Oct/Nov 2008

Hard on the heels of the announcement that Royal Mail is implementing a mobility solution built round Blackbay technology, Government Car and Despatch Agency has now announced that it is introducing a Blackbay system.

The organisation is responsible for the UK Government's internal mail system, and also for provision of cars. It has no connection with Royal Mail.

'Security and traceability are key requirements of our customers, who insist upon the highest standards,' says Nigel Bennett, Director of Government Mail for the GCDA. 'It was imperative that we deploy a solution that would ensure the complete accuracy and stability of our track and trace system.'

The organisation is using Blackbay's Delivery Connect, which runs on Motorola MC70 rugged handheld computers (similar to those chosen by Royal Mail). Its benefits in this operation are said to include electronic signature capture and event time stamping at every point of the delivery process, from job acceptance to collection and delivery.

 

GDA is a 'full cost recovery' agency turning over £18 million, and employs over 300 security-cleared staff. It competes alongside commercial companies for Government transport and mail contracts. It operates predominantly from sites in London, Cardiff, Bradford, Birmingham and Warrington.