SPH ties up with Parcel Santa to expand footprint in e-commerce, last-mile delivery

PARCEL locker startup, Parcel Santa, has partnered Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to expedite e-commerce deliveries to its lockers located in 100 condominium precincts.

The two companies have also pledged to be part of a nationwide common parcel locker system that will pilot in Bukit Panjang and Punggol in October. The Federated Lockers and Collection Points Pilot Programme, was announced by the InfoComm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on Monday.

Parcel Santa is the sole operator of smart-locker based concierge services for condominiums in Singapore.

Its collaboration with SPH will see it leverage the latter's island-wide network of more than 3,000 vendors and delivery crew to make deliveries to the Parcel Santa lockers, or directly to the homes of customers. There will also be the option of using any of the 59 SPH Buzz Convenience Stores as a drop-off or collection point, the companies said.

Parcel recipients will be informed via an SMS when their parcels have been delivered to the secured lockers. Recipients will then have up to 24 hours to collect their parcels using a One Time Password (OTP). Alternatively, they may choose to reschedule the delivery to other lockers at another location, or pay a small fee to extend the collection period.

The entire delivery process is monitored by Parcel Santa's proprietary back-office system. There are also sensors which identify and grant authorised recipients access to the lockers and collect their parcels, the companies said.

Said deputy general manager of SPH Buzz Convenience Stores, Spencer Tan: "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. Our delivery network offers an unparalleled competitive advantage - we can reach out to customers between the hours of 5.30am to 7.30am, on top of their newspaper runs. Operating during off-peak periods means greater efficiency and easing congestion especially in high density areas."

Currently, in addition to the delivery of newspapers to subscribers' doorsteps, the SPH vendors also make deliveries of breakfast grocery items purchased from Buzz Convenience Stores' online platform. Items ordered before 10pm will be delivered before 7.30am.