BEST Inc. opened its automated Bac Ninh Sortation Center (Bac Ninh SC) on November 6, its largest such center in Southeast Asia.

Located at the VSIP Industrial Park in Tu Son city in northern Bac Ninh province, the center sits on an area of more than 22,000 sq m.

Built from July to October with total investment of $5.5 million, the center plays an important role in BEST Express’s delivery process and will help create 400 jobs.

The Bac Ninh SC includes two operating areas - an inbound area and an outbound area - using an automated weighing and measuring system, real-time barcode recognition technology, and high-quality image scanning cameras to analyze parcels.

The inbound area is equipped with two sortation systems. Small parcels cross a belt automated sorting system to separate small parcels of under 3 kg and a matrix automated system to separate parcels over 3 kg.

The belt automated sorting system has a total of 350 sorting lines with a maximum sorting capacity of 28,000 parcels an hour, and it takes only 0.5 seconds to sort a parcel of less than 3 kg.

The matrix sorting conveyors have the ability to sort parcels of complex sizes and weights with two-way sorting technology and a total of ten sorting lines for a maximum capacity of more than 15,000 parcels an hour, and it takes only two seconds to sort a parcel of more than 3 kg.

The sorting process is operated by a pneumatic and push system that ensures parcel safety and minimizes the parcel damage rate to less than 0.01 per cent.

The conveyors are arranged separately so that parcels are always moving smoothly, even during peak operations.

The outbound area is divided into four zones based on geographical regions. In Zone 1, the Hanoi outbound area, parcels to be delivered in Hanoi are divided into specific delivery stations. In Zones 2, 3, and 4, the interprovincial outbound areas, parcels go to the northern region, the central highlands region, the central region, and the southern region.

Parcel sortation by geographical region helps increase the speed of handling, optimizes transit times, and shortens the connection time between Sorting Centers (general warehouses) and local stations, then helps reduce operating costs and enhances the express delivery efficiency of BEST Express.

Mr. Nelson Wu, General Manager of BEST Inc. Vietnam, said it chose Bac Ninh for the sortation center because of its favorable location, concentration of modern industrial parks in the north, and proximity to key economic cities such as Hanoi and Hai Phong. “This center will help enhance the service quality of BEST Express in the north,” he added.