SingPost’s urban logistics solutions postmarked to shore up Smart Nation vision

From a sleepy fishing village to a free port some 200 years ago, Singapore now ranks as one of the top trading and financial centres of the global economy. This year, Singapore marks a milestone in its rich and storied history – the bicentennial anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’ landing on its shores in 1819 and the establishment of a trading post.

The events of 1819 set Singapore towards an economic, social and physical transformation, which continues today as the city state forges a path to become a smart nation. A national effort among Singaporeans, businesses and the government, the Smart Nation project is about the republic’s transition into a global city by embracing technology and digital innovations.

Singapore Post (SingPost) – one of Singapore’s pioneer companies whose heritage can be traced to the founding of the modern and outward-looking Singapore – is taking a similar path of transformation. To cope with the disruptive industry changes caused by rapid digitalisation, SingPost is implementing a comprehensive digital strategy anchored in the fast adoption of cutting-edge technology and automation while leveraging its 161 years of legacy.

Shoring up Singapore’s Smart Nation drive, SingPost has unveiled a range of key transformational initiatives and services to reinvent itself as both national postal service provider and e-commerce logistics powerhouse, whose focus is to deliver even better customer experiences.

“The Singapore government has been challenging logistics and postal operators to develop digital solutions to support a Smart Nation infrastructure,” says Paul Coutts, group CEO. “That is motivating us to develop smart urban solutions for the whole supply chain – from the source right through delivery and into the market. At SingPost, we tend to focus on technology solutions to continually be a step ahead and meet the evolving needs and expectations of our customers and partners.”

While managing the digital disruption to its traditional core business of mail delivery, SingPost is bolstering the footprint of its e-commerce logistics business to generate additional revenue streams and establish a new growth trajectory. SingPost is well-placed geographically and has the infrastructure and proprietary technologies as a postal organisation to capitalise on the tremendous potential of Asia-Pacific’s growing e-commerce markets.

Meanwhile, SingPost is making strong progress in digitalising its mail operations by equipping and upskilling its postal staff members with new tools and technologies to further their efficiency and capabilities for the future.

“From inception, SingPost has been all about being a community service provider and a hub connecting people and businesses in Asia to the rest of the world,” Coutts says. “We’ve carried that vital role throughout our history. And today, with much of the world considerably changed, we’re fostering connections in an e-commerce era. That yields different challenges and opportunities to create new customer experiences and develop new capabilities.”

Providing end-to-end e-commerce logistics solutions

The postal sector naturally plays a key part in the booming e-commerce market, according to Coutts. Roughly about 70 to 80 per cent of all e-commerce packages moved globally weigh less than 2kg and just under 40 per cent of e-commerce deliveries have a value of about S$35 (HK$202). Looking at the low value and weight of the packages, a low-cost infrastructure is needed to deliver these items cost-effectively, and postal organisations are perfectly set up for these deliveries because they have the scale, infrastructure and capability already in place.

“What sets SingPost apart from other postal operators is that we can leverage not only our incumbent postal services infrastructure but a broader logistics infrastructure,” Coutts says. “Plus, we have connections with express parcel operators for the heavier and higher-value, time-sensitive types of packages. But it doesn’t stop there; we’re also making sure that we make the right investments in technology. We continue to invest ahead of the curve by anticipating the dynamic changes taking place in the markets we serve and incorporating those into our technology solutions.”

E-commerce has become a key revenue and profit growth stream for SingPost. In tandem with the e-commerce boom taking place in Asia-Pacific, SingPost provides proprietary end-to-end solutions that enable its retail partners to establish and grow their e-commerce operations in Asia-Pacific. Its suite of e-commerce logistics solutions includes front-end web management, warehousing and fulfilment, last-mile delivery and international freight forwarding.

Last November, SingPost unveiled a first-of-its-kind integrated last-mile delivery platform called LaMP. LaMP consolidates several last-mile delivery services, such as courier services, parcel lockers and bricks-and-mortar collection points, into one single platform. Being location-agnostic, it can also connect last-mile partner services across Southeast Asia. With LaMP, e-commerce retailers can provide their customers the flexibility to receive their online purchases via any last-mile delivery node in the network in any country within the region.

LaMP has received strong interest from numerous retailers and last-mile players since its inception. Six months after the LaMP announcement, Singapore Telecommunications signed up to the service, with more retailers following suit in the coming months. The platform will also be progressively introduced throughout Singapore and other key connecting countries including Indonesia and Malaysia. SingPost has signed memorandums of understanding with its postal partners Indonesia Post and Post Malaysia for the roll-out of LaMP.

To further enhance the last-mile delivery experience for customers, SingPost has been expanding its extensive POPStation parcel locker network throughout Singapore. It is also one of two operators of the Locker Alliance, a common parcel locker initiative led by the government that is undergoing trials in two districts in Singapore.

Another tool in SingPost’s repertoire is EDGE, a key technology platform that simplifies the management of the supply chain process from end to end. With the software solution, e-commerce companies get to market quickly and increase sales while bringing down their unit costs over time through scalability.

Launch of smart postal services

The provision of reliable and affordable postal service remains central to SingPost’s operations despite the continuing decline of domestic mail volumes as more people migrate towards electronic forms of communication. Its public postal licence was renewed on April 1, 2017 and will run for 20 years.

To make the delivery of postal services more convenient and seamless, SingPost has digitised its postal operations with the launch of its SmartPost suite of solutions last November. SmartPost harnesses the power of mobile and digital technologies to increase the operational capability across the entire postal operation – from collection to sorting, last-mile delivery and quality assurance.

In digitalising the postal service, SingPost seeks to contribute to Singapore’s Smart Nation vision through the use of smart urban logistics solutions to upskill its people and deliver greater efficiency and a better experience to all its customers. SingPost’s 1,000 postmen and postwomen have been equipped with a proprietary mobile app to aid delivery tracking and e-signing for registered mail.

“SmartPost is one of the important digital innovations that SingPost has adopted to address traditional postal challenges,” Coutts says. “With these solutions, our postal team works better and smarter.”

Consumers can also rely on the Smart Post Office network, which spans SingPost’s physical branches and the SAM omnichannel platform, to get 24/7 access to postal and other essential services, including the recently launched personal digital postal mailbox service. The SAM platform, consisting of self-service kiosks and web and mobile apps, provides digital channels through which consumers can buy stamps, weigh parcels, pay bills and conduct other transactions.

As a natural extension of the service that SingPost provides to the community, SingPost introduced its Postman Home Visits initiative last December. Under this first-of-its-kind volunteer programme, SingPost’s postmen check on the well-being of vulnerable elderly while making their delivery rounds. Other community initiatives launched by the postal operator include delivery of unsold food from hotels and bakeries to collection points for the needy and the ReCYCLE electronic waste recycling programme.

Igniting growth engines in Asia-Pacific

As part of efforts to reshape its operations into one that is more focused, integrated and cost-efficient, SingPost has moved to ignite its growth engines in Asia-Pacific where it has the strength, infrastructure and know-how. A key relationship in the region is a tie-up with Chinese e-commerce and tech giant Alibaba Group, which is also a major shareholder of SingPost.

SingPost serves as a strategic logistics partner for Alibaba and its extended ecosystem, which includes Lazada, Cainiao and 4PX. In the areas of cross-border e-commerce and digital innovation, SingPost is working with Alibaba on several projects involving the application of technologies such as artificial intelligence, warehouse robotics, big data and cloud computing. The two companies also jointly own Quantium Solutions, which specialises in logistics and fulfilment services to businesses in the Asia-Pacific region, including in Australia and New Zealand.

SingPost’s Asia-Pacific footprint is reinforced by its other businesses including CouriersPlease, a metropolitan express parcel delivery service in Australia; Lock+Store, a self-storage operator in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia; and vPOST, a major online shopping and shipping services provider with operations worldwide.

“Our strengths and strategic competitive advantages lie in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific, which provide attractive growth opportunities,” Coutts says. “We will win in these markets by building trusted and collaborative partnerships. We welcome opportunities to work with organisations that share our vision and commitment to bringing products to consumers reliably, on time and at the right price point.”

www.singpost.com