A parcel boom during the last six months is forcing Singapore Post to take on additionaldelivery staff, including recruitment outside of the south-east Asian city-state.
SingPost said the changing profile of mail, due to the growing e-shopping trend, has led to a30% increase in the volume of packets and parcels during the period from June to November, comparedto the same period last year. In November alone, the volume of packets and parcels increased bymore than 90%, compared to November 2009.
“Processing and delivery of packets and parcels require additional resources – they need to bemanually processed and require additional time for delivery,” the company said. “A postman deliversabout 750 letter-mail items per hour, compared to just 18 packets or packages per hour for doorstepdelivery.”
The volumetric nature of packets and parcels also created “a huge constraint in space”, itadded.
In response, SingPost said it had implemented various measures to improve its service levels,including stepping up its recruitment drive to “beef up” its delivery staff strength.
“The postal industry is not only labour-intensive, it is also a physically demanding one, whichmakes it difficult to recruit postal workers such as postmen,” the company said. Singapore’s goodeconomy has also affected staff retention rates.
“In its recent recruitment drive, out of the 100-odd candidates who attended the job fair, only10 candidates applied for the postman’s position,” SingPost added. “Of these, only six weresuitable. Nonetheless, SingPost will continue with its recruitment and will venture out ofSingapore to hire suitable personnel to join the company.”
Since September this year, SingPost has also hired more indoor mail sorters to strengthen itssorting capabilities. To help with retention, SingPost said it is increasing the salary for mailsorters by 10%, with effect from January 2011.
SingPost said it was also implementing additional and more stringent quality checks and measuresto improve its service levels. This is in addition to the current regular checks by its postalinspectors. Since the beginning of December, SingPost has increased its manpower, includingrehiring experienced and retired postal inspectors, to check on delivery accuracy.
Woo Keng Leong, executive vice president for mail, said: “The tremendous surge in volume duringthis festive peak season, both incoming and outgoing from Singapore, and the changing profile ofmail, have put a considerable strain on our resources. We have since stepped our efforts byengaging additional manpower, reviewing and improving our processes as we manage the surge involumes. The situation has improved: packages and publications, including annual reports andmagazines, are being delivered on time – i.e. within 3 to 5 working days.”
SingPost said the recent severe weather conditions in Europe and the US had added to the strainimposed by year-end festive peak volumes on postal companies the world over. As a result, SingPostsaid international outgoing mail items and packages will be subject to delays as a result of thecurrent conditions, although it was continuing its attempts to minimise delays by stepping upmeasures to ensure that outbound mail items and packages are processed and uplifted as soon aspossible, working closely with airlines and other postal companies.
