Trial of common lockers to ease parcel delivery, Latest Singapore News - The New Paper
Singapore

Trial of common lockers to ease parcel delivery

This article is more than 12 months old

Residents of Bukit Panjang and Punggol will soon find it easier to pick up their online shopping items even if they are not home to receive their parcels.

A year-long pilot of a nationwide common parcel locker system begins in these two estates in October.

The first of such "federated lockers" will be located in convenient, accessible areas such as MRT stations and common collection points within 250m of HDB residential blocks, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) announced yesterday.

Such a system will let users have a convenient pick-up point near their homes to collect parcels if they are not around to receive them, even if these parcels come from different online merchants and vendors.

It will provide cost savings and efficiencies to merchants and logistics firms by easing last-mile fulfilment challenges.

There will be 23 such locker sites in Bukit Panjang and 39 in Punggol, which will be run by logistics providers BluPort and SingPost, respectively.

IMDA will oversee the Federated Lockers Network and Collection Points Programme, which was announced in 2016 by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

The agency has signed memorandums of intent with 15 logistics firms and industry partners to participate in the locker network, including companies such as Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), Parcel Santa and Lazada.

Parcel Santa will partner SPH and tap its newspaper delivery network of more than 3,000 vendors and delivery crew to make deliveries to parcel lockers located in 100 condominium precincts.

SPH deputy chief executive Anthony Tan said: "Over time, we hope to strengthen our partnership with logistic providers as well as our SPH malls.

"For our newspaper vendors and delivery agents, this will expand their opportunities and improve their income."

There will also be the option of using any of the 59 SPH Buzz Convenience Stores as a drop-off or collection point.

"This collaboration with Parcel Santa is just one of the latest forays to boost our presence in the e-commerce segment, particularly in the last-mile delivery," said Mr Spencer Tan, deputy general manager of SPH Buzz Convenience Stores.

"Operating during off-peak periods means greater efficiency and easing congestion, especially in high-density areas."

 

COMMUNITY ISSUES