Indonesian national airliner Garuda and ride-hailing/local services firm Go-Jek are discussing a logistics partnership, according to Reuters. Garuda’s chief executive Ari Askhara told the news agency that talks are in an “advanced stage”, with an agreement on the horizon within the next few months.
Garuda Indonesia has a cargo unit with “around 90 Cargo Service Centers [in] several big cities in Indonesia, such as Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Makassar,” according to its website. Garuda Cargo also has its own warehouses and offers door-to-door logistics services through its partners.
Askhara did not provide any details about the aim of the partnership, but said it would “enable goods ordered via Go-Jek’s app in one city in Indonesia to be delivered in another using Garuda’s fleet.”
Go-Jek currently only offers personal transportation and delivery services within individual cities, so introducing a city-to-city e-commerce offering would constitute a major new business vertical for the company. How this would work in practice is unclear.
Go-Jek is now valued at almost US$10 billion. It has powerful investors with e-commerce expertise, such as JD.com and Blibli, the e-commerce platform launched by Indonesian tobacco conglomerate Djarum.