In Conversation with Last Mile Product & Strategy Consultant Ken Leaver

As an American who spent 20 of the last 21 years living abroad in numerous continents… and has either worked in, contracted in, or consulted for a fairly high number of companies… I like to think of myself as an all-terrain warrior.

I started my career on the corporate side but then evolved into more of a startup person.  I wore a commercial hat but now wear more of a tech one.  I’ve operated under some very tough bosses and also under some very easy going ones. etc.  

LMT: You’ve worked for some of the world’s biggest & most innovative tech companies in high profile positions, which mission has been your most fulfilling to date and why?

I would say that my most fulfilling was still Lazada where I essentially began my product management career.  In part because it was a very dynamic and fun company back in 2014-17 where we really believed we were part of something that would be a part of history (ie. creating the Amazon of SE Asia).

And also because I got the chance to work my way up and really learn the basics of ecommerce software architecture from some good mentors.

LMT: Tell us about your latest gig with Wasoko? What is the mission and how is it going now?

Wasoko is one of the largest, best funded ecommerce companies in Africa whose mission is to transform FMCG in the region by providing products cheaper, easier and faster than ever before.

I helped drive the project to look at their underlying tech stack, which was built in-house, and propose changes.  In the end we decided to migrate it to almost entirely 3rd party systems (eg. WMS, LMS, etc) and so we chose all the vendors and have now gotten the first country live. So while it has taken longer than we hoped I think it has been an incredible journey and the team there is a pleasure to work with.

LMT: Since going freelance you’ve been picked up by a number of gigs and VC’s interested in the Last Mile space. You’ve had the fortune of assessing very many ecommerce logistics, micro-fulfilment and warehouse/ packaging/ delivery companies. What kind of problems are the most interesting for a Product person at these companies typically solving?

I would say that the reason why I get these gigs is because it just ‘makes sense’ from the client perspective. The way I view ecommerce operations is the more you see, the wiser you are, and the less mistakes you make going forward.  And so it makes a ton of sense for companies to hire a person that has seen various setups and can advise them on what is best for them.

But typically this does not require the person being full-time forever.  And rather most clients only need me for 25-50% of my time and only need me until their own team is able to drive things.  So I often find myself helping set up a new team and then handing over the reigns.  

And if you do have the person full-time forever.. you are now paying him to do many things that are now outside of his core strengths.  I, for example, do not like playing corporate politics, I do not like doing tons of managerial admin, rather I like getting things done.  And I consider myself a very organized and structured person who is good at that specific thing.

So clients pay me only for what I’m good at, which only requires part of my time, for a set period of time, which thus makes it more affordable to them.  It is very win-win.

LMT: You’ve recently completed a newsletter looking at the rapid grocery delivery market – a segment of Last Mile that’s come under a lot of pressure this year. What is the industry getting right, and what does it need to change?

My general view on rapid grocery delivery is that it is very difficult to get the economics to work at scale as a stand alone model.  In that you generally need something delivered rapidly when you either want to consume it immediately or you have forgotten or are missing something.  

So in particular for the 2nd use case, I see rapid delivery as just a single component to a larger grocery model where other use cases are probably going to be where you make more money.  For example, when I was helping my friend develop the ecommerce for Landers, an offline grocer in the Philippines, some years back, they were getting good at onboarding the housewives for their weekly grocery ‘large purchase’.  

Then as these customers often forgot something or needed to top something up, it made a lot of sense to also add rapid delivery.  But would the model work if it were only rapid delivery?  I have my doubts.

LMT: Which regions or countries do you think are the most advanced (in terms of starting and scaling last mile solutions) and why?

I can’t say I have thoroughly researched this in other parts of the world but I’m a bit familiar with SEA and with the US.  And I would say that in SEA the last mile players are much more agile than the guys like DHL, Fedex and UPS in the US.  

Why?  Because in SEA they are startups like Ninja Van who have software as part of their inherent DNA and are not stuck on legacy systems.  And these younger guys who built scalable software themselves from the beginning will of course be more agile to adapt and take on new businesses.

LMT: We notice you have been putting yourself and knowledge out into the world in recent times for people to enjoy… What's next for Ken Leaver? 

I would say that for now I’m just enjoying life and the projects I do.  I went through a number of years where I had recurring health issues that I’m now at the tail end of… and I just kind of want to take a breather and not make any massive commitments.

But rather stay agile, adapt as the market evolves, and continue to add value to the companies I help while doing the stuff I love.

When I ask myself who am I?  I am part strategist, part startupper, part product manager, part blogger, and fully organizational freak.. Haha  So whatever I choose to do longer-term will try to be true to those elements.

And life is short… so I will not take it too seriously and I’ll enjoy it.

Be sure to check out Ken's newlsetter here!