One of the biggest problems facing both ecommerce retailers and carriers alike is failed deliveries. No one wants a failed delivery, least of all the end consumer. The trek to a delivery depot, knocking on neighbours doors or hunting around the garden for a package left in a safe (ish) place isn’t the best delivery experience.
Currently a mid way solution is local collection, this can be click and collect, parcel shops from the likes of myHermes or Collect Plus, or lockers from companies like InPost. At The Delivery Conference one new business thinks they have the solution.
Pelipod
Pelipod assert that most alternate parcel delivery solutions (be they lockers or collection points) don’t address the root cause of the problem. Sure they avoid a missed delivery, but it’s still a mild inconvenience. Pelipod’s solution is to provide you with your own personal theft resistant box big enough to contain multiple parcels and capable of receiving deliveries from multiple carries in one day.
This isn’t just a lock box, the Pelipod is a smart box, each parcel you receive will be assigned a unique unlock code (either from a retailer who has integrated the solution, or by the consumer). The unique code will be included in the delivery address enabling the courier to unlock the box and deposit the parcel. Of course you will use a different personal code to unlock your Pelipod to retrieve your parcels.
Once a parcel is delivered your Pelipod will email you to let you know you’ve received a delivery.
It doesn’t stop there though, there’s a full audit trail. The Pelipod takes a photo each time the box is opened so there’s a track if a parcel really was deposited or if an item is removed.
What if the box itself is stolen? It can be secured with bolts to hard standing or alternatively securely attached with theft resistant cable to a suitable point on the house or eye bolt. If the unit is stolen then the Pelipod support team will not only remotely lock it down so it can’t be opened, they’ll also track its location using the smart internal electronics.
Retailer Benefits
Retailers who integrate with Pelipod will have a unique insight into their customers. No longer will deliveries be hit or miss, they’ll not only know when the item is delivered but they’ll also know what time you routinely retrieve your parcels. This could give them knowledge such as if it’s worth upgrading your delivery to a pre-midday service or if you never collect your parcels until evening allowing them to use a lower cost service.
Knowing not when an item is delivered, but when you actually receive it can also help the retailer be smarter with their marketing. If they know the precise time you received an item they could potentially trigger a customer service email offering return information, offering tech support or even requesting an online review or product recommendation.
Larger retailers will also over time be able to track collection times which can give guidance for when they may need more customer support reps for return request or tech support thus managing their staffing levels more efficiently.
If you have returns your customer will also be able to leave them in the Pelipod enabling the retailer to provide a unique code to enable the carrier to collect the return.
Small online seller benefits
If you’re a small online retailer who’s daily shipments will fit inside a Pelipod you can work with your courier to enable them to collect your day’s shipments. Simply leave them in the Pelipod and your eBay or other marketplace orders will be shipped without you needing to wait in all day for the courier. Pelipod will take a photo before and after the courier collects so you’ll have proof that your parcels really were collected as well as having the peace of mind that only the courier with the unique code can retrieve your parcels. It’s certainly more secure than what I used to do… leave them unsecured in the greenhouse or shed!
Costs
Whilst Pelipod have some introductory offers on their website, ongoing cost to the consumer for a Pelipod is likely to be around £10 per month. That’s everything even including replacement batteries being sent to you when your Pelipod reports they’re running low. If you factor in time and petrol costs in retrieving missed deliveries it seems like a pretty reasonable cost and certainly favourable compared to some locker solutions.
What do couriers think of Pelipod
Couriers apparently love the Pelipod – it makes their lives easier. However it’s still fairly new and only rolled out to a relatively small group of end users. Here at Tamebay we’ve asked to test one so hopefully we’ll be able to tell you more soon.
We want to know if it really is easy enough for couriers to use with no instructions. Will they leave tracked and scanned parcels, will they figure out the one time code on the delivery address. What about parcels which need to be signed for, will they accept leaving it in the Pelipod as proof of delivery? If we can get our hands on a Pelipod we’ll do some tests with deliveries using a number of different couriers plus the postal service and let you know the results.
44 Responses
I found myself looking at the Pelipod and trying to imagine it in action. One of the first problems that jumped to mind was the actual dimensions of the thing. Do you have any idea of its dimensions or does it perhaps come in a range of sizes.
I ask this as often the packages that I receive are quite small. But over the last couple of weeks I have received a few much larger ones. Obviously in those circumstances I would probably opt for a larger one.
Then comes the next problem. Where would it fit in the garden or close to the house where there would be something secure to fix it to. Obviously if I had the dimensions I could go out into the garden and try to envisage it in place.
As for security. I looked at the image of it and wondered how a potential thief might break into it. The easiest and simplest surely would be to pick up such as a garden spade from the garden and ‘bash’ the lock. Looking at the black lock it does not look that secure. So just how strong is the device.
However having said the above I must admit that it is probably the best idea that I have seen and could very well be the basis of a final solution to the problem of packages put in dustbins and thrown over fences.
My mum has the low-tech version of a pelipod round the back of her house (basically a big plastic box). She loves it, and most of the regular couriers know to use it if she’s not in.
Thanks for the write up much appreciated.
it needs to be able to sign for packages before it really takes the hassle out of deliveries
though iif the credit card co paypal ebay amazon etc accept digital evidence as proof
we think its the future of on line shopping and click and collect is history
Fantastic concept
How does it work if someone forgets to close the pelipod? Presumably it auto shuts?
A very interesting and exciting concept! I wonder whether consumers are actually going to be happy to pay £10 per month for this level of service? Obviously if you’re constantly going out to pick up missed deliveries this makes sense, but I wonder if this is the case for the average consumer?
Imagine having something like this bundled in with your Amazon Prime membership though…
its the size of a washing machine and costs £6 a month.
i have absolutely no issues receiving parcels and i still want to sign up for one!
There’s something I don’t understand…. You say any courier can use it by getting the unique one time code of the delivery address label on the parcel. Say I jump on a website now such as ebuyer and buy a laptop which they send by one of their many couriers. How is the unique unlock code generated, how does the pelibox know to generate one and how do I know what it is to add it to my address, and how will the mystery courier know to read the address label for the code?
Could be an answer to collect in person and paypal chargeback payment problem
not wanting to tell my granny how to suck eggs
though if it were ours we would be working hard trying to get the big carriers and logistic firms to make an inclusive offer on it as part of the contract
we would even pay royal mail a commision to use offer it
If you come up with a solution to take delivery of the Pelipod, then I’ll be seriously impressed 🙂
Actually, it’s a great idea – I’m very close to signing up – just not sure where to put it :-/
S.
It is good to have a universal system not linked to any one courier company or retailer. This is one of the main downsides of most of the locker or click and collect systems.
Having worked at at a place with a keypad entry for deliveries, the couriers had the keypad number as a part of the first line address; It was a nightmare, even the regular delivery drivers seemed incapable of typing in the number in front of them. We had to abandon it in the end, as the couriers just started leaving packages at the door and not even bothering to try; or taking them back.
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We paid out before Xmas to make a lockable secure gate to the side of our premises. We then popped onto ebay & bought a key box:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-SECURITY-STEEL-WALL-MOUNT-KEY-BOX-WITH-COMBINATION-LOCK-SAFE-STORE-KEYS-CAR-/400531428281?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d418893b9
Now all deliveries have a note of the combination on the delivery note, so they open the box, unlock the gate, place packet inside, lock gate, put key back inside key box & lock it…..Simple.
Works fine, so far!!
It’s got to be better than the Lego Treasure Chest one of my customer uses.
I kid you not!
It’s not exactly a new idea. Something similar was on Dragon’s Den a few years back. Needless to say they didn’t invest. Far too niche.
Also “Pelipod” doesn’t really say anything to the consumer.