Shoppers no longer need to wait days to receive items bought online from local retailers with the introduction by start-up Blu of Singapore’s first same-day self-collection option.
The company has set up a network of Blu lockers – 41 self-collection lockers known as BluPorts, strategically placed at prime locations such as shopping malls, office buildings, Cheers convenience stores and Esso petrol stations.
“The items need to come to where the consumers are and as soon as they need them,” says Blu founder Prashant Dadlani. The company’s self-collection offer is made possible by a system that integrates such elements as warehousing, order and inventory management, automated fulfillment, and last-mile logistics.
Already on board with Blu are such retailers as Kinohimitsu, Little Baby, Moonriver, Pepperkoko and SgShop.com (a platform for Chinese site Taobao). The company is talking with more retailers, and also plans to grow its Blu lockers network. Retailers who tap on to Blu’s end-to-end system no longer have to deal with multiple parties for deliveries.
“The potential for homegrown e-commerce is huge, but it has remained largely untapped because of the persistent and costly fragmentation in the supply chain,” says Dadlani.
For smaller retailers running their own online business, Blu has developed plugins that directly link to such e-commerce systems as Open Cart, Prestashop, Shopify and WooCommerce. These plugins enable retailers to offer Blu’s shipping options, including the BluPort network.
Retailers with low volumes can opt to self-deposit their parcels into a BluPort locker.
Blu has a one-stop centre in Jurong East that is driven by smart technology. Its cloud-based BluPortal system lets retailers monitor inventory in real time across multiple channels, and is connected to BluStore, a robotic storage and fulfillment mechanism. At this point, Blu’s system can process 150 to 250 orders hourly.
Dadlani founded Blu in 2015 while completing his studies as a finance major at Singapore Management University. He has more than 25 people on his team including software developers and customer service officers.
