New on-demand parcel collection service for online shoppers

A Singapore-based start-up wants to give customers an easier way for them to collect online purchases and ensure they do not miss their parcel deliveries.

Providing last-mile mailing service solution to enhance the current mailing ecosystem, Park N Parcel lets online shoppers collect parcels in a hassle-free way by “parking” their parcels with neighbours or nearby retail stores, cafés, convenience stores, pharmacies and such.

Shoppers can make arrangements to have their purchases delivered to a “parker” — a neighbour or business that has volunteered to collect parcels on their behalf — and collect them later at their convenience. This saves shoppers the hassle of staying home to wait for the parcel delivery, said Park N Parcel.

There are currently around 100 collection points across Singapore. About 60% of the network of collection are commercial stores with a good mix of cafés, minimarts, retail outlets in shopping malls and light industrial warehouses. Prominent parkers on board currently include Salvation Amy, box rental shop Peek A Box, hardware store Home Fix and more. The remaining 40% are residential neighbours, which include homemakers, students and retirees. Park N Parcel also aims to help logistics companies to reduce the number of re-deliveries.

Erik Cheong, co-founder and chief operating officer of Park N Parcel, explained: “We are targeting to achieve 300 to 400 collection points by the end of this year and we work very closely with logistics companies such as GoGoVan, Roadbull, Aramex and Qourier to tackle re-delivery problems to make their operation more efficient and save costs.”

Park N Parcel was started by Cheong, Bryan See Toh and Tan Gan Hong in April last year and was officially launched in January this year after raising S$200,000 (US$143,000) from two angel investors last September.

Selecting parkers

To protect the safety of shoppers, individuals who sign up to be a parker are required to upload an image of their identity card for verification and they will also have to go through a basic due diligence screening to determine their suitability for the role.

Cheong said: “Park N Parcel adopts the sharing economy business model, therefore social credit plays a huge role in sustaining the whole ecosystem. However, as much as we try to curate the quality of parkers, we understand that there might still be a slim chance that there will be black sheep.”

Nevertheless, shoppers can count on the public review system where they can rate and comment after using the Park N Parcel service to share their experience. They can read the reviews before booking a parker. There is also an internal customer services review system to track parkers with multiple complaints.