中东特色的上门服务Door-to-door delivery,Middle East style

If there's one thing that works across the Arab world, it's delivery. From Cairo to Dubai, a fleet of men on scooters, bicycles and foot will deliver pretty much anything to your door, from a Big Mac to a cigarette lighter. And plugging that hunger for to-the-door service into the global e-commerce boom is proving to be a healthy earner for one Middle East company. 如果说有一样东西可以在整个阿拉伯世界中“畅通无阻”，那便是货物投递。从开罗到迪拜，一群人骑着小型摩托、自行车，或是依靠步行，将你可以想象到的几乎任何东西直接送到你的家门口，从“巨无霸”汉堡包到打火机，无所不有。事实证明，将消费者对送货上门服务的渴求融入到全球电子商务蓬勃发展的浪潮中，成就了一家中东公司的生财之道。

Shop and Ship, run by the Jordanian logistics company Aramex, increased revenues by 43 per cent year-on-year to around AED49m ($13.3m) in the first quarter of 2012. The service lets subscribers rent a PO box address in the US or UK, for use with online shopping sites, few of which will ship to the Middle East. When packages arrive at the address – an Aramex-operated warehouse – they are re-routed to the recipient, anywhere in the Arab world and beyond. 约旦物流公司Aramex旗下的Shop and Ship 2012年第一季度收入同比增长43%，达到约4900万阿联酋迪拉姆（合1330万美元）。该公司会让用户租赁一个美国或是英国的邮政信箱，用作网络购物的邮寄地址，因为很少有网店会发货至中东。当包裹运抵邮箱所在地址时（通常是Aramex管理的仓库），工作人员会将包裹转寄至收件人，无论这个收件人在阿拉伯世界的哪个角落或是其他任何地方，都可以送达。

Letting Arab consumers participate in the global boom in online shopping has proved lucrative. Shop and Ship now accounts for almost 20 per cent of the AED245m revenues earned by Aramex'international express delivery business, according to quarterly results published in late April. Business coming from e-commerce as a whole, including other services the company offers, is growing at more than 30 per cent yearly. 眼下，全球正掀起一股网络购物潮，而将阿拉伯消费者融入这股浪潮被证明是一桩有利可图的生意。根据4月底公布的季报，Aramex的国际快递业务实现收入2.45亿阿联酋迪拉姆，Shop and Ship在其中占了近20%的比重。目前，Aramex整体电商业务每年正以超过30%的速度增长。

Aramex began its life in 1982 as a local agent for international shipping companies. But it grew fast, eventually becoming the first Arab company to be listed on the NASDAQ. The regional logistics company has been spreading its reach in recent years, buying smaller operators in Africa, Europe and Asia.

Aramex创建于1982年，创立之初只是跨国货运公司的当地代理商。但经过快速成长，它最终成为首家登陆纳斯达克的阿拉伯公司。近年来，这家区域性物流公司不断延伸着自己的触角，在非洲、欧洲以及亚洲出手收购规模较小的物流运营企业。 While much of the company operates as a traditional logistics and courier service, a regional equivalent to DHL or FedEx, Shop and Ship is part of a more innovative push to put the business at the centre of e-commerce in the Middle East. With credit card penetration low in the region, and online payment gateways still underdeveloped, Aramex couriers accept cash-on-delivery payment on behalf of local online shopping sites. Aramex的大部分业务仍与传统的物流及快递服务有关，相当于中东地区的敦豪(DHL)或联邦快递(FedEx)，但该公司也在采取更具创新性的举措，希望借此使公司在中东电子商务领域中占据核心地位，Shop and Ship就是这项努力的一部分。考虑到中东地区的信用卡使用率较低，且在线支付渠道尚不完备，Aramex的快递公司代表当地购物网站接受货到付款。

"What we're telling entrepreneurs and e-commerce sites is, focus on your front end and we will do everything else, from order-processing to customer service, to call-taking, effective delivery and collecting the cash," the company's founder, Fadi Ghandour, said in 2010, when the Middle East's e-commerce scene was beginning to take off. 2010年中东电子商务方兴未艾之时，该公司创始人法迪•甘杜尔(Fadi Ghandour)曾说过：“我们告诉企业家和电子商务网站，你们只管你们的事情，其余所有事都交给我们来做，从订单处理、客户服务、客服电话，到高效的配送以及最后的收款环节，统统留给我们。”

The sector, while still small, is seeing serious investment. MarkaVIP, one online shopping site based in Amman that runs on a "flash sale" model similar to the US-based Gilt, has raised at least $18m in venture financing, including $10m in late April. The site has signed 1.5m registered users, with 5,000 more joining each day. Improving the door-to-door delivery experience, the company's management said, would be the primary focus of the $10m it had just raised. 尽管这一行业目前的规模较小，但它却吸引着大手笔的投资。MarkaVIP是一家总部位于安曼的在线购物网站，其“闪购”业务模式与美国的Gilt类似。这家安曼公司已获得至少1800万美元的风险投资，包括4月底获得的1000万美元。该网站拥有150万名注册用户，并且正以每天5000人的数量递增。该公司管理层表示，最近筹集的1000万美元主要将用于提高送货上门的服务质量。

That may or may not be good news for the Dubai-listed Aramex (it delisted from the NASDAQ in 2002), with MarkaVIP hinting at establishing its own delivery network in some of its markets. But on a bigger level, it shows that in a region where internet penetration is booming, postal systems are unreliable at best and retail growth still has its best years ahead of it, there is more than just sandwiches waiting to be delivered to people's doors. MarkaVIP暗示将在某些市场建立自己的配送网络，对于在迪拜上市的Aramex（2002年从纳斯达克退市）而言，这究竟是不是一则好消息，答案还未可知。不过从更广泛的层面来看，这表明，在一个互联网愈加普及、邮政系统不可靠、零售行业有着广阔前景的地区，等待配送上门的不仅仅只有三明治。