Singapore Post will launch ‘ezyCommerce’, a fully integrated end-to-end e-commerce fulfilmentsolution from marketing to logistics in April to help Asian SMEs kickstart and/or grow their online
business.An easy-to-use, cloud based platform, ezyCommerce automates the order-to-fulfilment cycleenabling SMEs to outsource their inventory management and order fulfillment, the expanding postalgroup explained.
By using the service, the SMEs can gain time and focus their effort on value-added tasks such asselling to boost sales and productivity, and leverage SingPost’s efficient warehouse management,extensive postal and logistics networks to scale up their business. Moreover, they can bettermanage business costs by converting fulfilment from a fixed cost into a variable cost. SMEs canovercome ever increasing fixed and capital costs with a pay-as-you-use, flexible solution withoutthe burden of fixed contracts and hidden costs.
Singapore’s e-commerce market has undergone explosive growth from S$1.1 billion in 2010 to aforecasted S$4.4 billion in 2015, yet despite a growing number of SMEs and ecommerce marketplacesin Singapore, there is a lack of a scalable fulfilment service on a unified platform that allowssales across multiple channels and countries. ezyCommerce is a solution to fill this fulfilmentgap, according to the company.
CEO Wolfgang Baier said: “Due to its strategic location and highly skilled workforce, Singaporehas competitive advantages as a hub for ecommerce logistics, and acts as a gateway and springboardfor companies looking to expand into Asia markets. ezyCommerce focuses on the mid-market andprovides a stepping stone for SMEs to efficiently grow their business locally andinternationally.
“By outsourcing fulfilment and delivery to SingPost, SMEs can better focus on business growthstrategy and scale up their business across multiple marketplaces and countries without contendingwith fixed fulfilment costs, hence boosting both sales and productivity. In addition, SMEs can alsobenefit from the scalability, efficiency and reliability of SingPost’s strong logisticsbackbone.”
Using a simple interface, SMEs can connect multiple online sales channels, centralise inventory,automate ordering processing and offer multiple delivery modes to their customers. SingPost picks,packs and delivers orders for SMEs leveraging its trusted fulfilment and delivery infrastructure inSingapore and the greater region. ezyCommerce comes also with a business intelligence dashboard forSMEs to monitor all key metrics such as inventory levels and the bestsellers, allowing them to makebetter decisions on growing their business.
There is a monthly subscription to ezyCommerce but SMEs signing up before 1 June 2015 can enjoya 3-month fee waiver. Fulfilment related costs are based on variable costs such as storage fee,order processing fee and delivery fee. Modular solutions such as shopping cart integrations,returns and import services will be rolled out progressively. Through the ezyCommerce-SPRING SMEsubsidy grant, eligible applicants can enjoy 70% subsidy on all ezyCommerce-related spend for sixmonths.
Baier added: “From 2015 to 2018, global e-commerce sales are expected to grow at more than 15%every year, with Asia Pacific accounting for over 40% according to industry reports. To cater tothe fast growing e-commerce market in Singapore and the region, we have been scaling up ourregional logistics capabilities with new and expanded facilities, including developing a S$182million fully integrated Regional eCommerce Logistics Hub that will transform our full range ofecommerce logistics capabilities across warehousing, fulfilment, sorting and delivery. As part ofour growth strategy, we will continue to make strategic investments in infrastructure, technologyand operations, and expand our end-toend integrated suite of services to meet the growing needs ofour local and regional business and end customers.”
SingPost’s Senior Vice President for eCommerce, Marcelo Wesseler said: “SingPost is alreadyproviding a full suite of integrated ecommerce services, including developing ecommerce sites withpayment functions, warehousing, delivery and returns, customer service and digital marketing viaour B2B4C solution for large businesses and brands. With ezyCommerce, SMEs can connect marketplaceswith just a few clicks, ship inventory to our warehouse, and we will take care of the end-to-endfulfilment. SMEs can manage the entire fulfilment lifecycle of their online sales from theconvenience of a single platform. They can also enjoy peace of mind and stay on top of theirbusiness anytime, anywhere, as ezyCommerce is mobile friendly and guarantees uptime with daily databackup.”
The launch of ezyCommerce is being supported by Singapore authorities and organisations. ChewMok Lee, SPRING Singapore’s Assistant Chief Executive, Capabilities & Partnership said:“E-commerce provides our SMEs immense growth opportunities in Singapore and around the region. ThisCollaborative Industry Project (CIP) by SingPost will help SMEs embark on ecommerce by reapingeconomies of scale, and allowing them to focus their attention on capturing new market share andcustomer segments. We encourage SMEs to participate in these collaborative projects to raise theirproductivity, increase cost efficiencies and gain greater exposure to new ideas and innovationsthat drive long-term growth.”
Teo Eng Cheong, Chief Executive Officer of International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, said:“E-commerce has become a critical component of most companies’ digital strategy. For the SMEs, itis not only another revenue channel but also a cost-effective way to quickly access opportunitiesfrom the rising middle income class in the region. Beyond benefitting our SMEs, the ezyCommercesolution enhances Singapore’s current logistics and fulfilment infrastructure. We are workingclosely with SingPost to export this platform to international markets as this will drive new,regional trade flows through Singapore. This creates economic benefits for us, such as businessspending.”
Khoong Hock Yun, Assistant Chief Executive, Development Group, Infocomm Development Authority ofSingapore, added: “E-commerce platforms are excellent avenues for SMEs to extend their reachtowards new consumer markets. Innovative application of technology such as SingPost’s ezyCommercesupplements this, offering new models of productivity and market access. It improves thecompetitiveness of SMEs by optimising resources through order consolidation and fulfilment of lastmile deliveries. We are encouraged by such industry initiatives to help strengthen the retailsector.”
