A study of crowd-shipping for last-mile logistics in the context of Singapore: behavioural study of an individual in joining crowd-shipping

Abstract

The increase in e-commerce has led to an increase in demand for last-mile delivery. Engaging crowd-shippers to carry out last-mile delivery can help to reduce inefficiency such as increasing delivery times and additional costs. Crowd-shipping is not a new concept in Singapore with many established players in the market such as Grab and Lalamove. Crowd-shippers plays an important role in Singapore however due to the easy entry into the industry, individuals of different employment status make up the supply of crowd-shippers in Singapore. Complexity arises as many individuals still join the industry with many known issues such as whether to contribute to the Central Provident Fund (CPF), lack of basic protection policies and downsides that come with the job. However, as crowd-shipping starts to gain traction with the public, the government has started implementing policies to aid the industry. The report aims to understand the motivations of an individual in joining the industry and willingness to retain in the industry after the new policies have been implemented and how does the government policies affect the supply of crowd-shippers. A survey was conducted to gather valuable insights and opinions from the crowd-shippers and data was analysed both quantitively and qualitatively. Overall, the government policies would deter some individuals from entering the industry but would still generate and retain the supply of crowd-shippers to keep up with the increasing demand for last-mile delivery. Results gathered were the divided opinions on governmental aids in helping the industry and the almost equally split in opinions to retain in the industry after the implementation of the policies. The report also provides insights into crowd-shippers opinions and preferences of deliveries and how they view the different aspects of recommendations provided by the government.