French express operator Chronopost is investing around €10 million in 7,000 mobile terminals for its delivery drivers with a new software design to meet the new challenges of last-mile delivery.
Developed by Zebra Technologies, the mobile terminal TC56 is more efficient and resembles a smartphone to facilitate the daily work of Chronopost drivers and improve the customer experience. It meets Chronopost’s requirements for durability, power and safety imposed by the express delivery business.
As for the hardware, the TC56 device is smaller and lighter than its predecessors and can be better gripped by the drivers. Its 5-inch touch screen is brighter which greatly improves the user experience while its great autonomy allows the drivers to use it intensively for more than eight hours.
The TC56 functions on the Android 6 (Marshmallow) operating system. However, Chronopost has developed its own suite of apps including the collection of parcels at the customer, the preparation of the delivery tours at the agency and the delivery of parcels to the recipient thus making the team work smoother.
Thanks to high-capacity integrated GPS, a navigation assistance for the drivers can be included. In addition, real-time interaction with the recipients of Chronopost is possible.
The use of Google standards has made it possible to industrialise the production and the parametrisation of the TC56 fleet with the aim to deploy the first 4,500 terminals in Chronopost’s 82 branches within five weeks.
Eric Lasman, IT and Telecom Procurement Manager at Chronopost, said: "In 2016, we conducted an international consultation for DPDgroup around four types of needs, from occasional use to intensive use in extreme conditions (temperature, humidity, shock and autonomy).Within this framework, the IT teams have been able to audit more than fifteen devices and select the TC56 from Zebra Technologies. Beyond the terminal choice, Chronopost has set up a real partnership with Zebra Technologies and Google to meet the challenges of the last mile."
Zebra has already delivered more than one million professional Android devices. The TC56 is inspired by the most popular consumer smartphones, except that it is able to operate sustainably under the most demanding professional conditions such as logistics and express delivery.
Chronopost employs 3,700 staff and delivered over 149 million parcels in 2016.
