SingPost is increasing its number of delivery staff by 15% as part of its ongoing S$100 millioninvestment in services and infrastructure while increasing postage rates by 15% next month to help
fund the service enhancements and cover higher operating costs.The 200 new delivery staff will join the 1,200 current workers employed at SingPost’s deliveryoperations. The staff expansion comes in response to the increase in Singapore’s population andcreation of new housing estates.
Some of the new staff will work as Quality Control (QC) officers, more than tripling the currentteam of 25 QC officers. This will ensure every postal sector has a dedicated QC officer focusing onaccurate mail delivery through checks and improvements to minimise human errors, the companysaid.
Under the S$100 million investment programme, SingPost is investing S$45 million in newintegrated sorting machines which are expected to increase the mail sorting capacity by 17% and themechanisation rate to 95% thus improving both efficiency and accuracy. The machines will increasethe automation process, sorting capacity and speed of sorting. They are due to become fullyoperational by the end of this year.
To further improve deliveries, SingPost will gradually replace its fleet with three-wheelerscooters featuring bigger carrying capacity for packages while they are also easier and more stablefor postmen to handle compared to the two-wheeler scooters. Through a bigger pannier box, postmenwill be able to carry more items which will reduce the number of return trips to the delivery basesthus resulting in higher productivity.
The company started introducing three-wheeler scooters in 2011. The recently introduced secondgeneration scooters feature a windscreen, a sun roof, an enlarged pannier box, four compartmentboxes and a stronger horsepower. The enlarged pannier box and the four compartment boxes togetheroffer 25% more storage space than the first generation wheeler scooters.
As part of its service enhancement, SingPost is planning to expand its network of 24/7 parcelterminals called POPStations from currently 50 to 100 by the end of the year so customers can pickup or return parcels more conveniently via the lockers located around the island. Over the next twomonths, SingPost will roll out new features for POPStations to provide more convenience tocustomers who shop online or those who just receive and send parcels.
Group CEO Wolfgang Baier confirmed that SingPost has extended its operations to six deliverydays with Saturdays being dedicated to parcel deliveries. “We want to go beyond providing qualityservice and also be here for the changing needs of every Singaporean, for instance, by providing24/7 services and mobile and digital solutions to complement existing solutions.”
To finance the S$100 million investment and also in view of the continued rise in operatingcosts and the decline in mail volumes, SingPost plans to raise its stamp prices for the first timein eight years, with effect from 1 October 2014. Postage rates for domestic letters weighing 20g orless will rise by 4 cents to 30 cents, which represents a 15.4% increase. Since the last priceincrease in 2006, costs have risen by nearly 50%, with labour costs rising 31%, fuel about 32% andinflation going up by 26%.
Baier confirmed the mail volume decline in the country. “Here in Singapore, we are seeingdomestic mail volumes decline for the second consecutive year. This is further compounded byescalating operating costs, largely driven by manpower costs.”
In addition to domestic rates, SingPost will also revise its international rates to partiallyoffset the increase in postage for outbound mail after it was twice re-classified by UPU. Terminaldues for international mail have risen 42% and will further increase by 37% by 2017. Theinternational rate increases will range between 5-25 cents depending on the zones whileinternational registered mail fee will rise from S$2.20 to S$2.50.
To mitigate the effect of the rate increase, SingPost has put together a package comprisingnearly 10 million free stamps for households and charitable organisations and a 5% discount forbusinesses.
Woo Keng Leong, SingPost’s Senior EVP/Head of Postal Services, said: “For the averageSingaporean who posts about 6 letters per year, the domestic postage rate revision translates into24 cents more per year on an increase of 2 cents a month. Even so, we will fully absorb theincrease for the first year by giving every household a free stamp booklet. In total, we expect togive out about 100 million stamps including to charitable organisations.”
To mitigate the increase for businesses, SingPost will also give a 5% rebate to companies onfranked mail for a year, starting from next month onwards.
