Hermes Germany has launched a new tracking system enabling customers to check the status oftheir shipments in real-time from their pc or mobile devices.
The tracking tool, based on innovative scanner technology worth €15 million, makes the shippingprocess more transparent and gives users the possibility to better plan the receipt of theirshipments in advance, Hermes explained.
The company claims to be the first parcel provider offering real-time tracking all over Germanywith the new information system allowing for further numerous, internet-based services infuture.
“Up-to-the-minute information on the shipment status is today nearly as relevant for thecustomer as fast delivery times. With a total of 18,000 new scanner devices operating like a mobilecomputer, all status data is retrievable any time nationwide,” Frank Iden, managing director ofHermes Logistics Germany, said.
The scanners have a cellular connection and every time a parcel is scanned they send therelevant data via a wireless broadband connection to a specific server. From there, the informationflows directly into the shipment diagram, accessible for customers online at www.myhermes.de or via one of the Hermes mobile phoneapplications. Thereby, private customers can estimate in a more accurate way when the Hermesdrivers are due to arrive with the shipment.
“The continuous development of online services ensures our competitive advantage in thelogistics market in future as we have set ourselves the goal of becoming the online parcel providerin this industry. Accordingly, we will gradually transfer our complete business model to online andmobile platforms,” Iden added.
In the medium term, the company will make it possible for customers to handle their completeshipping processes via internet, from preparing the parcel label to payment. It has alreadytransferred its services to Apple devices via its iPhone and iPad apps and has now launched a newfree application for Android-based smartphones to further expand its mobile offering. With the newAndroid-app, customers can also use the real-time monitoring for parcels, to calculate shippingcosts and to find the nearest parcel shop.
