Singapore SMEs embrace AI as delivery demand rises

Lalamove has released a survey of more than 300 business users in Singapore on how small and medium-sized enterprises are preparing for 2027. It found that 48% are already using AI tools or automation in their operations.

The largest single group, 35%, said they were optimistic about Singapore's business prospects in 2027. Another 21% expected conditions to remain unchanged. Meanwhile, 36% said delivery demand would increase and 54% expected it to stay steady.

Logistics costs remain under pressure. A third of respondents said their transportation and logistics costs rose in 2026 from the previous year, even as businesses continued to expect active delivery demand.

Among companies already using AI, more than half said the technology had increased the pace at which they needed to operate. Some 31% reported operations running slightly faster, while 21% said they were running much faster.

Use of AI and automation was concentrated in marketing and content creation, administration, customer service, workflow automation and sales. A further 17% said they were actively considering adoption.

Delivery pressure

Changes in internal operations appear to be feeding through to logistics needs. Among respondents whose delivery requirements are changing, 20% said one of the most common reasons was customers expecting faster delivery.

Other factors included more last-minute orders, higher order volumes and business expansion. The findings point to a closer link between digital workflows and physical fulfilment as businesses respond more quickly to customer requests.

That shift was also visible in the logistics services seeing stronger demand. Some 44% of respondents said demand for on-demand or same-day deliveries had increased compared with 2025, ahead of multi-stop deliveries at 22% and fixed-price moving services at 15%.

The goods being moved reflect the range of businesses using these services. Furniture and household goods were cited by 33% of respondents, followed by home appliances and electronics at 28%, food and groceries at 25%, and documents and files at 22%.

Cost priorities

Despite the pressure for faster delivery, price remained the leading factor in choosing a delivery provider. Seven in 10 respondents said affordable pricing was their most important consideration.

Safe delivery ranked second at 52%. Transparent pricing with no hidden fees and delivery speed were each cited by 42% of respondents.

The results suggest SMEs are trying to balance faster response times with tighter control over operating costs. For delivery providers, this means competing on price and consistency as much as speed.

Lalamove operates in 18 markets across Asia, Latin America and EMEA. It entered Singapore in 2014.

Alex Lin, managing director of Lalamove Singapore, said: "What stands out from this survey is not simply that SMEs are adopting more technology, but that the window between a customer request and the expectation to fulfil it is getting shorter. A digital process can happen in seconds, but the product still needs to physically move from one place to another. On-demand logistics gives SMEs room to respond to that pressure without taking on unnecessary fixed costs. When demand spikes or an urgent order comes in, having access to the right vehicle and support at short notice makes a real difference to how a business is able to show up for its customers."