Last mile delivery just got smarter.
Daimler announced that its “smart ready to drop” program will be rolled out across Germany. The objective behind the program is to make online shopping easier. The parcels are delivered by DHL Paket.
Here’s how it works. 'smart ready to drop' is smartphone based: both the smart car driver and the delivery driver use the special apps. After placing the order, the smart customer generates a transaction number (TAN) in the app and enters it in the 'c/o' field of the delivery address. The app reminds the customer to park their car near their home address for delivery.
The app notifies the DHL driver of the desired delivery address. The driver uses the TAN to open the car within a specific time window. Similar to the car2go system, a Connectivity Box is installed inside the car at the bottom of the windscreen. (New car buyers can order their smart car from September with a pre-installed Connectivity Box .The box can also be retrofitted at the dealership.)
The DHL driver deposits the parcel in the boot and locks the car digitally; their access authorization expires immediately. The app automatically notifies the smart car driver of the successful delivery. The delivery driver will also pick up return parcels
The company says its "">successful car2go car-sharing offer with over 1.9 million customers worldwide" had provided it with experience in digital access systems.
The program will be beta tested in the autumn in Stuttgart, followed by Cologne, Bonn and Berlin a few months later. Other cities will follow. With several hundred participants per city, smart’s goal is to gather experience in realistic conditions. A first field test with some 30 smart drivers that lasted several months was successfully completed back in 2015.
'After successfully completing the in-car delivery pilot project last year in Germany, we are now using the know-how we gained with smart to develop yet another attractive service for a young, internet-minded target group,' says Jürgen Gerdes, CEO Post - eCommerce - Parcel at Deutsche Post DHL Group
The idea came from Dailer’s smart lab which was established the smart lab to accelerate the development and implementation of such creative urban mobility projects. The smart lab is the brand's think tank. “The easy-going and unconventional start-up mentality of the lab's creative employees is what enables this innovative platform to drive new mobility ideas,” Daimler explained.
“’smart ready to drop’ is the beginning of our next drive to further enhance the quality of urban life," says smart boss Dr. Annette Winkler. “This is our way of staying true to our pioneering role in urban mobility. A lot of other services that make city life easier are also in the works.' For example, private car sharing.”
