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Bisnis Indonesia - Komponen biaya logistic: Jalan berat menuju ramping
20 May 2024
By Anitana W. Puspa and Aziz Rahardyan
Business players in the land, maritime, and air logistics sectors serve as the backbone of smooth cargo flow and services. However, they still encounter challenges in establishing an efficient logistics ecosystem.
There was a report prepared by the Assessment and Trade Agency of the Trade Ministry around 8 years ago. Despite being an older document, it provides insights into the perspectives of business players in the logistics sector on the institutional performance of logistics activities.
Regarding costs, around 30% of business players in Indonesia perceive port and airport fees as extremely high. Similarly, 40% of respondents view land transportation tariffs as expensive.
Costs are one of the main components carefully considered by logistics players.
Based on the report of the National Development Planning Ministry/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), four aspects influence logistics costs in a country, namely transportation costs, inventory costs, warehousing costs, and administration costs.
These four aspects directly impact the efficiency, operation, profitability, and competitiveness of companies in the market.
According to Indonesian Express Couriers Association (Asperindo) Chairperson M. Feriadi, Indonesia’s position as an archipelago affects its national logistics costs.
He noted that delivery tariffs vary depending on the destination, with inter-island deliveries typically being more expensive than within-island deliveries.
He remarked that it was no surprise the largest penetration in the logistics market is currently concentrated in Java.
“The main issue is infrastructure, which is still unbalanced. Currently, air transportation is more dominant because many destinations cannot be reached by land,” he said on Friday.
As a business player, he noted that the need to expand and penetrate regions not yet reached by logistics services was starting to be recognised.
His association is continuously providing input to the government regarding cost components. Various costs that are considered burdensome by the business world are expected to be reduced or addressed by the government.
“Our current evaluation with the various existing challenges is how to run a more efficient business. Regarding this matter, the government as the regulator and the facilitator is expected to prepare what is required by the business world,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Lion Parcel (Lion Group) Chief Marketing Officer Kenny Kwanto stated that the logistics delivery market outside Java has more potential due to the limited number of players expanding their operations beyond Java.
This is a given as connectivity and infrastructure in Java are better than outside Java.
Kenny acknowledged that the lower logistics costs achievable by land transport with trucks can be enjoyed in Java. In contrast, outside Java, air routes are still relied upon, which follow the commercial tariffs of airlines.
“Deliveries outside Java must adhere to commercial airline tariffs, which are around Rp50,000/kg. In contrast, delivery costs within Java can be reduced to just a few dozen rupiah per kilogramme, with lighter packages costing as little as Rp2,000 to Rp3,000,” he told Bisnis on Thursday (16/5).
Therefore, he sees that connectivity development is crucial for logistics players.
He hopes the government is serious about creating an ecosystem in the logistics industry that involves multiple ministries and institutions. Currently, several permits in the logistics industry are still dispersed across various ministries and institutions.
Meanwhile, the national corporation supporting maritime distribution, PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Persero) or PT Pelni for short, is targeting a 9.5% growth in business performance this year through the maritime highway programme by transporting 14,950 TEUs of cargo.
Pelni Corporate Secretariat Head Evan Eryanto reported that in 2023, Pelni’s maritime highway ships achieved a performance of 13,653 TEUs. This total includes 9,201 TEUs of outgoing cargo and 4,452 TEUs of return cargo.
“The company continues to operate the maritime highway in 2024 by managing 10 out of the 39 maritime highway routes assigned by the government to SOEs (state-owned enterprises) and private companies through an open tender scheme,” he stated.
The company logged that, until April 2024, Pelni has carried 3,979 TEUs of cargo. The load consists of 3,044 TEUs of outgoing cargo and 945 TEUs of return cargo.
“We believe that the production performance will continue to increase. Moreover, we have collaborated with the private sector to implement the hub and spoke scheme to sustain the performance of the maritime highway programme,” he stated.
In the hub and spoke scheme, Sorong Port that is acting as the main hub is partnering with Temas, while Kupang Port is collaborating with Meratus to reach smaller ports in Papua and East Nusa Tenggara.
Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ILFA) Chairperson Akbar Djohan stated that there were two main tasks of the government to maintain the smoothness of the national logistics ecosystem, namely boosting industry development outside Java and organising regulations.
“Industrial estates and special economic zones on several islands must be optimised. Additionally, to promote regional equity and absorb local workforce, we aim to provide a return cargo volume that can balance inter-island connectivity,” he said to Bisnis.
Moreover, regulation organisation must also be prioritised if the government is serious about organising the national logistics industry.
“For example, there are many counterproductive regulations between the central government and regional governments, and even overlapping regulations among ministries. By streamlining these regulations, prices will become more competitive, especially at the domestic level, ultimately making business operations more efficient,” he stated.
