Online Purchases and Delivery Service in NTUC Fairprice
INTRODUCTION
NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd (NTUC) was founded in 1973 by the labour movement. Its first supermarket was opened in Toa Payoh in the same year. NTUC has now grown to become Singapore’s largest retailer, with a network of more than 270 stores comprising FairPrice Supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Xpress and Cheers convenience stores. NTUC also owns a Fresh Food Distribution Centre and a centralised warehousing and distribution company. Sales in 2013 were reported at more than S$2.6 billion.
NTUC also operates an online store where customers can order their groceries directly from their online store and have them delivered to their homes or destinations of their choice.
This paper explores the business operations management of NTUC in Singapore and the possible challenges NTUC may face in their online retail and delivery service. This paper also evaluates and recommends appropriate measures that NTUC should implement to overcome these challenges as well as the methods to measure the business performance of the new process.
PART 1
NTUC’s Business Functions
NTUC operates with three core business functions to run the chain of supermarkets in Singapore; Procurement, Warehousing/Distribution and Retail. These functions are supported by Finance, Information Systems and Human Resources.
Figure 1: Process Flow of NTUC
Online Retailing and Delivery Service
NTUC currently operates an online grocery store from their website. According to their website’s Help section (2009), NTUC mentioned partnering a logistics service provider to provide the delivery services to customers.
In its website (2009), customers have the option to select their preferred date of delivery but the earliest they can receive their purchase is by the next working day. NTUC currently does not provide delivery services on Sundays and Public Holidays. Delivery charges apply according to the order amount and additional
NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd (NTUC) was founded in 1973 by the labour movement. Its first supermarket was opened in Toa Payoh in the same year. NTUC has now grown to become Singapore’s largest retailer, with a network of more than 270 stores comprising FairPrice Supermarkets, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra, FairPrice Xpress and Cheers convenience stores. NTUC also owns a Fresh Food Distribution Centre and a centralised warehousing and distribution company. Sales in 2013 were reported at more than S$2.6 billion.
NTUC also operates an online store where customers can order their groceries directly from their online store and have them delivered to their homes or destinations of their choice.
This paper explores the business operations management of NTUC in Singapore and the possible challenges NTUC may face in their online retail and delivery service. This paper also evaluates and recommends appropriate measures that NTUC should implement to overcome these challenges as well as the methods to measure the business performance of the new process.
PART 1
NTUC’s Business Functions
NTUC operates with three core business functions to run the chain of supermarkets in Singapore; Procurement, Warehousing/Distribution and Retail. These functions are supported by Finance, Information Systems and Human Resources.
Figure 1: Process Flow of NTUC
Online Retailing and Delivery Service
NTUC currently operates an online grocery store from their website. According to their website’s Help section (2009), NTUC mentioned partnering a logistics service provider to provide the delivery services to customers.
In its website (2009), customers have the option to select their preferred date of delivery but the earliest they can receive their purchase is by the next working day. NTUC currently does not provide delivery services on Sundays and Public Holidays. Delivery charges apply according to the order amount and additional
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