The research partnership comes at a time where e-commerce is inherently ingrained in our day-to-day lives, with businesses and consumers now relying on the logistics industry more than ever. In this climate, the company with the most efficient logistics network and ability to serve businesses with agility and adaptability will gain a competitive edge.
Optimising Delivery Efficiency and Improving Sustainability In The E-Commerce Landscape
Leveraging data from Pickupp’s proprietary database to interpret patterns and trends, the collaboration strives to address logistical inefficiencies commonly faced in the industry through two main research areas. The first research area is about improving logistics network design.
The research will be used to develop a highly flexible service matrix for an industry where most companies are asset-heavy and do not fully utilize network systems. The intention is to enable a strategic placement of logistics spaces that will shorten the distance for last-mile delivery across the city while efficiently grouping and routing deliveries in a way that is both time-saving and cost-efficient.
The second key research area is price optimization. This research aims to develop an integrated incentive system that will enhance existing solutions for (i) matching drivers to jobs, (ii) managing incentives for the drivers and (iii) price optimization for merchants. This data-analytics driven approach reinforces Pickupp’s commitment to sustainability through the streamlining of delivery routes, while increasing revenues for delivery agents and improving cost management for businesses.
The collaboration is led by Assistant Professor Feng Yifan (Department of Analytics and Operations of NUS Business School and affiliated faculty member of IORA) and Crystal Pang, Chief Executive Officer of Pickupp, with co-leads Professor Teo Chung Piaw and Professor Jussi Keppo of IORA, Lawrence Ho, Chief Product Officer from Pickupp and Lee Chee Meng, Co-Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of Pickupp’s Singapore Office.
Lee Chee Meng, Co-Chief Operating Officer, said, “At Pickupp, we believe that the future of logistics is asset-light and leveraging data is highly crucial in meeting the increasing demands of e-commerce, especially with perishables and groceries. The collaboration with NUS is a step forward in our belief that the future of logistics is data driven, and we trust the results from the research will unlock Pickupp’s network economic power to ensure that every delivery is fulfilled for a price that achieves equilibrium between cost to the business and incentive to the delivery agent.”
Professor Teo, IORA Executive Director, said, “This industry-academia partnership between IORA and Pickupp is significant as it builds on NUS’ growing research expertise in operations research and data science. The project will see our researchers work with industry to create products that have high value for commercialisation and industry adoption.”
Pickupp’s expanding network of islandwide pick-up and drop-off service points has enhanced its capacity to continuously diversify its product portfolio and offerings across all industries and verticals. On top of meeting different logistical needs, from on-demand delivery to micro-fulfilment and warehousing as well as cross-border services, these service points are also aligned with Pickupp’s goal of improving the efficiency of deliveries during peak traffic hours and decarbonising its operations by increasing its walker and rider delivery agent pool. Going forward, these service points will also serve as pick-up points and a point of sale for Pickupp’s e-commerce platform – Shop On Pickupp.
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About Pickupp Pte. Ltd.
Pickupp is an on-demand delivery platform redefining logistics with its transparent customer-centric service and technology. Founded in 2016, the company has operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, providing logistics support to 20,000+ businesses spanning MNCs, logistics giants as well as retail and e-commerce. They also have a strong delivery team of over 100,000 delivery agents across all cities.
Pickupp provides flexible, tech-driven logistics solutions that enable businesses of all sizes to scale and thrive. Through highly optimised batching and chaining technology, customers can book a delivery anytime without sacrificing speed and cost, while real-time GPS tracking provides end-to-end transparency. Pickupp’s flexible delivery windows and their handy scheduling feature enable customers to be nimble and capitalise on business opportunities. Pickupp launched Shop On Pickupp, a one-stop e-commerce platform offering all-rounded payment and tech-enabled delivery solutions for businesses in 2020. For more information, please visit our website at https://pickupp.io/en/.
About Institute of Operations Research and Analytics (IORA), National University of Singapore (NUS)
Established in November 2016 as a NUS university level research institute, IORA conducts research on the optimisation, analysis and management of service systems, including model formulation, algorithm design, analysis of service strategies and software development.
IORA works with local companies and MNCs, to optimise resource allocation and utilisation, as well as developing a cutting-edge solver to handle large scale complex models that are often encountered in the field of data analytics.
Our vision is to establish IORA as a centre of excellence to integrate Operations Research with Data Analytics, giving new impetus to fundamental research to promote the adoption of prescriptive analytics in academia and industry, attracting and nurturing top talents (faculty and students) for the profession.
For more information on IORA, please visit www.iora.nus.edu.sg
