Parcelforce Worldwide specializes in express and time guaranteed deliveries around the globe. They deliver to 27 million addresses, covering 99.6 percent of the world’s population. Based in the United Kingdom, Parcelforce Worldwide services 239 countries and territories.
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Situation
Parcelforce Worldwide wanted to improve the experiences of their customers, by being able to offer quicker access to information regarding deliveries and collections information. They also wanted the flexibility to offer customers to arrange ad hoc collections and delivery services with drivers who were already out on the roads. Thew needed to be able to handle customer requests on a shorter notice to improve customer service and the overall experience customers had when dealing with the company.
This involved rationalizing the architecture of their systems with automated software upgrades for the mobile devices used by drivers, offering more features and greater functionality while on the roads. The company also needed to be able to achieve these goals at a reasonable price.
Approach
Parcelforce Worldwide selected Blackbay and Symbol for these automation services, according to the Head of Operations Development Ken O’Rahilly. The new system offers real-time confirmation of all collections and deliveries made by drivers on the road. It also improved communications between the drivers and the depots. The system is constructed under a “hub and spoke” model, which involves collections of packages, delivery of those packages to the depot, and subsequent dispatch of the package from the depot to the package recipient.
The system also has a feature that manages communications traffic between the depot and the various drivers, eliminating bottlenecks in the system. When new requests from customers come in, the system is able to detect the first driver available to make the delivery and route the instructions to that driver. The drivers have the ability to accept or decline the assignment based on their current situation on the road.
The most significant benefit, according to O’Rahilly, was the ability to change over to the new system instantly. New system upgrades of this magnitude ordinarily take weeks or months to implement. Blackbay and Symbol were able to bring all 2.500 of Parcelforce Worldwide’s driver’s handsets into compliance with the new system at one time. Additionally, installation of the new system did not require adding any new code to the enterprise system, nor changing any of the existing code, because the new system is web-based.
Impact
After the new system was put in place, customer service levels rose because the system was able to better manage resources to allocate drivers to take on last-minute collections and deliveries. The new system also improves communications between the depot and drivers on the road, by automating much of the work. This has reduced administration time for deliveries and collections, as well as improved the efficiency of drivers.
Parcelforce is able to meet the delivery needs of 20,000 customers and 150,000 parcel deliveries per day. The system allows drivers and the depot to exchange general communications via text message right from their handheld devices. The devices are capable of bar code scanning, as well as capturing the digital signatures of those who receive deliveries as proof that the delivery was made. O’Rahilly said he would gladly do business with Blackbay and Symbol again. [/show_to]
