Spring 2006

Same-day courier operations have become prime territory for mobile computing solutions. m.logistics learns how DHL Sameday has risen to the challenge

Same-day courier operators have led the way in adopting telematics and wireless technologies to keep ahead of the market, and DHL is no exception. Having enjoyed vigorous growth in its same-day operations for the past five years, the company has now gone live with an advanced mobile job management system costing no less than £4.5 million.

"Our growth rate has been exceptional, and we needed to upgrade our systems to handle the extra traffic and to continue to give customers the service they expect from us," says Steve Spraggons, regional manager south, who is in charge of the project.

One of the challenges for operators in this sector is that they often tend to use contractors for some or all of their work; so any mobile data solution has to be applied uniformly among them.

DHL in fact uses a team of 1,000 self-employed contracted couriers on its Sameday operation, which is based on a managed a network of 43 same-day centres. Until now, both the drivers and controllers have recorded activity manually. Communication between the control centres and the drivers was by voice.

This caused problems in areas of the UK with limited network coverage: sometimes the nearest courier could not be contacted, and there was a risk that poor connections could lead to inaccurate job details.

Spraggons says as parcels volumes have increased, the old system has been creaking under the strain. "Sameday services are especially time critical; speed is what the customer is paying for," he points out. "To get the fastest response, controllers need to know where the couriers are in relation to the customer. With the new software we will know the status of any job at any point."

In phase one of the roll-out, each of the 43 nationwide Sameday service centres will have new software to allow data communications with the drivers. The new back-office systems can process bookings received from the Internet or by phone, fax or voice, allocating them to the nearest service centre - which can then pass on job details to the nearest courier.

Data communications will then automatically provide status updates covering confirmation of arrival, collection, delays, estimated time of delivery and signature.

The job details will be available on the DHL Sameday Web site, allowing customers to view the status of any consignments.

Spraggons says the deployment is linked to improvements for customers as well. "It will facilitate electronic end-to-end management of the job, regardless of where in the country it originates. Sameday customers will be able to conduct the whole transaction electronically, from booking a collection, tracking an item to viewing a copy of the signature of the person who has signed for the delivery."

Because DHL Sameday uses self-employed contractor drivers with their own vehicles, the requirement was for a data solution that was not wired into the vehicle. Initially DHL is deploying what is regarded as the courier's favourite device: the XDA II.

However, it is also has Symbol MD70Ts on trial. "We want to see if a more rugged terminal will prove more cost-effective and reliable in the long term. Both of them offer integral GPS tracking, and the MD70T can also have an integral scanner. "

In phase two of the deployment, GPS tracking will be installed in the courier fleet. "We recognise this is critical to ensure the most local vehicle is used for any collection and delivery, improving both the speed of service to our customers and the efficiency (and therefore fuel consumption) of our contractor fleet."

Phase two will also see the introduction of barcode scanners, both to speed processing at collection and delivery and permit consignment tracking from the point of delivery. It will also be used as proof of time of arrival at unattended sites.