The definitive and independent guide from Last Mile Experts
E-commerce and, increasingly importantly, re-commerce is growing fast, and the success of any last mile carrier now hinges on being able to develop commercially tenable and customer centric out of home (OOH) operations due to their cost and operational efficiency as well as their green last mile benefits. Clients regularly ask about how to choose the right smart locker for their business.
Accordingly Last Mile Experts has created a series of four articles covering key areas to look at:
- Selecting the right hardware
- Selecting the right software
- Creating the right network
- Perfecting your PUDO
This article covers all the key elements you need to look at before choosing your parcel locker (otherwise known as Automated Parcel Machine, or APM) hardware model and supplier.
Further articles covering the other three above mentioned areas will give you a holistic picture of how to create the right OOH network for your business giving TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) savings, a better CX (Customer Experience) and products and processes that will work…we know, because we’ve helped dozens of companies get this right!
All of these elements are included in Last Mile Expert’s unique “Perfecting PUDO’s and Lockers workshop, details of which can be found here: https://lastmileexperts.com/workshops/
Step 1: Preparation & understanding what you need
Only too often we are contacted by organisations who have bought a pilot batch of 20 or 30 machines and suddenly realise that the cost of their integration and commissioning is at the point at which they are not economically viable (usually APM’s become profitable at about 50% utilisation).
Before holding any discussions with manufacturers, it's critical to clarify how the lockers fit in to your overall OOH plan and what are your exact requirements for them. To do this it is essential that discussions take place with all stakeholders including users, landlords, municipalities and developers and a detailed list of requirements for the lockers needs to be made.
Things to bear in mind will include:
- indoor or outdoor.
- locker size (number of cells and relevant sizes).
- classic (powered from the grid, connected to the internet) or next gen (battery/solar), Bluetooth operation.
- With screen or no screen (app-based interaction).
- any key peripherals or functions that are legally and/or commercially required; eg cameras, keypads, screens, payment modules, printers (beware, this is the peripheral that fails most often), or the APM anchoring meeting wind safety norms.
Does the machine address the need of disabled users?
Step 2: Checks & balances
Any good tender or selection process will only be as good as the checks and balances in place. A good process will prioritise factors in line with their importance for your business model. Knowing this will help you make better choices and to avoid pitfalls such as buying a machine that doesn’t meet local legal requirements. Yes, this may sound incredible, but there are situations where this has happened. Let’s take a look at some of the key factors...