DISTRIPARKS IN SINGAPORE : AN ANALYSIS OF END-USER'S REQUIREMENTS

Abstract

It is the intention of the Government to establish Singapore as a regional distribution and logistics hub for the Asia Pacific region. Distriparks were first built in the 1980s to house the storage, distribution and logistics functions. Today, besides the distriparks operated by Port of Singapore Authority, more and more distriparks are built by the private sector. Increase in supply of warehouse space in the form of distriparks implies an increasing demand for such developments. This warrants a study to construct a end-users' profile so as to give an insight to who they are, the reasons for their usage of distriparks and the kind of facilities and services they require. A telephone interview was used to pre-qualify each potential interviewee. Through the telephone interviews, most of the companies which require the services of third-party logistics suppliers are manufacturing firms. Among the qualified interviewees, it is found that there is a general lack of knowledge concerning distriparks among the interviewees. However, third-party logistics services are found to be comprehensive enough to cater to the needs of the end-users, although third-party logistics suppliers need to be more customer-oriented in order to be competitive.