Retail News CRM

Tag: lockers

  • tBox by Posti is the “perfect” place to pick up your online orders

    tBox by Posti is the “perfect” place to pick up your online orders

    Design studio Fyra may have created the “perfect” environment for online shoppers to collect their online orders: Box by Posti, the Finnish postal service.

    The brightly colored room, which serves as a convenient drop-off for customers to pick up purchases they have made online, has a recycling area, fitting rooms, and product show space.

    The 600-locker Box by Posti space was created with the intention of making it more than just an ‘unadventurous row of lockers’. Color-coded areas are used in the space to support the different service paths and mark and clarify different functionalities.

    “The consumer behavior of the Finnish people has changed significantly,” said Posti’s head of customer experience and channels Kaisa Ilola. “Before, there was a piece missing between the online store and home. Box was created to fill in the missing piece.”

    Visitors to Box by Posti are welcome to open or pack their parcels in the green unboxing area, which contains scissors, tape and pens as well as parcels and envelopes, or in the recycling zone that features reusable packaging material. They can also arrange for refunds on unwanted items slated for return.

    Lees ook:

  • DHL Express Malta to expand capabilities on next-day deliveries

    DHL Express Malta to expand capabilities on next-day deliveries

    DHL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, has taken a strategic decision to focus the activities of its Malta operation solely on Time Definite International (express) deliveries, reinforcing its commitment to ensure its parcels and documents are delivered on time.

    “Our express business is growing, and we want to focus on the cross-border e-commerce opportunities,” Charles Schiavone, Country Manager of DHL Express, said. “We will dedicate our resources on Express Services and achieve growth through quality.”

    As the company gears up for the forthcoming seasonal peak, Schiavone is keen to ensure the amount of successfully delivered shipments grows even higher. This service promise is backed by a further strengthening of the On Demand Delivery infrastructure through strategically placed automated DHL Parcel Lockers that are highly popular with its clients and can be accessed 24/7.

    DHL Express Malta has plans for five new Parcel Lockers in localities around Malta, including Mellieha, Zabbar, Zebbug and Zejtun, taking the total to 13. Additionally, another three add-on units will increase capacity to existing lockers. This will ensure that customers have a broader range to choose their preferred hi-tech unit.

    “We have seen our shipments growing by 20 per cent in the first six months of this year and we expect a similar increase in inward e-commerce business towards the end of the year,” Schiavone said.

    DHL Express Malta also plans to double the size of its facility in Luqa by the end of next year.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Logistics providers keen on locker network

    Logistics providers keen on locker network

    At least four logistics providers, including the biggest player, Singapore Post, could be involved in the open network of parcel lockers that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) called for yesterday in its plan to make deliveries more efficient.

    The pilot will go live in the second half of next year, involving some 75 lockers in public housing estates and train stations in Punggol and Bukit Panjang.

    IMDA will call for proposals for the six-to 12-month pilot from companies by the year end.

    The eventual system will allow logistics providers to operate this integrated network, which is expected to have some 760 lockers covering the whole island eventually. But the different operators have to provide a consistent user interface, much like how the Wireless@SG national Wi-Fi network works.

    SingPost, which operates the largest network of parcel lockers called POPStation at 153 locations, said it is keen to work with more players. It has since July last year been renting out locker space to those who want to use it to facilitate buying and selling on online marketplaces.

    “We would like to work with the Government to expand parcel locker use in Singapore,” said Mr Freddy Chang, head of SP Parcels, a subsidiary of SingPost. “Parcel lockers are an important solution to improving efficiency at the last mile of delivery.

    Local logistics start-up blu said the IMDA scheme is timely, given the increase in online shopping and urban congestion. It currently operates 49 bluPort lockers islandwide, mostly at petrol kiosks, malls and Cheers convenience stores.

    “Collaborating with IMDA allows us to explain and promote the benefits of a parcel locker network to both retailers and logistics sector stakeholders,” said Mr Cliff Lim, business development head at blu, which works with DHL and FedEx.

    Another local start-up, Go Plus, which has developed a parcel locker with biometric verification capabilities, and Ninja Van, which operates a handful of Ninja Boxes here, said they will consider taking part in the IMDA’s parcel locker network.

    For consumers and online shoppers, a nationwide network of lockers is a welcome development. Pre-school teacher Jasmine Kaur, 33, uses POPStation but there is none within walking distance of her home in Ang Mo Kio. “It would be great if consumers have more pickup points to choose from,” she said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • East Ventures invests in Indonesian delivery venture Popbox

    East Ventures invests in Indonesian delivery venture Popbox

    Southeast Asian VC firm East Ventures has made an undisclosed seed investment in Jakarta-based PopBox, an Indonesian startup that produces automated parcel lockers for ‘last mile‘ e-commerce deliveries and is founded by Adrian Lim and Greta Bunawan.

    The capital from the seed round is expected to finance expansion of its locker network in Indonesia and the addition of more more product features. ‘Last mile’ delivery is a term used in logistics to describe the delivery of items to consumers, via transport from a hub to a final destination.

    With the growth in e-commerce activities in ASEAN markets, the last leg of delivery, where it ends up at the consumer’s home or business, has become challenging, since most consumers are away from home when deliveries are made.

    The rise of unattended deliveries has become a significant issue among delivery companies like UPS, FedEx and DHL, with solutions like drone delivery being evaluated in China by Alibaba Group.

    PopBox’s solution is a clone of Amazon Locker, with a physical locker for packages to land in after last mile delivery. The locker provides a self-service delivery location to pick up and return packages.

    “We took the ‘home’ out of ‘home delivery’ in order to make it even more convenient for customers and merchants alike. By placing artistically-designed PopBox lockers at popular locations throughout Jakarta, customers get to pick up their delivery faster and at lower cost compared to having it delivered to their home, when they may not be around to receive it”, Lim said in a statement to Singapore-based startup community platform Tech in Asia.

    Given the specific challenges faced by customers in ranging for deliveries, with courier services mostly making delivery rounds in batches, customers often need to wait for a parcel to arrive and sign for it.

    A lack of receipt will result in the courier returning the package to the post office, where retrieval can prove frustrating to customers.

    Combined with delivery challenges caused by Jakarta traffic and the inefficiencies faced in negotiating security checkpoints and dealing with rejected parcels, PopBox aims to provide a solution rendering the delivery process more efficient for both merchants and customers.

    PopBox works by having shoppers select PopBox as a pickup option via a partnered site where shoppers have purchased their wares. On confirmation, a code will be sent to the shopper’s phone, which can then be scanned at a PopBox terminal to access the package. PopBox has stated that it has already established several partnerships with e-commerce retailers but has not publicly named them.

    Revenue is generated from charging customers subscription fees and per use fees, which vary with the volume transacted. Income is also generated from revenue sharing with courier companies.

    Lim’s outlook on the prospects for PopBox are highly optimistic. He said, “With a bit of luck, and once we reach our full rollout potential, our revenue should be in the range of tens of millions US dollars per annum.”

    PopBox lockers are currently located at key points within Jakarta: Baywalk Mall, Grand Slipi Tower, Kalibata City Square and East Ventures Hive. They are open 24/7, according to official statements from PopBox.

    On a regional basis, PopBox is expected to directly compete with the PopStation service offered bySingPost, which is engaged in the same service as PopBox but has no presence in Indonesia at present.

    Commenting on the investment, Willson Cuaca, managing partner of East Ventures, said, “We believe this is a segment that is currently still underinvested and the timing is right for PopBox to be added to Indonesia’s ecommerce ecosystem.”

    Lees ook: