Amazon.com has introduced a new operating model for Amazon Prime with the launch of Prime Now in Singapore on 26 July. The Prime Now programme offers free two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items directly from the Prime Now mobile app. Since launching in 2014 in the US, Prime Now has expanded to more than 50 cities in nine countries including Tokyo.
Items available via Prime Now include grocery, home, health and beauty, electronics, toys, outdoor gear, and sporting goods. Amazon said local favourites such as Tiger Balm, Milo, Scotch-Brite and MamyPoko diapers as well as products from brands including L’Oreal, Pampers, and Samsung will be available for fast doorstep delivery at no extra charge on orders of S$40 or more. Techniques used to fulfill orders as quickly and efficiently include spatial design, random stow, batching and machine learning.
“We are excited to introduce the busy people in Singapore to this convenient, ultra-fast delivery solution to get more time back to do the things they love,” said Aarif Nakhooda, Director of Prime Now Asia-Pacific. “Prime Now is powered by Amazon’s more than 20 years of operational and technological excellence and hundreds of Singapore’s talented and skilled associates.”
In a speech to mark the opening of Amazon's Prime Now fulfilment centre in Singapore yesterday Nakhooda said, "Leveraging Amazon’s more than 20 years of technological and operational excellence, Prime Now is launching in a country for the first time without an existing retail presence or fulfillment network. The service will drive Singapore’s urban logistics, retail and e-commerce industries as well as benefit small and medium enterprises with direct participation in the advancing digital economy. Singapore’s dedication to technology and innovation, highly-engaged consumer base and talented workforce is fueling Amazon’s growing presence in the country. We now employ hundreds of associates and expect to continue growing. In 2010, we established our first data centre in Singapore and we continue to expand our cloud computing investments, further cementing the country as an Asia Pacific (APAC) and ASEAN cloud hub."
“We are pleased that Amazon has chosen to launch a new operating model with Amazon Prime Now in Singapore, which will leverage data and technology to achieve greater resource efficiency and near real-time delivery of goods,” said Kiren Kumar, Assistant MD,Singapore Economic Development Board at the time. “With Prime Now, Amazon will also play a key role in training and equipping our local ecosystem and workforce with cross-disciplinary digital capabilities. This is an excellent example of a global technology company contributing to Singapore’s ambition to be a Smart Nation and a location for businesses to innovate and create new value for the world.”
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| Source: Amazon. Minister Iswaran on the tour of the Prime Now fulfilment centre in Singapore led by Henry Low, Director of Prime Now, Asia Pacific. |
Singapore Minister of Trade and Industry S Iswaran, guest of honour at the launch of Prime Now in Singapore, shared that Singapore has two strategies to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies across industries: enabling innovation and accelerating the adoption of technologies across industries, and Industry Transformation Maps. "By tapping on Amazon Prime platform as well as its global fulfilment networks, local companies and merchants can access and serve global markets at scale and at speed. Amazon can also spur innovation among its small and medium sized enterprise (SME) partners by introducing new technologies as well as innovative concepts, such as precise supply chain management," he said during the launch of Amazon Singapore.
In celebration of the launch of the Amazon Singapore Prime Now facility, Amazon is also donating
S$10,000 worth of products to Lions Befrienders.
The move brings Amazon into direct competition with existing online marketplaces already available in Singapore such as Alibaba's Lazada, honestbee and Redmart, in addition to the online shops for brick-and-mortar retailers.
Guillem Segarra, CEO of HappyFresh, an online grocery marketplace in Southeast Asia with a presence in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, said that being a pure play company confers a competitive advantage for his company.
He commented, “Our close working relationships with grocery retailers in Southeast Asia have allowed us to understand and evaluate the challenges faced by these retailers. We discovered that while retailers are embracing this digital revolution, they are largely ill-prepared for the disruption. Furthermore, the digital connectedness of consumers has set new expectations of what is considered a fulfilling customer experience. Therefore, the roles of retailers are expected to change as the digital economy expands.”
Segarra said grocery is the biggest category of household spend in Southeast Asia, which has a population of 640 million people. "The growing middle class and rapid urbanisation will fuel the growth of modern grocery retail formats and the adoption of online grocery retailing. Therefore, the acquisition will be a catalyst for change in the region. It is a reminder to retailers in Southeast Asia to leverage technology and stay ahead of the trend or risked being displaced," he said.
“HappyFresh is the only startup in Southeast Asia that solely focuses on the grocery sector while employing an asset-light model. We partner with brick-and-mortar grocery retailers to offer an online shopping experience that leverages off their existing physical assets and distribution networks. With our people, skills and expertise, we can help retailers navigate these choppy waters ahead, optimise their operations and develop defendable omnichannel experiences of their own.”
Interested?
Guillem Segarra, CEO of HappyFresh, an online grocery marketplace in Southeast Asia with a presence in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, said that being a pure play company confers a competitive advantage for his company.
He commented, “Our close working relationships with grocery retailers in Southeast Asia have allowed us to understand and evaluate the challenges faced by these retailers. We discovered that while retailers are embracing this digital revolution, they are largely ill-prepared for the disruption. Furthermore, the digital connectedness of consumers has set new expectations of what is considered a fulfilling customer experience. Therefore, the roles of retailers are expected to change as the digital economy expands.”
Segarra said grocery is the biggest category of household spend in Southeast Asia, which has a population of 640 million people. "The growing middle class and rapid urbanisation will fuel the growth of modern grocery retail formats and the adoption of online grocery retailing. Therefore, the acquisition will be a catalyst for change in the region. It is a reminder to retailers in Southeast Asia to leverage technology and stay ahead of the trend or risked being displaced," he said.
“HappyFresh is the only startup in Southeast Asia that solely focuses on the grocery sector while employing an asset-light model. We partner with brick-and-mortar grocery retailers to offer an online shopping experience that leverages off their existing physical assets and distribution networks. With our people, skills and expertise, we can help retailers navigate these choppy waters ahead, optimise their operations and develop defendable omnichannel experiences of their own.”
Interested?
To enjoy Prime Now, download the Prime Now app for iOS and Android. Prime Now is available from 10am to 10pm seven days a week. Prime Now offers free two-hour delivery on orders of S$40 or more. For orders under S$40, the two-hour delivery costs S$5.99. Customers can also get their Prime Now order with one-hour delivery for S$9.99.
Prime Now is an exclusive service for members of Amazon Prime, a membership programme. For a limited time, Prime Now will be available in Singapore to try without a Prime membership.
- Customers who shop using their Visa credit card will receive S$20 off their first Prime Now order using promotional code VISA20 for a limited time.
- Customers without a Visa card can get S$10 off their first order using promotional code 10PRIMENOW
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