Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1101649
21 COMMERCIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 APRIL 2019 MALTESE retailers are con- stantly facing competition from international online stores. e natural and more logical reaction to this foreign competition is to go globally by selling online themselves. One of their biggest chal- lenges when they sell online, apart from investing in an e- commerce platform and hav- ing it updated with all their products pictures and descrip- tion and having the platform linked to an online payment gateway, is then how to ship orders abroad. Express Trailers has been working silently on an innovative logistic platform purposely designed to support retailers, and anyone selling online, in the export function of their online sale. The platform is a redesigned ShipLowCost.com website that talks to the retailer's e-com- merce software, enabling it to ship its products abroad and effectively being able to take its business globally. "Express Trailers has always worked very closely with Mal- tese retailers and few under- stand the needs of these retail- ers as we do. We know that to operate and remain competi- tive, one needs to be backed up with the right logistics setup and even more, a robust IT platform. is is where our ShipLowCost service for busi- nesses comes in, also support- ed by our managed warehouse services," said Franco Azzo- pardi, Chairman and CEO of Express Trailers. Businesses who want to sell their products abroad can now work with Express Trail- ers through the ShipLowCost. com portal. ey will enjoy a seamless experience ranging from simply booking a deliv- ery through ShipLowCost. com portal after their own e- commerce website registers a sale, to going into a total solu- tion through our warehousing services where we manage the warehousing of their stock. ShipLowCost.com will in such situations, talk to the Ware- h o u s e M a n a g e m e n t S y s t e m what to pick, pack and deliver on behalf of the customer. Express Trailers launched www.ShipLowCost.com in 2012 to help consumers bring their online shopping or pur- chases to Malta via Express Trailers' hubs across Europe. "Although initially we were seen to be serving the consum- er, this was only the launchpad to be business enablers for the local retailers, initially in the import of smaller consign- ments and now in the delivery of their exports sold online or otherwise" added Franco Azz- opardi. The service started operating from four depots, in the UK, Germany, Italy and France with the addition of Sicily which came a few months after the service was launched. Eventu- ally, as the service kept grow- ing, another three depots were added in Austria, Netherlands and Spain. "Our ShipLowCost online service, coupled with Ex- press Trailers' foresight on e-commerce and the success of this solution, all proved the company's vision was a cor- rect one. Today, companies no longer even need their storage warehouses and their fleet of delivery vans locally. e next announcement will be another major milestone for the Mal- tese online retailer," Azzopardi said. "So I suggest you stay tuned in to our frequency. Ex- press Trailers, as always, is the benchmark gateway for Retail- ers and casual sellers to go global." Express Trailers supporting Maltese retailers to export globally The SLC for Business oOnline platform 14 leading businesses in Malta marked the 18th annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Day with respective employees volun- teering a day's work at various causes and NGO homes. CSR Day is held annually in March. Sporting specially-designed t-shirts in a symbolic show of solidarity, hundreds of em- ployees from AIS Group, Computime, Ex- press Trailers, Farsons, Forestals, FTI Group, Gasan Group of Companies, GreenPak, HSBC Malta Foundation, MaltaPost, Multi- gas, Tipico, SEP Malta Holding, and St James Hospital participated in the activities at vari- ous localities in Malta and Gozo. The companies carried out a range of works, from paintwork and cleanups to gardening and cooking. In no particular order, this year's cho- sen causes were: Birżebbuġa Primary School, Carers for Stray & Abandoned Felines (Borm- la), Ċentru Parrokkjali Sagra Familja (Bormla), Monastery of Sta Margerita (Bormla), San- nat Primary and Special Unit (Sannat, Gozo), Noah's Ark Dog Sanctuary (Mellieħa), Villa Chelsea of Richmond Foundation (Birkirkara), St Joseph Home (Ħamrun), a home improve- ment project of Agenżija Appoġġ (Valletta), a beach clean-up in cooperation with Nature Trust Malta (Pembroke), and on the premises of FTIA (Kalkara). Maltese and international firms come together for CSR Day 2019 HSBC Malta team members cooked for residents of Bormla at the Centru Parrokkjali Sagra Familja. The Gozo team worked in Sannat Primary