The most expensive kilometre in e-commerce can be the last one.
A parcel may travel thousands of kilometres efficiently, then spend disproportionate time being delivered door to door across one neighbourhood.
Did you know that Singapore operates an islandwide open-access network of around 1,000 parcel-locker stations designed specifically to reduce last-mile delivery friction?
This article targets last mile delivery Singapore, parcel locker Singapore, urban logistics Singapore, Pick Network Singapore and e-commerce delivery Singapore.
Official information was checked on 4 October 2026. Worked examples are fictional.
Did You Know? Pick Operates Around 1,000 Locker Stations
IMDA states that Pick Network operates around 1,000 parcel-locker stations across HDB estates, community clubs, MRT stations and bus interchanges.
The network is designed so many users are within about five minutes of a locker and can collect parcels 24/7.
Official reference: IMDA — Pick Network.
The Last Mile Is Expensive Because Every Door Is Different
A delivery truck can carry hundreds of parcels efficiently to one district.
The problem begins when each parcel needs a different building, lift, access code, recipient and delivery window.
The vehicle spends more time stopping, waiting and navigating.
Last-mile logistics is therefore a coordination problem as much as a transport problem.
Parcel Lockers Turn Many Doors Into One Stop
A locker station lets a driver drop many parcels in one location.
Customers collect later at their convenience.
The delivery company replaces several home visits with one consolidated stop.
This can raise parcels delivered per hour and reduce failed-delivery attempts.
Worked Example: Consolidation Changes Driver Productivity
Imagine a fictional driver needs four minutes for each doorstep stop.
Delivering 30 parcels separately consumes about two hours of stop time before travel.
If the same 30 parcels can be placed into one locker station in 20 minutes, substantial delivery time is released.
The exact saving depends on route, locker availability and loading procedures.
Pick Is Designed as an Open, Neutral Network
IMDA describes Pick Network as a wholly owned subsidiary created to deploy, own and operate the nationwide parcel-locker network while giving logistics providers fair and open access.
Official reference: IMDA — Pick Network.
The locker infrastructure is therefore designed as a shared platform rather than a closed network for one courier.
Open Access Improves Asset Utilisation
A locker owned by one courier can sit partly empty while another courier struggles for delivery capacity nearby.
Shared access lets several logistics providers use the same physical infrastructure.
That can increase locker utilisation.
A neutral platform turns fixed infrastructure into a network asset.
Federation Extends Beyond One Locker Brand
IMDA’s Federated Locker and Collection Points Programme is designed to connect lockers and collection points from different operators through a common interoperability layer.
The programme uses standardised data exchange so logistics providers can find availability and reserve space more consistently.
Official reference: IMDA — Federated Locker and Collection Points Programme.
Interoperability Is the Software Behind Physical Lockers
The physical box is easy to see.
The hard part is the platform that knows which compartment is free, which courier owns the parcel, which customer should be notified and when the parcel was collected.
The locker becomes useful because software coordinates its state.
Urban logistics is increasingly a data system.
Worked Example: Failed Delivery Has a Hidden Cost
Imagine a fictional doorstep delivery costs S$6 on the first attempt.
If 10% of deliveries require a second visit costing another S$4, expected delivery cost rises by S$0.40 per parcel.
A locker can reduce some failed attempts by separating delivery time from customer availability.
Reliability has an economic value.
Lockers Change Route Geometry
A courier route built around individual homes zigzags between addresses.
A route built around several high-volume locker stations has fewer stops.
That can reduce driving distance and dwell time.
The biggest gain appears where parcel density is high.
HDB Density Makes Singapore Well Suited to Shared Collection
Many households live within dense residential estates.
One locker station can therefore serve a large population within walking distance.
Urban density that complicates doorstep delivery can also make consolidated collection unusually efficient.
The same city form creates the problem and the solution.
Transport Nodes Make Collection Fit Daily Routines
Lockers at MRT stations and bus interchanges let people collect parcels while already travelling.
The customer avoids waiting at home.
The delivery company avoids coordinating an exact arrival time.
Infrastructure becomes more useful when it sits on an existing human route.
Returns Are Part of Last-Mile Logistics Too
E-commerce generates reverse logistics when customers return goods.
Collection points and lockers can provide a consistent place for returns.
That reduces the need to schedule courier pickups individually.
The last mile works in both directions.
Urban Logistics Connects to E-Commerce
Online retail creates parcel volume.
Last-mile infrastructure determines how efficiently that volume reaches consumers.
See Making Singapore Rich | Retail, E-Commerce and Consumer Economy.
The digital storefront still needs a physical delivery network.
Urban Logistics Connects to Warehouse Automation
A parcel sorted automatically inside a fulfilment centre can still be delayed if the final delivery route is inefficient.
See Making Singapore Rich | Warehouse Automation, ASRS and Fulfilment Technology.
The supply chain is only as fast as its slowest stage.
Route Optimisation Creates Another Software Market
Delivery platforms can group stops, estimate arrival times and assign parcels to drivers based on capacity and geography.
The algorithm turns thousands of delivery addresses into a route plan.
Better routing reduces distance and driver idle time.
The courier business increasingly depends on optimisation software.
Micro-Fulfilment Can Move Inventory Closer
Urban fulfilment centres can position high-demand stock closer to consumers.
That shortens the distance between order and delivery.
The trade-off is more fragmented inventory and higher urban property cost.
Speed has to be balanced against stock efficiency.
The Risk: Locker Capacity Can Be in the Wrong Place
A locker station with too few compartments at peak demand creates queues of parcels waiting for space.
Another station nearby may sit underused.
Data on utilisation is therefore essential.
Infrastructure should follow demand patterns.
The Risk: Locker Convenience Depends on Walking Distance
A locker may improve courier productivity and inconvenience the customer if it is too far away.
IMDA’s network design therefore emphasises neighbourhood and transport-node proximity.
Last-mile optimisation has two customers: the courier and the recipient.
The Risk: Consolidation Can Create Pickup Peaks
Many customers may collect parcels after work.
If one station is overloaded, the system can create a new queue at the collection point.
Locker design needs capacity, lighting, security and good placement.
The final metre still matters.
The Risk: More Parcel Volume Means More Packaging
Efficient delivery does not automatically solve packaging waste.
E-commerce logistics needs to connect with lower-waste packaging and recycling.
See Making Singapore Rich | Packaging, Printing and Smart Labels.
Delivery efficiency and material efficiency are separate objectives.
Autonomous Delivery Is a Possible Next Layer
Singapore has explored autonomous delivery concepts as part of urban-logistics innovation.
Robots or autonomous vehicles could eventually move parcels between hubs and neighbourhood points in suitable environments.
The technology still needs economics, safety and regulation to align.
Automation is useful where it removes repeated low-value movement.
Urban Logistics Creates New Jobs Around Platforms
Couriers remain important.
The ecosystem also needs network planners, software engineers, locker technicians, fulfilment operators and data analysts.
Technology changes where productivity is created.
The sector becomes partly physical logistics and partly platform operations.
Education Builds Logistics Thinking
Students can learn route optimisation, capacity, probability and customer experience through parcel-delivery examples.
They can see how one physical package creates a chain of digital decisions.
See Making Singapore Rich | Education, Skills and Human Capital.
A Guided Classroom Investigation
Give students 20 fictional delivery addresses and three locker stations.
Ask them to design a route that minimises stops while keeping lockers convenient for customers.
The exercise teaches multi-objective optimisation.
Independent Practice: Doorstep or Locker?
A fictional courier has 100 parcels in one HDB estate.
Half of customers prefer doorstep delivery and half prefer lockers.
Ask how the driver’s route changes and what information is needed to compare cost and convenience.
The learning goal is operational trade-offs.
What Progress Should Look Like
A stronger urban-logistics economy should raise parcels per trip, reduce failed deliveries, improve locker utilisation, make returns easier and create better interoperability across logistics providers.
A stronger learner should distinguish the last mile from long-haul transport, open infrastructure from closed networks and delivery speed from delivery productivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Pick locker stations are there?
IMDA currently states that the network has around 1,000 locker stations across Singapore.
Who owns Pick Network?
Pick Network is a wholly owned subsidiary of IMDA.
Why are parcel lockers useful?
They consolidate many individual deliveries into fewer stops while allowing customers to collect parcels at convenient times.
What is the Federated Locker and Collection Points Programme?
It is an interoperability initiative connecting lockers and collection points from different operators through standardised data exchange.
How does urban logistics make Singapore richer?
It lowers e-commerce fulfilment friction and creates logistics-platform, software, delivery and infrastructure services across the consumer economy.
Helpful Reading and Singapore Graph Connections
- IMDA — Pick Network
- IMDA — Urban Logistics
- IMDA — Federated Locker and Collection Points Programme
- Making Singapore Rich | Logistics, Warehousing and Supply Chains
- Making Singapore Rich | Warehouse Automation, ASRS and Fulfilment Technology
Making Singapore Rich: Turn the Last Mile Into a Shared Network
Did you know that one locker can replace dozens of individual doorstep stops?
Density creates parcel volume.
Shared collection consolidates stops.
Software coordinates capacity.
Customers collect when convenient.
Singapore becomes richer when the hardest kilometre in e-commerce becomes a designed urban system rather than a repeated door-to-door scramble.
The parcel travels across the world.
Urban logistics solves the final few hundred metres.