Hermes Germany is investing a double-digit million sum in equipping all its parcel delivery staff as well as logistics centres, depots and delivery bases with new hand-held scanners to optimise last-mile deliveries.
Following successful pilot tests that ran for several months, Hermes will deploy a total of 18,000 devices from the American manufacturer Zebra Technologies by the beginning of 2019.
The TC75x handhelds feature an Android operating system, a fast 4G/LTE connection, Bluetooth, Hi-Res touch screen and a powerful battery with extra-long runtime. A camera and an integrated scanner enable particularly fast data entry. This optimises, among other things, the exchange with in-house IT systems, e.g. for the transmission of shipment and address data. The device can be operated either by a PDA pen or with a finger.
Hermes deploys its own internally developed delivery app on the scanners. At its core is a simply designed, multilingual interface that significantly increases the ease of use compared to the old devices. This way, Hermes expects to further reduce the error rate in the delivery process and at the same time simplify training for new employees.
"Especially at peak times such as Christmas, it is important that new colleagues can learn our delivery software quickly and use it intuitively. With the new scanners, we guarantee exactly that, also because the operation is very similar to a smartphone," Björn Cordes, Head of Parcel Solutions at Hermes Germany, said.
A "Mobile Platform Team" within Hermes' own IT department is responsible for operating the software. Hermes also monitors the further development of the app and the installation of updates internally. This way, updates can be implemented more quickly. The company employs over 200 people in its in-house IT department in Germany.
Previously, Hermes had already equipped all its 15,000 parcel shops in Germany with the latest scanner technology and introduced “intelligent” route planning software.
"In order to continue to meet the growing challenges in retail and logistics, the last mile must become even more flexible and, above all, more digital. Our new hand-held scanners are the perfect basis for this: they are fast, easy to operate and can be expanded with new features any time with little effort," Roland Lazina, Head of Process & System Management at Hermes Germany, said.
Delivery staff and employees in the logistics centres were equally involved in developing the new devices. "We have obtained numerous opinions in advance and during operation, particularly with regard to menu navigation, but also with regard to the equipment of the devices. This way, we were able to develop a new generation of scanners that not only streamline internal processes, but above all simplify the everyday work for delivery staff," he added.
Over the coming months, Hermes will gradually add new features to the software. One of those is a function that enables delivery staff to send digital parcel notifications at the front door. Electronic notification cards, for example, which are sent to the recipient by e-mail, are expected to replace the traditional paper cards in the medium term. It is also planned to implement a geodata-based pedestrian navigation system in the future. This will enable delivery staff to orientate themselves around confusing company premises or in backyards, for example, and to find recipient addresses more reliably.
