SINGAPORE: A parcel locker network will be tested out in Punggol and Bukit Panjang HDB estates in the second half of next year, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Wednesday (Nov 1).
This was announced as part of the Industry Digital Plan (IDP) for the logistics sector that is aimed at helping the industry digitalise and at pushing sector-wide innovations.
The IMDA said it will begin calling for proposals by the end of this year to deploy a parcel locker network in the Punggol and Bukit Panjang HDB estates, as well as in selected MRT stations.
It will also call for a tender to deploy an inter-operable platform to provide secured open access to the lockers in the network. This would mean that the system will be accessible to different merchants, logistics service providers and consumers.
The pilot is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2018, and will be on trial for six to 12 months.
“To help cope with the growth of e-commerce and improve consumer buying experiences, a self-collection infrastructure such as parcel locker stations will help logistics service providers and retailers significantly reduce highly inefficient door-to-door deliveries,” the IMDA said in a press release.
“Singaporeans can also benefit by using parcel lockers to collect purchases instead of being inconvenienced by staying at home to wait for deliveries to arrive,” it added.
(Image: IMDA)
Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam first revealed plans for a common locker system in residential areas in April last year, saying that he believes Singapore would be the first country to do this nationwide.
“It is impractical and costly if each company employs its own locker solution in each neighbourhood,” Mr Tharman said at an industry event. “There is hence a role for common parcel lockers in or near residential areas – involving standardisation (“federation”) and enabling aggregation, to lower costs.”
