About Lai Wen
Lai Chang Wen, CEO and co-founder of Ninja Van, has discussed the company's expansion into cold chain and business-to-business logistics. He stated that the company has been pursuing this strategy for about six months and described the integration of cold chain with existing express networks as an area where "magic starts to happen." He said that the operating expense of a dedicated cold fleet is "terribly expensive" and that the ability to co-load cold and ambient goods while maintaining quality is key. He also noted that e-commerce has "leapfrogged a lot of retail" but that some industries, such as the sale of frozen goods, have been left behind due to logistical challenges.
In other appearances, Lai reflected on the company's founding and growth. He said that one of his "potentially biggest regrets" was focusing too heavily on e-commerce delivery with a workforce of about 70,000 drivers, rather than pursuing other opportunities. He described the company's approach to innovation as one of pulling people back from being "overly innovative" to ensure the basics are done right. Lai also discussed the company's hiring philosophy, stating that he looks for people who are "self-aware," "hungry to learn," and have "no ego." He has advised aspiring entrepreneurs to work in a large corporation for two years before starting a company, and cautioned that "entrepreneurship means you're ready to fail if you try your best."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Lai Wen's recent appearances.
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Transcript (7 segments)
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Lai Wen0:00
I think the way we look at cold chain logistics is it's always been a full truckload movement for big restaurants. And I think what we have seen in the last 10 years, e-commerce has leapfrogged a lot of retail, but a lot of industries have been left behind. One could argue that the inability to buy your favorite frozen hawen from Changi because it's just too much of a hassle is a problem of logistics. What we are seeing is a lot of pet entrepreneurs start building much larger scale businesses, even here in Singapore, on the back of the ability to ship hundreds of pet cubes, pet food which are frozen, prepared raw, much more easily than before. So the opportunity to me is something which requires logistics to unlock.
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Interviewer0:47
So the thing is, how disruptive is this? Because obviously there are other people who have already been doing stuff like this.
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Lai Wen0:53
Well, I think what you are seeing is the ability to integrate cold into very big, scaled-up express network. That's something you haven't really seen. What you are seeing is an example in Japan, where you see uni from Hokkaido being sent anywhere to any zakaya across the entire Japan in 24 hours at a very affordable rate. I think the ability to integrate cold efficiently with all the correct ISO standards into an express network which is delivering your ambient iPhones, I think that's the key and that's the magic.
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Interviewer1:23
So talk to us about how much it costs to upgrade and move into the value chain. Because these cold storage facilities, perhaps retrofitting some of your existing vans, perhaps coming up with a network to manage the logistics, it doesn't seem like you can just pay for it out of your pocket. How much is this costing you guys to move into this lucrative value chain?
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Lai Wen1:40
Well, it is costing us to a certain extent, but it is much lower than you would expect. I think the key really is less about the CapEx than the OpEx. The OpEx of a dedicated cold fleet is terribly expensive, and it is very difficult to make sure that an entire truck is fully utilized when you are shipping all across the region. But the ability to co-load cold with ambient and ensuring that the quality is similar, I think that's where magic starts to happen.
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Interviewer2:08
All right, so moving into cold chain and also B2B logistics, you've been doing this now for about six months since you announced, I believe, last April, if my math is correct. Has this already started to improve profitability, given the fact that in the last fiscal year your net operating loss actually widened a bit?
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Lai Wen2:24
Oh, 100%. I think you start seeing all the numbers are coming true, and we are forced to follow in Singapore. It is quite evident that a lot of these businesses have traditionally been using full truckloads or much more inefficient methods. When you layer on the efficiency of e-commerce into these existing models, I think you will see the margins improve tremendously.
