@tunde_kehinde and @ercin_eksin Do you see ACE working with a ride sharing platform to better optimize delivery and most likely same day delivery?
2 Likes
We are very open to partnership. Our partnership with Interswitch will help us bring innovation to the payments/delivery space and we’ll most likely announce a few similar partnerships with other providers from different sectors soon.
Re: Ride Sharing and same day delivery. We believe same day delivery will become the norm at some point in the near future…but it’s very tough to scale (without burning a ton of cash). Right now we offer delivery next day in Lagos and across the country in less than 4 days…3.5 to be exact. The ride sharing angle is an interesting one…we have not investigated it in depth but we would be open to discussing with the key players on ways to work together.
I have been following with the discussions so far, i will like to thank you guys for the good work on trying to solve logistics issues in the country. Now my questions
- Do you have offices in Abuja or Port-harcourt?
- Can the same next day delivery be applicable to other cities asides Lagos?
- Last week konga says they would be launching something similar called MECURY, Do you see that as a threat to ACE?
Thanks @thefenshop
Re: Offices in Abuja and PH. Yes we do. Please send an email to genius@ace.ng if you would like us to ship for you to or from those locations and we are happy to help.
Re: Next delivery. Outside Lagos we offer delivery within 3 to 4 days. Our approach is to give you a window where you and your customer can expect the package to arrive. We will also keep both of you informed along the entire process with delivery updates and tracking tools so you know where your package stands. If you like, we can also collect a payment for you from your customers and get it back to you within 2 days from delivery.
Re: Mercury. To be honest, we view the market in 2 ways…its such a big market with a lot of room for all of us so the more the merrier, we are very confident in our delivery experience vs. any provider in the country.
On a threat to ACE. We focus 90% of our time on 2 things…our customers and our team…the rest of the time is split on other matters. We are aware of what other players in the market do but if we stay close to our customers, solve their problems and keep recruiting and retaining the best talent, we’ll be fine.
In short…bring it on 
2 Likes
- Is ACE profitable? If I can dare it; how much did ACE make last year?
Not yet, we are achieving our revenue and net income targets based on our financial model that we committed to our investors. Regarding our figures, we are not a public company yet so we would like to keep it private for the time being but we have grown our business significantly to be able to attract 2nd round of financing
- What are some specific vulnerabilities you have noticed and plugged in your operations in the last 2 years.
The main points that we observed are technology and talent.
-
Talent is the most important competitive advantage a company can have in the long-term. Without the right talent, it’s impossible to keep ahead of the competition. The one thing that the successful startups run out of the fastest is the talent rather than money as you grow a lot. Therefore, we are always looking for great talent to improve the strength of our team.
-
Technology is key to scale. Consumer oriented logistics requires real-time tracking of the packages and a platform that provides visibility to end consumers as well as to merchants because each package matters. There was no off-the shelf technology available to achieve that. Therefore, we have developed Nigeria’s first consumer oriented logistics platform from scratch to meet the needs of the market such as solutions for proof of delivery and payment collection
2 Likes
Your team is pretty kickass, I hear. How do you find the right people? And how do you keep them? And how come you are always hiring?
Trade secret !
To be honest we focus on a few things.
-
We give people real responsibility. If you are intelligent, ambitious and want to make things happen, this is the place for you. We are solving some very difficult problems which attracts talent…from there, they want to have real responsibility in the solving of those problems. Ercin and I paint the vision and we allow the team to execute
-
Culture of Meritocracy. There is a great Steve Jobs quote on this.
“I’ve learned over the years that, when you have really good people, you don’t have to baby them. By expecting them to do great things, you can get them to do great things. The original Mac team taught me that A-plus players like to work together, and they don’t like it if you tolerate B-grade work.”
We protect our culture ferociously. We find that if you surround super talented people with other super talented people they will thrive. If you allow sub standard work or work ethic in your businesses your product will suffer and your stars will leave. If that works for you, you’ll find us and stay if not, you’ll leave on your own.
Our team at ACE know if you perform, you get rewarded with good compensation, equity in our business and a chance to solve big problems that will impact our country positively.
1 Like
i just got a call from one of your customer care and he explained in details all the fees involved, i must say it is very fair, very competitive as well, and then i was also offered insurance if i want.
Can you explain better how the package insurance system works at ACE?
Can you explain better how the package insurance system works at ACE?
We build our fees with a very flexible framework that would suit both for the SMEs as well as large Enterprises. Our merchants fully decide on which options to pick. We have default insurance that covers each package up to a certain fixed value or the optional package that allows to cover 100% of the value of goods.
We wanted to provide piece of mind to our merchants i.e once they give the package to ACE they would either get their money or get their package back.
1 Like
I sell cards and I want to ship for as low as 200Naira, is it possible?
1 Like