embody the nature of the sharing economy.
Like the sharing economy, the recycling economy emphasises the use of a
product and does not (permanently) own a product.

46. And This...
The glue to
bring all the
stakeholders
together

47. For Economical & Viable
Solutions to Emerge
1. Industry collaboration
2. Data: to support decisions to start building the
business case on select products & sectors to
transition to the circular economy

48. We Have to Build a Team

49. Create a Ripple Effect for More Industry /
Consumer Engagement

50. Remember
It’s the Business Model, Stupid
There is a seismic
shift going on from
‘Shareholder’ value
to ‘Stakeholder’
value

52. Circular Economy Asia
Visit the Knowledge Centre
of our website
adrienna@circulareconomyasia.org