Royal Mail launches ‘real time’ GPS technology for sameday delivery

An industry first offering from Royal Mail is set to shake-up the £1 billion same day delivery market by offering customers the ability to track the progress of their goods in real-time.

The revolutionary service uses GPS satellite technology to track deliveries online. Royal Mail’s unique Sameday service allows customers to see the exact location of the vehicle carrying their items, even the speed it is travelling. The system is updated every 60 seconds to ensure ‘live’ tracking of an item’s progress.

Royal Mail’s service also allows contract customers to book online 24 hours a day and all senders are e-mailed the signature received on delivery within ten seconds of an item being signed for. All vehicles are fitted with satellite navigation to locate the fastest routes and provide accurate arrival planning.

Gerry Farwell, Head of Supply Chain at Royal Mail, said: “Our new Sameday service is a real innovation for the delivery market. Integrating state-of-the-art technology and an innovative business model has enabled us to lead the charge on offering a Sameday service that provides the information on delivery progress customers are demanding – when and how they want it – as well as a high quality of service.

“The same day delivery market is highly fragmented with hundreds of companies offering services, either on a local or national basis. But while some other providers may have elements of the technology such as GPS tracking as part of their service, they don’t enable the sender and receiver to access the information and view the progress of their item themselves.

“Our customers told us that this was the type of Sameday service they needed and we are delighted that we have responded and can now offer this information rich service that is set to completely transform the Sameday customer experience.”

Royal Mail is targeting businesses across all sectors with its new service, from FTSE 100 companies with a daily demand for Sameday services to medium and smaller businesses and consumers who have an ad hoc need.

Sameday services are used for a variety of items, from time critical documents to meet tender deadlines, fund transfers and rectifying stock control issues to the replacement of high value goods that have been lost or stolen to the delivery of urgent travel documents.

New customers to sign up to Royal Mail’s Sameday service as a result of the real-time GPS technology include T-Mobile and BT.

Brent Foster, Supply Chain Operations Manager, T-Mobile commented: “This is a quantum leap for Royal Mail in their Sameday delivery service. We look forward to using it as it will add so much to our customer experience.”

Gary Parker, Manager, Mail & Office Services, BT procurement and Supply Chain said: “What Royal Mail is now offering is in line with the Sameday service we have been looking for”.