Sensor technology and parcel locker startup Parcel Santa has entered an agreement with Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Buzz Express to utilize the latter’s extensive delivery network to make e-commerce deliveries to its lockers in Singapore condominiums.
Parcel recipients will be informed via SMS when their parcels are delivered to secured lockers and have 24 hours to collect them using a one time password (OTP). Recipients can choose to reschedule delivery to lockers or pay a small fee to extend the collection period.
The entire delivery process is monitored by Parcel Santa’s back office system, with sensors able to identify when authorized recipients have collected their parcels. The use of sensors and real-time communication ensures that parcels are received without repeated delivery attempts, which is in line with Parcel Santa and SPH’s corporate objectives to be environmentally friendly corporate citizens.
Jim Huang, co-founder and CEO of Parcel Santa, said, “Since launching one year ago, we have been playing catch up with increasing e-commerce activity in Singapore as the demand for online shopping and other deliveries is on the rise.
“The addition of SPH and Buzz Express’ networks is a very natural progression in partnering with one of Singapore’s most established delivery networks to provide wider convenience and brings great value to our customers.”
As part of this collaboration, non-perishable items delivered by SPH’s network may also leverage Parcel Santa’s back office system and lockers as an end-mile collection point by recipients.
Benefits to the ecosystem that the service offers include environmental sustainability as it minimizes the use of vehicles to make delivery attempts; safety and security, as parcels and couriers are pre-registered and tracked and only authorized recipients may collect them; and shoppers not having to wait in for deliveries.
Spencer Tan, deputy general manager at SPH, commented, “SPH has a long history of delivering media and parcels in Singapore, with a reputation of being always on-time and reliable.
“With a delivery network of 3,000 delivery staff, SPH and its Buzz Express reach every corner of Singapore as we deliver media and consumables. As we strive to become a greener player in the end-mile logistics industry, Parcel Santa offers a unique ability to prevent or minimize failed or missed delivery attempts.”
Parcel Santa lockers have been installed in 100 residential condominium locations across Singapore. The company is in the process of Series A fundraising to expand its target footprint of 500 condominium installations in Singapore, and initiate its expansion into the Southeast Asian region.