Same-day delivery service “Pickupp” is expanding to Johor & Penang

Same-day courier delivery service Pickupp is planning to expand its services beyond the Klang Valley to include Johor and Penang, following a funding round from investors, including Alibaba.

Pickupp's Malaysia country manager Navin Kandapper says the company has signed up over 1,000 enterprises and individuals since entering the Malaysian market in April, and is looking to expand its reach. However, he could not reveal the timeline for the expansion.

Pickupp uses a combination of motorcycles, cars, vans and trucks to offer same-day delivery – it claims it will complete a delivery within four hours of a customer making a request, and it also offers GPS tracking.

Customers also have the option of scheduling a delivery.

Navin told The Star that Pickupp operates a hybrid model in Malaysia, primarily working with freelancers but also has some full-timers, which gives it the flexibility to cope with seasonal fluctuations and volume spikes.

The Hong Kong-based startup's pre-A round of financing was led by Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund and participated by Spark Ventures and existing investor Axis.

Pickupp was founded in Dec 2016 by Uber alumnus Crystal Pang and Eric San, as well as former Procter and Gamble sales and marketing executive Paco Chan.

Its CEO Pang says with the new capital, strategic guidance and technical know-how, the company looks forward to participating in the Alibaba ecosystem in Asia while broadening product offerings to better serve merchants of all sizes and needs.

She reveals that the funds would also go to engineering resources to handle integration with e-commerce marketplaces and multinational third-party logistic companies. It will also be used for expansion in South-East Asia, starting with Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, early next year.

Pickupp is currently also available in Singapore and Hong Kong.