Irish carrier Nightline has invested €1 million in a new service called Parcel Pilot to improvethe last-mile delivery process for online shoppers by providing them with more specific information
about the arrival of their parcels and giving room for interaction in case of unexpectedchanges.CEO John Tuohy, who presented Parcel Pilot at the MetaPack Delivery Conference in Londonyesterday, claimed the system would also reduce the cost and environmental impact of faileddelivery attempts. “The fundamental reason behind Parcel Pilot is the desire on our part to createa means of closing the gap between what consumers experience when they buy in a high street storeand when they shop online”.
Nightline said its Parcel Pilot system has already undergone extensive and successful trials andwill be rolled out to its 450 drivers and across its 11 depots in the country over the next sixmonths.
Parcel Pilot functions as a bridge between Nightline’s in-house software platform Smartship,which acts as a ‘digital spine’ for all the company’s operations, and its nationwide parcelterminal network Parcel Motel.
On the basis of route optimisation data produced for all of Nightline’s drivers, consumers aregiven far more specific information about when their parcels will arrive. They can even follow thevan carrying their purchases turn by turn.
In case drivers are held up on the way, they can contact recipients directly via the ParcelPilot app. Likewise, in case consumers change their plans, even if their items are already on theway, they can still re-direct the parcel to a designated safe place or to one of Nightline’s ParcelMotel terminals nearby, or simply book a new delivery date. The system also enables shoppers toregister their delivery preference for future shipments.
“Until now, most e-shoppers have had little or no involvement once they have paid for theirpurchases at the online checkout. They may have nominated a home delivery slot but only have fairlybroad information about when goods will arrive. If circumstances change on the scheduled day ofreceipt, there has been no way of contacting a courier in real time to redirect parcels,” Tuohyexplained.
“That, of course, results in the hassle of organising another delivery or going to a depot tocollect items. That is bad for shoppers but retailers and carriers too because it can mean makinganother delivery. Parcel Pilot changes all that. It provides retailers and their customers with upto the minute information, optimised routing and the ability to amend delivery instructions evenwhen packages are en route,” he added.
In addition, Parcel Pilot provides consumers with free access to their local Parcel Motelwhereas they would normally have to register to use the parcel terminal network. It also enablesretailers to customise en route delivery messages to consumers with their own branding andadditional marketing information.
Nightline took a year to develop Parcel Pilot in collaboration with Irish software agencyXpreso.
Tuohy added that the company is already in discussions with several major UK retailers aboutextending Parcel Pilot to their customers. “Many deliveries have an element of uncertainty in thefinal mile, especially in a country like Ireland which will not have its own national postcodesystem until later this year. We are confident that we have come up with a method of improving thatsituation by making consumers feel more involved in the critical last element of the e-commerceprocess. Making them feel engaged means a better chance of keeping them satisfied and encouragesthem to shop again and again, something which surely every retailer wants.”
In the run-up to Christmas last year, Nightline revealed that the number of subscribers to itsParcel Motel network had risen above 150,000, only two years after its launch. Compared to 2013,the total amount of parcels moved through its terminal network increased by 20%.
