5 April 2020 11:36 am Views - 430
Daraz, Sri Lanka's largest e-commerce platform, ordinarily connects thousands of sellers to millions of consumers across the country. Now, however, the scalability and scope of the e-commerce giant's platform and logistics expertise have urgent applications that will sustain the people in these uncertain times - the delivery of essential goods every day to Sri Lankan households currently on lockdown.
Due to the measures to slow the spread of the virus, an unfortunate consequence is that getting essential goods to households has been severely restricted, preventing Daraz from operating at full capacity and preventing thousands of people daily from obtaining essential goods for their families.
As an Alibaba Group-owned company, Daraz's infrastructure has the sophistication to service some of the world's largest markets - even during a crisis. Alibaba ensured the supply of food and essentials to millions of people in China during the SARS and Covid lockdown. Instead of barely surviving the fall-out from the epidemic, the platform emerged stronger to empower millions - thriving under unprecedented conditions because of the company's inherent adaptability and agile mindset, and with Jack Ma at the helm.
The iconic co-founder of Alibaba recently donated face masks and COVID-19 tests to Sri Lanka through Daraz MD Rakhil Fernando. With the brand's DNA built on responding efficiently, and successfully undertaking mammoth digital to on-ground operations, Daraz is able to take on the COVID-19 crisis with the invaluable benefit of learning and experience.
In spite of ongoing limitations, Daraz still delivers essential supplies to 1000 households daily within Colombo and its suburbs. With further support and collaboration, Daraz is able to fulfil the orders to 10,000 households islandwide daily.
With operations that adhere to the safety guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO) at every warehouse and hub, Daraz guarantees that all packages are sanitized, quality controlled and delivered by personnel trained in the heightened health and safety measures during this time.