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MONDAY | MAY 19, 2025

Lazada Malaysia champions AI adoption

recommendations aligned with their needs, often relying on chatbots, translations and visual product searches – the three most commonly used AI features when shopping. “To help sellers meet these shifts, Lazada provides tools like Lazada Business Advisor and Lazzie Seller, which leverage AI to deliver store risk assessments, business advice, and key metrics. “With actionable insights into consumer trends, inventory

Economic Partnership and Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean this year. “We already offer a range of tools and resources to facilitate cross border readiness, including AI-driven features like translations that bridge language barriers, robust support programmes through Lazada Uni versity that help sellers better understand diverse customer bases and advanced logistics solutions to enable fast, accurate, and cost-efficient cross-border deli veries,” he added. Malaysian

most micro-entrepreneurs and rural businesses can benefit from our infrastructural and educational support,” Ramiro said. He mentioned that some features Lazada has launched to support sellers include AI Smart Listing, which automates product listings by generating and prefilling attributes based on images or keywords. Paired with Smart Product Optimisation, sellers can easily refine their visuals and content within minutes. Another feature is Lazada IM Shop Assistant, an AI-powered chatbot that enhances customer engagement and responds automatically to queries outside business hours. Asked how Lazada is improving its last-mile delivery and fulfilment network in Malaysia to support sellers better and enhance customer experience, especially in under served areas, Ramiro said Lazada implements best-in-class AI tech nology across logistics operations to optimise delivery efficiency. Using geolocation, AI tracks orders in real-time and dynamically plans and calculates vehicle routes to ensure the most efficient deliveries, he said. “This enables us to minimise costs, reduce transit times, and enhance overall delivery reliability – ensuring a seamless experience for both sellers and customers, es pecially in underserved areas.” Commenting on Lazada’s cross border e-commerce plans, Ramiro said the platform sees strong oppor tunities to expand within Asean, driven by regional efforts such as the the Regional Comprehensive Right now, he said, Malaysia is seeing broad plans being introduced, but most of the execution is driven by the private sector. “Take charging stations, for example. While a task force exists, there’s no clear, unified strategy. Public awareness is also lacking. People don’t know, for instance, that you need to use a specific app to access everything,” he added. While Malaysia has set an ambitious target of 10,000 EV charging stations by year-end, Hong believes the country is unlikely to hit the mark. “In my opinion, we won’t hit that target. I think we’ll achieve 55% to 60% by the end of this year.” Hong said the issue is not the number of public chargers, but the lack of affordable and accessible home charging. “Most EV owners in Malaysia charge at home. That’s the only way it makes economic sense. “If you rely entirely on public charging, it could cost you up to 90 sen per kilowatt-hour. From personal experience, my EV bill was higher than if I had just used RON95,” he pointed out. Hong said many high-rise

o Only 25% of Malaysian online sellers have integrated artificial intelligence into business operations, barriers include cost concerns and resistance to change, says COO

Ű BY JOHN GILBERT sunbiz@thesundaily.com

playbook to help sellers assess their AI readiness and discover how they can use AI on Lazada to drive business success,” Ramiro told SunBiz . He said the online e-commerce platform has launched the Online Sellers Artificial Intelligence Readi ness Playbook – a strategic guide to help sellers understand where they are on their AI journey and map out clear, actionable steps for adoption at their own pace. The playbook offers sellers insight into their AI-readiness under three archetypes – AI Agnostics, Aspirants and Adepts – while highlighting operational gaps they can bridge with AI. It also outlines key AI solutions they can leverage, with direct access to resources and tutorials for maximising Lazada’s built-in AI powered tools and features. “AI is a key priority for us, and we are focused on closing the adoption gap by upskilling the local seller ecosystem and equipping them with powerful yet easy-to-use tools. Our digital AI solutions are designed to be genuinely inclusive for sellers across Malaysia, operating from Kuala Lumpur or a small town in Pahang. “With only 15% of Malaysian online sellers classified as ‘AI Adepts,’

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite wide spread recognition among Malaysian online sellers leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) as a catalyst for improved productivity and cost efficiency, only 25% have integrated the technology into their business operations. Lazada Malaysia chief operating officer Ángel Ramiro said that while 69% of Malaysians show strong familiarity with AI, the e-commerce platform’s studies reveal that at least one in two Malaysian sellers remains sceptical about its usefulness. He said key barriers to entry include cost concerns, time invest ment and resistance to change, with nearly 67% of employees preferring familiar manual processes. “We understand this gap and recognise that our sellers need a strong support system beyond offering powerful tools. “Our seller learning platform, Lazada University, and the Seller Ambassador Programme, which provides peer-to-peer mentorship, are some ways we support AI adoption. “We have also launched a KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia must work closely with regional partners to scale up its new energy vehicle (NEV) ecosystem, said Stellantis deputy general manager Adrian Hong ( pic ). Hong, who specialises in NEV deployment and mobility strategy across the Asean region, said Malaysia does not have the market size and infrastructure needed to support the widespread development and adoption of electric vehicles. “We cannot act alone. We don’t have enough scale or volume to drive those 100% subsidies. We need to work with neighbouring countries like Thailand and Indonesia to recognise them as one of the local content,” he told SunBiz . Local content refers to com ponents or production originating within a specific region that qualifies products for tax incentives and subsidies. Drawing lessons from China’s NEV success, the key lies in the government’s clear direction and a well-defined strategic roadmap, Hong said.

tips, and pricing sug gestions, sellers are better equipped to build efficient and successful businesses,” Ramiro said.

consumers today value quality and competitive pri cing, Ramiro said “Our earlier report, Artificial Intelligence Adoption in eCommerce in

Ramiro says Lazada recognises that sellers need a strong support system

Malaysia , shows that AI plays a significant role in helping buyers sift through reviews and discounts to find the best deals. “Four in five Malay sians trust AI to deliver per sonalised

Ű BY HAYATUN RAZAK sunbiz@thesundaily.com M’sia must work with neighbours to scale up NEV ecosystem: Stellantis

buildings lack shared charging infrastructure, which makes EV ownership not practical for a large segment of urban dwellers. “There’s currently no regulation that requires high-rise buildings to install at least two or three public chargers. If we had that, we could reduce ownership costs by avoiding reliance on public charging.” Stellantis recently established a centralised call centre and is launching a regional parts hub in Malaysia this year. “Previously, we did have a very challenging supply chain supply. Which was all based on the source from Europe, China. And sometimes it took a long lead time. “For example, if we didn’t keep a part in the Malaysian warehouse, we had to order it, and it would take time to arrive. “Now, we use predictive data to place advanced orders with suppliers based on trends. It’s not a magic solution, but it helps reduce vehicle downtime and shortens part lead times.” Currently, he said, Stellantis has only begun its presence in Kuching, Sarawak, with one dealer and has

yet to establish representation in Sabah. However, Hong said price sensitivity is a major hurdle. “Stellantis models start above RM100,000. Our only EV model retails at RM149,000. The market there is still dominated by local brands like Proton and Perodua, which are more affordable.” Hong said the company is now focused on Leapmotor EVs as Malaysia pushes for greater EV adoption, with more brand updates expected soon. “So we’re starting with Leapmotor, an accessible EV offering, to reach as many users as possible. But I’m not in a position to talk about Jeep and Citroen.” Hong said the Gurun plant will focus on local needs first by assembling Leapmotor EVs and launching the STLA Medium platform, but regional exports are also being considered. “Our first priority is the Malaysian market. But we’re also looking at Asean countries that offer tax incentives based on country of origin. Many still accept CBUs (completely built-ups), so CKD (completely knocked down) is not always necessary,” Hong said.

“China’s battery giant CATL is now global number one not because they built it on their own, but because the government supported them with heavy subsidies during their early stage. Once they matured, the subsidies were gradually removed. That’s how you grow new energy,” he added. Hong stressed the need for the government to take the lead in bridging the infrastructure gap.