German electronics retailer MediaMarktSaturn pilots “smart” parcel terminal for all carriers
German electronics retail chain group MediaMarktSaturn and parcel technology startup Smartmile have launched a “smart” parcel terminal in a pilot project at a campus in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, which is open to any courier or online shop 24 hours a day.
Smartmile’s fully automated parcel station can store parcels from any courier, whether it is DHL, UPS, Hermes or any other carrier, and customers can collect their parcels there any time.
“Innovations are extremely important to our business. That’s why we’re always launching pilot projects with our startups from the Retailtech Hub. This time I’m delighted that with Smartmile, we’ve been able for the first time to implement a pilot project at the campus in Ingolstadt. This project allows us to trial new technologies while offering a new service to the citizens of Ingolstadt,” Martin Wild, Chief Innovation Officer of MediaMarktSaturn, said.
“The system can easily be opened up to other retailers in Ingolstadt,” Steffen Luippold, one of the co-founders and managers of Smartmile, added. “This means that local retailers can offer their customers an additional service.”
“A growing number of parcels means more delivery traffic on inner-city roads. Approaches such as this scheme by MediaMarktSaturn and Smartmile help ensure our citizens never miss a parcel again and also reduce the strain on the roads and the environment,” Dr. Christian Lösel, Mayor of Ingolstadt, commented.
The Smartmile parcel station can also be used in other ways than just for parcel deliveries. In the near future, it is supposed to support the nearby MediaMarkt store to further expand its range of services. It is planned, for example, that a customer will be able to leave his/her broken smartphone in the Smartmile box first thing in the morning before the store opens and pick it up again fully functioning after 8pm the same evening. Smartmile is thus not just a simple parcel station but a fully automatic modular shelf system with an integrated payment function. There’s no limit to the ways in which it can be used which will be tested as part of the pilot project in the next six to nine months.
To use the Smartmile parcel station, customers need to sign up via www.smartmile.de. They receive an individual ID and the delivery address of the parcel station. This address can then be entered as the delivery address the next time they order something online.
As soon as Smartmile has deposited the parcel for the customer in the parcel station, they receive a PIN via SMS which can be used to pick up the parcel from the machine. Parcels are stored for seven days, although this period can be extended in individual cases on request. In addition, returns can also be easily handed by using the Smartmile parcel station.
Smartmile uses state-of-the-art technologies to make parcel deliveries more efficient and sustainable and to give customers more control over their deliveries. “With one central delivery location, we reduce pollution and traffic jams in cities,” the startup says on its website.
