Consumer Choice Portal and Package Consolidation Centre (PPCC)

My Parcel Centre R & D Project
Introduction
Abby Couriers are an SME courier company already innovating in the field of home deliveries. Abby are working with the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge , Magenta Technology and Wincanton plc on a Technology Strategy Board funded project to revolutionise the home delivery supply chain. The project centres on delivering a customer ‘Parcel Portal’ which allows on line consumers to refine the time of their delivery. The system also integrates with Magenta’s vehicle tracking and routing system to allow real-time data to be fed to Abby HQ.
It is hard to underestimate the potential beneficial impacts of this project, to businesses, customers and the environment. Growth in the home delivery market is being driven by the continued surge in online shopping, with online retail growing at an average of 30% a year for the last five years and IMRG estimates that 820 million parcels were delivered to UK online shoppers in 2008. This delivery experience is critical to the success of online shopping but the range of first time delivery failures is estimated between 2-30% . These delivery failures mean either repeat delivery attempts from the parcel carrier or the customer has to pick up the parcel, both of which increase CO2 emissions and customer dissatisfaction.
By giving parcel customers the ability to refine their delivery or parcel collection from MPC, there is the potential to radically reduce delivery failures and Co2 emissions and increase customer satisfaction.
Current innovations focus on secure boxes where parcels can be left, which have a security code which is shared with the parcel company. However, this is untenable on a large scale given the security and practical considerations. Some providers are experimenting with text solutions which tell customers which day they can expect their parcel on but no more detail or options for personalisation
Problem
The multiple stakeholders involved in e-tailing, conventional retail, parcel delivery and transport systems within a particular geography is complex, with opportunities for data sharing and systems integration. At present, up to 30% of packages are not delivered on time , resulting in poor customer service and avoidable logistics inefficiencies. This, in turn, results in larger numbers of delivery runs and/or customers having to drive to a nearby centre to pick up their parcel, which exacerbates urban congestion, pollution and accident levels.
From the perspective of the consumer, lack of visibility on deliveries is a significant source of dissatisfaction. At present a significant number of consumers are deterred from utilising the full potential of internet based shopping solutions due to the issue of failed deliveries. For logistics providers, these non-value adding process steps have financial impact and result in knock-on scheduling delays. For the logistics industry as a whole, the lack of an integrated, collaborative network results in a high level of inefficiency.
For the general public, there are significant negative environmental and societal impacts caused by increased numbers of vehicles, which are often unsuitable for urban infrastructure. The length of time that consumers often have to take off work to either wait for a parcel or pick up a missed delivery has not been measured but will naturally impact negatively on GDP.
The total UK postal services market was valued at £11bn in 2007/2008, including £4bn in courier and express delivery items, and £1.5bn in parcels. The UK delivery market currently exhibits a higher degree of fragmentation.
Piloting of the Consolitation Centre in Basildon, operating in the SS13 to SS14 postcodes, delivering to a potential customer base of ~50,000 households, reflects a potential market size of ~250k packages. With 30% of deliveries missed first time, this translates to 600 parcels/day out from the 2,000 delivered daily in the Basildon area.