The national mail carrier of Singapore and aspiring global logistics provider has agreed to purchase a 71.1 percent share in Jagged Peak, Inc. for $15.8 million.
Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) has agreed to purchase a 71.1 percent share in e-commerce solutions provider Jagged Peak, Inc. for approximately $15.8 million.
The acquisition, SingPost’s first in the U.S., represents a move toward becoming a global logistics provider. In addition to being the national mail carrier of Singapore, SingPost already provides eCommerce and conventional logistics services in 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region.
Jagged Peak, which SingPost described as an “e-commerce logistics enabler for high-velocity consumer products,” provides an enterprise-class commerce platform called EDGE that includes a full-featured e-commerce Platform (ECP) and Order Management System (OMS), as well as a Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Transportation Management System (TMS).
Jagged Peak’s proprietary platform is utilized by more than 20 warehousing facilities across the U.S., Canada and Europe, which will enable SingPost to expand its logistics reach and support global customers. SingPost said it intends to invest further in Jagged Peak’s e-commerce logistics infrastructure, processes and technology.
The Tampa, Fla.-based company reported net income of $230,900 in 2014, down 72.7 percent from the previous year, despite increasing revenues 30 percent to $61.7 million during the same period.
“As SingPost pioneers and leads e-commerce logistics in Asia Pacific, we are casting our eyes beyond the region,” SingPost Chairman Lim Ho Kee said of the acquisition. “Jagged Peak can enable end-to-end fulfilment of e-commerce orders across the U.S. SingPost is excited about this capability. This transaction is also part of our strategy to focus our resources on strengthening our geographical reach and the technology we employ as an e-commerce logistics company.”
“This acquisition will ‘connect the dots’ and make our e-commerce logistics network global,” added group CEO Wolfgang Baier. “The acquisition of Jagged Peak allows us to use their state-of-the-art e-commerce omni-channel technology to enable brands and retailers not only to leverage their warehouse facilities in over 20 locations in the US but expand these services into our Asia Pacific warehouse network. A win-win for existing and future customers. We have planted the seeds with this investment of what will be SingPost’s global multi-channel B2B4C e-commerce logistics platform.”
Meanwhile, SingPost announced in a separate statement it has partnered with the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to develop and test and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, commonly known as a drone, for mail delivery.
The drone, developed by IDA on the Pixhawk Steadidrone platform and built to SingPost’s specifications, has the capacity to carry a payload of up to half a kilogram, fly at a height of up to 45 meters and has a range of 2.3 kilometers.
The drone recently successfully completed a last mile mail and packet delivery test between Lorong Halus and Pulau Ubin, marking the first time a postal service has successfully used an UAV for point-to-point recipient-authenticated mail delivery anywhere in the world, according to SingPost. The test flight lasted five minutes, carrying a payload of a letter and a t-shirt over a total distance of two kilometers.
“The successful conclusion of this trial shows how SingPost is thinking out of the box and its willingness to expand its traditional mail delivery model in innovative ways,” said Jacqueline Poh, managing director of IDA. “Although it will be a while before it is viable for drone mail delivery to take off in Singapore, taking into consideration commercial and safety factors; this first step by SingPost and IDA demonstrates what Singapore is trying out with our Smart Nation vision – to have the various parts of our ecosystem collaborate, experiment with new ways of doing things, and in the process, literally aim for the sky with new technology.”
SingPost acquires U.S.-based e-commerce logistics provider
