DPD Germany launches “digital remote control” for consumer parcels
Parcel carrier DPD Germany has launched a new online platform designed to act as a “digital remote control” for consumers to manage their parcel deliveries. The company majority-owned by La Poste’s GeoPost business said its new “Parcel Navigator” will allow consumers to customise their parcel shipment to fit their own day-to-day lives.
Consumers will be able to track their packages and designate a particular day on which to receive them.
It will mean consumers can easily specify an alternative address for an item to be sent to, or give details of a safe place in which to leave the item, or exactly which neighbours should receive a package if they cannot be at home to receive it.
Other options through the portal will be for parcels to be redirected to a DPD Parcel Shop for collection, with the website offering a map of nearby Parcel Shops from which to choose.
Michael Knaupe, the B2C products and services director at DPD GeoPost (Germany) said Parcel Navigator was part of an overall move by DPD to digitize the delivery of packages.
“Recipients of DPD packages can use a smartphone or a tablet to ensure their delivery adapts to their lives — and not the other way round,” he explained. “DPD’s new Parcel Navigator makes it easier than ever before.”
User friendly
The new DPD Parcel Navigator aims to reduce the number of clicks needed for a consumer to redirect their parcel
DPD said user friendliness was given top priority as the service at the website paketnavigator.de was developed. In particular, the number of clicks required to redirect a parcel was kept to a minimum, and the most popular features on the website kept prominent in a website optimised for tablets.
Along with the website, the Parcel Navigator is available as an app from the Android and Apple app stores.
Consumers will receive an email highlighting the new Parcel Navigator service as their parcel is on its way, as long as shippers have provided DPD with the recipients’ emails.
If parcel deliveries are missed because a recipient is not at home, cards will be left steering those recipients to the Parcel Navigator service in order to rearrange delivery.
DPD said in future, it was looking at introducing an optional registration system for consumers to take advantage of Parcel Navigator before a first attempt is made on a delivery.
The future is also likely to see consumers in key metropolitan areas able to book a delivery within a 90-minute window as soon as it has left the local DPD distribution centre, regardless of which e-commerce merchant first shipped the parcel.
DPD is currently working to double its share of the German consumer parcel delivery market to 15% by 2018 with various innovations it describes as “making the parcel digital”.
