Last Mile Experts’ Marek Różycki and Postal Hub Podcast’s Ian Kerr drew on their combined experience in setting up PUDO and locker networks to offer delegates attending the Parcel+Post Expo Conference advice on how to create a first-class out-of-home delivery network, via an exclusive workshop titled ‘PUDOs and Lockers: The New Power in the Last Mile’.
“Out-of-home delivery is becoming crucial for the delivery sector because it offers a virtually guaranteed first-time delivery solution, and that is particularly important as we head into peak season – and every year peak season gets bigger and bigger,” explains Kerr.
The workshop is aimed at posts looking to learn how to best strengthen their existing networks and market position; parcel carriers keen to create a physical footprint and increase capacity; and e-commerce companies seeking to gain new advantage in the last mile.
Kerr and Różycki highlighted the importance of interactive delivery management (IDM), pointing out that best-in-class IDM should allow the recipient to choose time/day/place; select a narrow final time window (<30 minutes); change their mind ‘on the fly’; and track driver progress.
They also argued that “bedrooms are better than boardrooms” – i.e. it’s better to position lockers near to customer homes, to allow recipients to more easily carry heavier parcels home, rather than delivering to their place of work.