SingPost faces $50,000 fine if letter targets are missed | Post & Parcel

SingPost faces tougher penalties if letter targets are missed | Post & Parcel.

 

From the current fine of $1,000 to $5,000, the Singapore regulator has upped the penalty to $50,000 per month per service category. The standards that need to be met are 99% next day delivery for letters posted within the CBD (Central Business District) by 3pm and 98% for those destined outside of the CBD.

 

Singapore is about 24km x 42km with a population of about 5 million residents.

 

It is also one of the handful of posts that have automated sorting to mailman’s delivery sequence with the 6-digit postal code.

 

According to Post & Parcel, “During 2011, SingPost achieved next working day delivery rates above 99.5% for items delivered inside the centre of Singapore, and above 99.1% for items going outside the centre.” Quite impressive and it looks as though SingPost doesn’t have to lose sleep over the new standards and high fines for the time being.

 

I recall from my Deutsche Post days a comment by then Chairman Dr. Klaus Zumwinkel that the German Post office was doing away with express mail delivery because 99% of letters are delivered the following day within Germany any way. And if Germany can do it with a significantly larger land mass and population, so should SingPost, I guess.

Feature Article on Singapore Post’s CEO

Post & Parcel ran an interview on Singapore Post, now led by the 36-year old Dr. Wolfgang Baier on 7 June 2012.

Singapore is 24km x 42km and has a population of 5.18 million people and 4 licensed postal operators.

Singapore Post or SingPost is the public postal licensee, but competition is fierce.

While many see Hong Kong as the gateway to the southern provinces of China, Singapore is no doubt a direct marketing and publishing hub for Southeast Asia. There are still several international titles printed in Singapore and distributed physically.

I do like to keep the address labels on my treasured magazines to see who is carrying them. In recent years, I have seen Pitney Bowes increase their influence with quite a number of titles. And the biggest surprise was when the September issue of a very globally renowned fashion magazine came via Saga Express and not the cheaper “Mail Bin” or mail delivery option which only has a delivery scan (no signature) as it is dropped in the mailbox. The issue was so thick that it by far exceeded the 2cm limit to have it dropped in my mailbox! I am sure THAT delivery cost the courier more than what it made, but then again, it was only one of 12 issues for that year…

Singapore is now one of the more aggressive posts when it comes to pursuing commercial initiatives. (The rule of thumb in the postal world is that the smaller posts are more dynamic and the larger posts or the posts of larger countries are more conservative.) And vPost is quite a novel approach. I particularly admire their ongoing efforts in the SNS space, an area where many posts have yet to venture.