More staff, tech to cope with year-end shopping surge for delivery vendors in S’pore

SINGAPORE - The surge in holiday shopping packages every December is something that delivery vendors and e-commerce businesses anticipate.

To cope with increased shopping orders, delivery vendors are upping their staff numbers and using technology to relieve the strain on their manpower, while e-commerce platforms are running campaigns to attract and retain their consumers.

Delivery company FedEx uses a robotic sorting arm powered by artificial intelligence, which helps to handle packages faster and more accurately round the clock.

“We are also ramping up manpower to support the sorting of inbound and outbound shipments, deploying additional couriers to manage increased volumes and extending operational hours where needed,” said Mr Eric Tan, managing director of FedEx Singapore.

“In recent months, we have also enhanced our air network to provide seamless, faster, and more reliable service to help businesses thrive during this peak holiday season and beyond,” said Mr Tan.

Delivery firm Ninja Van also extended its operating hours by starting its sorting belt in factories earlier in the day to cope with the increase in parcels and packages.

Ms Justina Sim, country head of Ninja Van Singapore, said: “On a typical day, we run our sorting belt from 6pm onwards. But during peak periods, we start our sorting belt from 9am onwards.”

Ninja Van’s hub in Yio Chu Kang is equipped with customised automated sorting belts with an accuracy of up to 99.9 per cent.

The belts ensure safer handling of parcels and speed up the sorting process, reducing the sorting time required for each parcel before it gets pushed out for delivery, said Ms Sim.

Ninja Van also increased its manpower with a mix of permanent and temporary staff to cope with the increase in orders.

But with its automated facilities, the increase in temporary manpower is minimal, said Ms Sim, without providing details.

Ninja Van’s automated facilities were doubled in 2022 with its new Yio Chu Kang warehouse launch. 

Delivery vendor DHL Express invested more than €100 million (S$142 million) globally this quarter in transport and handling capacity to help the company cope with the increased shipment volumes, said Mr Ken Lee, chief executive for Asia-Pacific at DHL Express.

“This includes using additional freighters to serve the important routes between Asia and Europe,” he said.

DHL also uses digital tools powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning to process customer requests more efficiently, said Mr Lee.

“In the past year, we also expanded and upgraded several of our facilities across the region, including the South Asia Hub in Singapore and Central Asia Hub in Hong Kong,” he added.

These hubs are installed with X-ray scanning and sorting machines, which increase inspection speed and enable the hub to detect suspicious goods promptly and accurately.

DHL also anticipated that there could be risks during this peak holiday season, such as the impact on consumer demand from disposable incomes dragging.

Consumer demand will continue to be highly unpredictable in 2024, due to the continued impact of inflation and interest rates, according to DHL.

Despite this, DHL Express saw a 20 per cent increase in e-commerce deliveries in Singapore from August 2024 to October 2024.

Ninja Van also saw its parcel volume double for e-commerce after the Nov 11 sales in 2024.

“In comparison to the previous years, which experienced a huge surge due to the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom, the increase this year is more muted,” said Ms Sim.

All delivery vendors declined to specify parcel volume numbers.

E-commerce retailers like Shopee are also running regular campaigns to meet the high shopping demand and offering services such as next-day delivery to meet high order volumes.

Mr Chua Kel Jin, director at Shopee Singapore, said the regular campaigns include double-digit days, mid-month sales and payday sales to meet strong consumer demand for more deals and greater value for their shopping needs.

Shopee also aims to resolve customer service issues in less than a day and respond to more than 95 per cent of calls and chats immediately, he added.

To attract and retain loyal customers, Singapore-based e-tailer Zalora runs a subscription programme for customers that offers personalised perks, cashback with orders and early access to sales, a spokesperson said.

“These loyal customers are significantly more valuable, spending two to three times more than average shoppers,” said the spokesperson.

Asia-Pacific’s business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets are facing significant growth, boosted by factors such as the diversification of global supply chains and e-commerce, said DHL Express’ Mr Lee.

He added: “These enhancements (expanding the company’s facilities and adding new flights) support our customers during the traditional peak season, when consumer e-commerce traffic will spike.”