IMDA Looking To Start Network Of 1,000 Parcel Lockers In Late-2020
Online shopping is easy and convenient for many. Yet, the collection of our shopping haul is usually more troublesome. Opting for registered mail usually means your parcel might not be delivered when you’re at home.
However, this problem may soon be an issue of the past.
The Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) is looking to create a network of 1,000 parcel collection points over the island, starting late-2020, reported TODAY Online.
Current system unsustainable
Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran announced this initiative on 3 Mar. He shared in Parliament that currently, about 200,000 parcels are delivered in Singapore everyday.
Since the e-commerce is set to grow from 12% to 20% annually over the next 5 years, the delivery system needs to be changed.
Door-to-door delivery is “neither productive, nor sustainable” in the long-run.
Parcel lockers to be 250m of every HDB flat
The parcel collection points will be at public places like MRT stations, community clubs and public housing estates.
A locker at Sun Plaza
Source
Each point will be within 250m of every HDB flat, which means users can walk there at their own convenience.
By end-2022, IMDA wants to have a network across the island consisting of 1,000 locker stations.
Locker network can help workers send out more parcels
With this network, delivery workers will be able to deliver more parcels.
A pilot of this project was carried out in HDB towns in Bukit Panjang and Punggol in 2018.
bluPort was one of the companies who were part of the pilot
Source
The pilot’s results were positive — delivery efficiency quadrupled. Delivery drivers managed to dispatch 250 parcels in a day. In comparison, 60 parcels could be sent out during door-to-door delivery.
Lockers are more productive since the workers do not have to go all the way to the customers’ doorsteps to drop a parcel off.
Therefore, IMDA “will scale up the network of parcel lockers”.
IMDA will partner with SingPost
IMDA will head the new network.
However, SingPost, who ran the pilot, will partner IMDA to share its “extensive postal service experience”.
In addition, it will collaborate with industry partners to come up with solutions to tackle the growing demand of online shopping. Shopee, for example, will be one of the partners.
Hopefully it’s more convenient to shop online
We hope this means we can get our hands on our haul faster, rather than having to head to the nearest post office if we missed the delivery.
What do you think about the initiative? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from SingPost.
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