SingPost enables postmen to track deliveries with mobile app

It also unveiled a logistics software that creates e-commerce ecosystems for retailers and logistics providers.

Singapore Post (SingPost) launched its SmartPost suite of postal solutions and unveiled its proprietary logistics software Last Mile Platform (LaMP).

According to an announcement, SmartPost will enable tracking of deliveries and electronic signing-over of registered mail delivered by 1,000 SingPost staff through a mobile application for its postmen. Near Field Communication (NFC) tags that are installed at about 15,000 delivery points are scanned by postmen to enable operational and productivity data to be logged in real time.

The enhanced data generates insights for better optimisation of delivery operations and enables more individualised performance incentives for staff, leading to overall improvements in service quality, SingPost added.

When registered mail is signed over on the SmartPost app, the status of that item will be updated directly onto the SingPost website, without requiring the postman to return to the delivery base to log in the updated status. Other applications, including mobile notification of delivery status and notification for post office collection due to missed deliveries, will be rolled out subsequently by 2020 in the next phase.

Meanwhile, SingPost also unveiled a last-mile platform called LaMP which places retailers and logistics providers together in open e-commerce ecosystems for controlling parcel deliveries. The company said it is “technology-agnostic” due to its ability to integrate services from different providers.

“Discussions with several retail and logistics partners to join the platform are at an advanced stage,” SingPost said.

Last-mile partner services across Southeast Asia are also included in the platform. Retailers will be able to offer customers the ability to receive their online purchases via any last-mile delivery node in the network, in any country within Southeast Asia. Consumers may even redirect en-route deliveries to an alternative delivery node on the platform if and when required.

SingPost seeks to bring back life to its unexciting underlying profits as in Q2 they only rose 0.4% to $28.1m, brought about by sharp declines in its e-commerce business. However, post and parcel profits inched up by 0.5% thanks to higher margins from domestic last mile e-commerce deliveries in Singapore.