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Ray Chou, Country Head, Ninja Van Singapore, said with automation breaking the "trade-off between labour costs and service levels", the firm's automation investment is expected to decrease manpower by more than 55% by 2025.
Yio Chu Kang, Singapore, is where local express logistics company Ninja Van now calls home for its newly established automated hub.
The hub—spanning 80,000 square feet—is part of the company’s expansion plan to "future-proof its volume growth trajectory." Per the company, its end-of-year parcel volumes show a steady increase, with a significant spike from 2019 to 2020, due to the emergence of the monthly double-digit shopping festivals at eCommerce sites such as Shopee and Lazada (i.e., 10.10, 11.11, and 12.12.).
Ray Chou, Country Head, Ninja Van Singapore, shared: "We started sourcing for a new warehouse last July in anticipation of the year-on-year parcel volume growth. With the increasing demand for express delivery, we wanted to ensure that our infrastructure was able to process parcels faster and safer for our customers. The automated hub, equipped with our new sorting machinery, is in line with our plans to enhance our express delivery capabilities."
On that note, to live up to forecasted expectations, Ninja Van Singapore invested in customised automated sorting belts to speed up the sorting process, and ensure safer handling of parcels. With the two belts spanning three-quarters the length of the warehouse, the hub at Yio Chu Kang is expected to handle three times more parcels per hour than the logistic company's existing processing hub at Pandan Avenue.
Further, said to be armed with a sorting accuracy of up to 99.9%, the belts can sort parcels into the final delivery zone with a single scan—which significantly speeds up the overall sorting process, and have parcels ready for delivery.
"Labour is a critical element of any logistics model. Automation breaks the trade-off between labour costs and our service levels, allowing us to offer faster delivery while being cost-efficient. We estimate that our automation investment will help to decrease manpower by more than 55% by 2025. The improved automation also minimises the risk of parcel damage, as it reduces the number of human touch points required to sort a parcel," Chou explained.
Announced in tandem with the Yio Chu Kang automated hub was Ninja Van Singapore's service recovery system ("Fantastic Service Recovery"), which is able to serve users with a live-chat function through Ninja Chat, its own social messaging based platform.
In addition, users will be able to interact with Ninja Van directly, and receive notifications that enable them to track their orders at every step of the delivery process through another social messaging app of their choice.
ICYMI: Gaming company Razer opens its Southeast Asia headquarters at One-North, Singapore
Min-Liang Tan, Razer’s Co-Founder & CEO, said that the organisation will thus be expanding "our family in Singapore from 600 to 1,000 employees".
On 26 October 2021 (Tuesday), Razer, a global lifestyle gaming brand, launched its Southeast Asia Headquarters at One-North.
Announcing the launch, Min-Liang Tan, Razer’s Co-Founder & CEO, said: "“The new regional hub represents everything that Razer stands for, from innovation, to design, to sustainability, and will not only be home to Razer’s growing staff, but to up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and even gamers looking for a place to train and learn as well.”
Tan, on that note, shared that the organisation will be expanding "our family in Singapore from 600 to 1,000 employees".
With the new regional HQ in place, Razer is said to continue its close partnerships with various stakeholders and E-sports federations in Southeast Asia to support the growth of E-sports in the region, and has allocated designated spaces in its premises to host E-sports workshops, training sessions, and support local E-sports teams and talents.
While that move is for the community, for its employees, the organisation has partnered with flexible workspace provider JustCo to support the implementation of hybrid work or workforce decentralisation arrangements within its creative hub.
Aside to that, the headquarters also embodies the company’s sustainability initiative, #GoGreenWithRazer, the firm's ten-year plan to preserve nature and protect the environment. The establishment is equipped with eco-friendly features, such as solar panels to power parts of the day-to-day operations and a sensor-enabled lighting system for energy effectiveness, and is incorporated with sustainable practices including removing all single-use plastics.
The launch event on Tuesday was officiated by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Heng Swee Keat, who applauded the organisation for shaping and nurturing both the local and global gaming community, as well as developing locals in acquiring new skills and competencies in the tech industry.
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Image / Ninja Van Singapore
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