It’s no surprise that now more than ever shoppers are making their purchases online; preferring the method because it saves time and hassle. But challenges still come when the parcel finally ships. Some get lost. Others get stolen. Often consumers waste valuable time waiting to sign for their parcel or risk having it returned.
A new company, Pelipod, doesn’t want home delivery to be a headache.
The new London-based company, Pelipod Ltd has launched its product to streamline the home delivery process for a better customer experience.
Their product, the Pelipod, is a home parcel box with built-in-proof of delivery developed to save time, money and worry - for consumers, delivery services and retailers.
“It shouldn’t be about getting the customer to the parcel. From a true customer service perspective it should be about getting the parcel to the customer,” said Pelipod CEO Karl Wills, whose extensive ecommerce, logistics and technology background includes serving as COO of the UK’s Metapack for five year, told Loyalty360. “My work with Pelipod is the culmination of understanding the challenges retailers have trying to make sure they have successful deliveries to consumers.”
According to Pelipod, in 2013 UK consumers spent more than £91bn on the Internet. Yet 20% of parcels bought online are returned or re-delivered – a figure that shoots up to 60 percent for higher-value purchases.
How Pelipod Works
The lockable “pod” features a built-in electronic keypad that communicates to a central system, so only authorized users have access. A smart sensor and a camera to give all parties proof of delivery.
When buying online, Pelipod users add a unique parcel code to their address. The courier uses the code to open the pod and place the parcel inside before securely closing it. A camera provides ‘delivery audits’ with photo evidence of the opening, parcel placement and lid closure. Pelipod then alerts the consumer by email that their delivery has arrived, with details and times. When they return home they can retrieve their parcel using the unique user code.
The pod can also be used to return parcels, removing consumer hassle.
Pelipod is available in various colors and features a battery that lasts for a year, a cable lock to secure the container, an electronic locking and GPRS technology to run the data transfer, and communication updates of the pod’s opening, closing and parcel delivery.
In addition, consumers can track the status of the expected deliveries through the online “Pelipod Portal” where consumers can track the status of deliveries expected and returns to be picked up. Pelipod Ltd. has developed sophisticated proprietary technology that generates and tracks the secure codes used for parcel deliveries and pick-ups, and the company continuously monitors each pod via GPRS.
Pelipod can work with any retailer or courier and is also able to receive multiple deliveries each day without compromising security.
A Benefit for Retailers and Courier Services, Too
Missing a parcel delivery may be frustrating to the consumer, but it’s also a problem for retailers; costing them both money and valuable brand loyalty.
“The final stage of retail is the delivery, but few retailers have control over it because most shipping is outsourced,” explained Wills. “There’s a huge cost incurred from failed delivery and it reflects badly on the retailer.” Consumers are more likely to blame the retailer than the courier for botched deliveries and could decide to shop elsewhere for a better experience.
With the Pelipod system, signed up retailers are immediately notified when their customer receives their parcel. And Pelipod has something else that companies value: Data.
“For retailers data becomes quite valuable. We can provide them with customer data received at the delivery for customer service follow-up and extend the data knowledge into other areas,” said Wills. “We are able to show retailers total deliveries to a single household and what type of orders. information. This really becomes quite valuable.”
Pelipod can also help reduce the numbers of customer service calls from people wondering about the status of their parcel. For courier services, the less missed deliveries the better their reputation. And because parcels delivered to a Pelipod are tracked and the delivery photographed, it cuts down on fraud – reducing costs for both the retailer and the courier.
Pelipod Goal: On doorsteps across the UK by 2015
Pelipod launched earlier this summer in North London and the company has plans to make it available across the UK and - possibly Germany – in early 2015. Plans are also in the works to launch Pelipod in other parts of Europe and North America.
Feedback from users so far has been positive, and the company has launched a free trial program to help people get familiar with the Pelipod. “This isn’t just a new product – it’s a new way of doing things and people are often slow to change,” said Wills.
“The free trial lets customers trade based on the value of what they’ve experienced.”
For further details please see www.pelipod.com