Teleport promises next-day deliveries between MY and SG. So, we put that to the test.
[This is a sponsored article with Teleport.]
Sending things to friends and family abroad can be an inconvenience due to hefty shipping rates, potential delivery delays, and more.
Thus, going through such a process is usually only reserved for important occasions or emergencies, like for a family member’s wedding you can’t attend, or sending aid to someone.
But what if we could easily ship packages abroad regardless of the affair?
Teleport, the logistics arm of Capital A (formerly AirAsia Group) has launched a new service to address this demand. Named Teleport Pink, it leverages AirAsia’s network of flights, and promises users affordable international next-day deliveries.
Teleport Pink is first offering deliveries from KL to Singapore, and plans to expand the service to other SEA destinations like Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2023.
So, we tested it out by sending our team in Singapore a little gift, something they wouldn’t be able to get from their country.
Parcel bags with virtual documentation
To help us get the ball rolling, Teleport Pink’s team sent us a few parcel bags for our KL to Singapore delivery.
The bags can be purchased directly from Teleport Pink’s online store, or from participating myNEWS outlets, and certain vending machines, along with co-working spaces such as Common Ground and WeWork. Each parcel bag costs RM1, and carries a max 5kg load.
All Teleport Pink parcel bags come with instructions on how to use the service. They also have a unique QR code that leads you to the brand’s website to fill in a digital form for your delivery.
You’ll have to input details like your and your recipient’s names, addresses, contact numbers, along with a brief description of what the package contains (documents, attire, food, etc.). No printing or drop-offs are required whatsoever.
Payment can be made via credit or debit card at the checkout page, and one-way delivery fees are fixed at RM40 (or S$15) per package.
A word from our sponsor: Customers sending their first parcel get a free delivery promo code “PINKFREE”, which the receiver in Singapore will also get upon receiving the parcel.
Teleport Pink has made its parcel bags easy to reuse as well. As the original QR code is printed on a sticker, receivers may peel it off to reveal another unique QR code, and ship the package back to their sender, or anyone else in KL.
Gifting across the causeway
It’s worth noting that Teleport Pink’s next-day deliveries only apply to parcels that are picked up before 4PM.
Placing a delivery order on Wednesday, November 16 at 12.40PM, a Teleport rider came by to pick up my package at 1.38PM.
The parcel’s instructions also stated to not seal the bag. This is so packages can pass through customs quicker, as they’re checked by a Teleport representative beforehand.
So, I watched as the Teleport rider peeped at my package’s contents before sealing the bag in front of me. A little intrusive, but perhaps that’s the cost of convenience and speediness.
This definitely alleviated a concern I had about my package getting rejected by customs though, since it contained a perishable item.
When asked about what kinds of things would be rejected from the parcel, the Teleport courier said that those include drugs, explosives, and the like. Generally, anything that would be flagged when you send your bags through airport customs.
From there, I wished the parcel a safe flight on its trip to Singapore as it boarded with other AirAsia passengers.
You won’t be able to track your orders via a moving rider icon on a map as your parcel makes its way to the destination.
Instead, Teleport Pink will send you live updates via SMS when the parcel has reached its final destination. You can also see these updates on Teleport Pink’s tracker page when you enter your parcel’s code.
At 3.50PM on Thursday, November 17, I received messages from both Teleport Pink and my colleague in Singapore that the package had arrived safely.
One special gift we included in the package was coffee beans from the Malaysian brand, Gigi Coffee. It was something we personally enjoyed during our visit a couple of months ago, and we hoped that our Singapore team could share the sentiment, too.
Something interesting happened when my colleague received her package though. Her delivery guy came in a Lalamove Van.
Reaching out to Teleport Pink, the team explained that its delivery chain comprises a combination of Teleport’s own fleet, along with third-party service providers.
This is to ensure that parcels are delivered quickly as (pinky) promised, while enabling the brand to expand its coverage and scale its volume efficiently.
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Safe to say, Teleport Pink’s service lived up to its word.
When it comes to affordability, Teleport Pink’s fee of RM40 to deliver a package from KL to Singapore is arguably on the higher end, as courier aggregator sites list options that cost under RM30.
Taking into account the “next-day” factor of Teleport Pink’s service, though, the price is justified. Cheaper options would require a waiting period of up to a week.
Teleport Pink’s next-day delivery is a service that provides instant gratification to both the sender and receiver.
Using it, gifters won’t have to worry about if or when their package would reach their receiver, with the constant SMS updates and swiftness of the delivery.
More than consumers, Teleport Pink will be valued by businesses as well, especially ecommerce ones with customers rushing to get last-minute gifts for their international peers.
Plus, if buyers had to return an item to the seller, Teleport Pink’s parcels make it easy to do so via the second QR code.
For now, Teleport Pink is in its infancy stage, and only time will tell what the pickup rate of this service will be.
Living in a world today where convenience and speed are highly valued though, Teleport Pink is equipped to serve a market that’s willing to pay the price.
- Send your first package to Singapore with Teleport Pink here.
- Read other articles on Malaysian startups here.
Also Read: Here’s what IPC’s new work pods can offer mall goers who are also workaholics
All Images Credit: Vulcan Post
How AirAsia’s Logistics Platform Enables Sellers On Insta & FB To Achieve More Sales
While browsing Facebook or Instagram, I’m sure you’ve stumbled onto posts with comments such as “pm tepi” and “price”. Independent sellers on social platforms are definitely on the rise, especially with how easy these businesses can be conducted.
Lyfemarketing notes that 80% of Instagram users actually use the platform to make informed decisions on their next purchase.
I’ve participated in such transactions before and it’s fairly easy, but there are a few steps to go through if you’re not in the same location for a face-to-face deal.
Usually, once you agree to buy an item from the seller, you’ll be given an account number to bank in your payment to.
After you’ve informed the seller that you’ve paid, all you can do is wait for a tracking number and finally get your hands on the item—if they’re legit, which is a risk of buying from social sellers.
For the sellers, they also have to constantly check their bank account, wondering if the buyer has actually paid or even recalled the payment after delivering the parcel.
Tracking the parcel is also another headache faced by both the buyers and the sellers as third-party deliveries often fail to update where the parcel is, sometimes even after it arrives, the tracking won’t even be updated.
Now, that sounds like a lot of steps for what is supposedly an easy transaction.
To tackle this issue, AirAsia’s Teleport is introducing teleport.social, a platform tailored for C2C (customer-to-customer) business by offering end-to-end logistics delivery along with a one-stop payment solution for anyone selling on social media.
What Is Teleport?
Talking to the team behind Teleport, they noted that most people have already transitioned to buying their tickets online, but the whole cargo industry is still stuck in the pen and paper process.
And that is what they want to change.
By leveraging on AirAsia’s massive network of more than 100 cities and 10,000 weekly flights across Asia Pacific, Teleport aims to digitise logistics delivery and simplifies the process for all parties.
To fulfil the first and last mile deliveries, Teleport tackles that through Teleportal, a platform where they crowdsource drivers to do parcel delivery at any day and time they want to.
The team also said that with usual third-party deliveries, users are out of the loop because they are not updated on where the parcel is during flight and third-party agents are not incentivised to inform the users of the parcel whereabouts once they hand it into cargo.
With Teleport, both parties (buyer and seller) will know where the parcel is at any given time.
So, by using teleport.social, as a seller, you can have all these advantages given to you, without any additional charges aside from the prepaid plan that you’ve chosen.
The team is also trying to make next-day delivery anywhere within Southeast Asia the norm and everyone knows that is a massive undertaking.
How Do You Use Teleport.social?
Teleport.social can be used in just a few simple steps:
- Buyer contacts seller for the item they want to buy,
- Seller confirms item and price of said item,
- Seller generates a payment link on teleport.social,
- The buyer gets the link, pays and adds shipping addresses,
- Teleport collects parcel from the seller from their home,
- Delivers the parcel to the buyer on the next working day.
Once the parcel is handed over to Teleport, both parties can keep track on the whereabouts of the parcel using the same link that the seller has provided.
Almost anyone can use teleport.social, be it someone that sells on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Carousell and many others.
Social Selling or rather, selling via social media is usually a form of selling that is used by people that do not have a large inventory of what they want to sell.
Because of their limited stock, going through the hoops of marketplace sites such as Lazada or Shopee might not be worth it.
So, teleport.social looks to bridge the gap and be the easy solution for both sellers and buyers.
For example, if I wanted to kickstart a new brand that sells notebooks, going through a marketplace would be a hassle and will most likely cost a lot of money.
I’d have to go through a boatload of steps to just get one product out. But with teleport.social, all I had to do was just set up a seller account, set up an Instagram or Facebook For Business and wait for customers to purchase from me via direct messaging for my notebooks.
The Financial Safety Of Both Parties
Teleport.social will also conduct a KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure on the seller, to ensure that they are indeed a legit seller and not one that would ship a rock inside an iPhone case.
As for the buyer, teleport.social utilises an anti-fraud payment technology (Stripe) to process their payments. The payment will also be sent to the seller on a weekly basis into their registered bank account.
Teleport.social also provides the seller with a custom made teleport.social bubble mailers so they don’t have to buy them separately or themselves, increasing the cost needed to sell a product.
Start Selling Now
To start selling, all a seller has to do is set up a business account with teleport.social and choose shipping prepaid plans according to their needs.
Obviously, if you’re the seller, you will need to ensure that the package is packed neatly according to Teleport’s standards, or else they will reject the parcel.
So all a seller has to do is package the parcel neatly after they have the details and proof of payment from the buyer, which will be sent to them via a notification on the website and SMS.
If you’re selling via teleport.social, you can also print an automated consignment note, so there’s no need to bother with filling it up yourself.
Teleport will then collect the parcel from the seller and it’s all handled by Teleport then, so both parties can just kick back, relax, and wait for the parcel to magically ‘teleport’ to the intended location.
It’s just that easy.
If you sign up as a seller now, you will get 3 free orders, so you can start selling without any fuss.
As a seller, you can also earn BIG points when you purchase a subscription plan and when a buyer makes a transaction. (RM1 = 1 BIG point)
While the prepaid plans are just within West Malaysia, you can still send your parcels to other Asean countries such as Singapore, Jakarta, and more to come such as The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam in 2020 for items below 2kgs with a flat rate of just RM21.
Also Read: Vote For What You Want In Your Future Home And Sime Darby Property Might Just Build It
Featured Image Credit: Teleport
