Delivery firms focus on efficient operations

KUALA LUMPUR, 15 Mei -- Posmen Amirun Mohammed Hussein (kanan) dan Syafiq Shamsuddin dilihat memasukkan bungkusan ke dalam kotak motosikal sebelum dihantar kepada pelanggan ketika tinjauan fotoBernama di Pusat Pos Laju Petaling Jaya hari ini. Sejak penguatkuasaan Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP) dilaksanakan 18 Mac lalu bagi mengekang penularan COVID-19, Pos Malaysia terus memainkan peranan dalam memastikan kesalinghubungan negara dan akses kepada penghantaran barangan penting. Terdapat peningkatan sebanyak 35 peratus dalam jumlah bungkusan yang diterima dan diproses oleh Pos Malaysia sepanjang tempoh PKP, ini disebabkan kebanyakan pelanggan tiada pilihan lain dan terpaksa membuat pelbagai jenis pembelian barangan hanya menerusi dalam talian. Seperti tahun-tahun yang lalu, menjelang Hari Raya, Pos Malaysia sentiasa berada di dalam keadaan bersiap sedia untuk menerima peningkatan jumlah bungkusan dan untuk tahun ini Pos Malaysia menjangka akan ada peningkatan jumlah bungkusan sebanyak 48 peratus disebabkan oleh PKP. Secara purata harian, Pos Malaysia menerima sehingga 770,000 bungkusan sehari dan jumlah ini terus meningkat dari masa ke semasa terutama menjelang Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Jumlah tertinggi yang pernah diterima semasa PKP ini adalah lebih daripada 800,000 bungkusan sehari. Pos Malaysia dalam satu notis baru-baru ini mengumumkan tempoh penghantaran sepanjang tempoh PKP ianya tiga hingga lima hari untuk Semenanjung Malaysia dan manakala lima hingga tujuh hari bagi Sabah dan Sarawak. Selain daripada itu, proses penghantaran bagi bungkusan antarabangsa juga mengalami sedikit kelewatan akibat penutupan lapangan terbang dan pembatalan penerbangan sebagai langkah keselamatan COVID-19. Justeru itu, pihak Pos Malaysia berharap agar pelanggan-pelanggan dapat bersabar sepanjang tempoh yang mencabar ini kerana terdapat peningkatan jumlah bungkusan yang tinggi dan Pos Malaysia sentiasa berusaha untuk memastikan semua penghantaran dibuat dengan cepat dan berkesan. -- fo

Covid-19 has driven parcel delivery firms to improve internal processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs

by S BIRRUNTHA/ pic by BERNAMA

WITH the rising growth in e-commerce sales during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, parcel delivery companies are finding ways to improve efficiency in its operations.

The pandemic had also driven parcel delivery companies to improve internal processes to enhance efficiency and reduce costs, while introducing extra precautionary and safety guidelines.

Pos Malaysia Bhd spokesperson said the demand for parcel deliveries has shown an increase in volume of approximately 35% throughout the MCO period.

She said the national courier service had been deploying Pos Riders to help with parcel deliveries and increased its back-end sorting resources to ensure deliveries can be carried out as soon as possible.

With the increase in demand and deliveries, she added that Pos Malaysia is aiming to improve its digital presence and efficiency.

It includes mobile-app enhancement, workflow automation, cashless payment, and new core track and trace system.

“We are also looking at enhancing our PosLaju SendParcel shipping platform to offer customers more service options,” she said.

According to her, the daily average of deliveries throughout this period is more than 700,000 packages a day.

“The highest number of parcels received by Pos Malaysia during the MCO was over 800,000 packages in a day,” she told The Malaysian Reserve in an email reply.

Other parcel delivery services such as GD Express Sdn Bhd and City-Link Express also experienced a surge in shipment due to the enforced isolation caused by the pandemic.

Both companies have uploaded a notice on their website to alert customers of the very high parcel volume due to the Conditional MCO, as well as long stretch of public holidays.

Recently, AmInvestment Bank Bhd said in a research note that the parcel delivery segment has been identified as a winner of the current pandemic situation.

It said this is due to the significant growth in e-commerce sales translating to rising volumes of parcels handled by parcel delivery companies.

“However, the sector has low entry barriers. A crowded playing field (with 116 players as at March 2020) has given rise to cut-throat competition resulting in severe squeeze in margins,” it said.

The research firm noted that more delivery companies are also expanding their capacity, in order to achieve better economies of scale.