With Stream Go, Post Logistics has been able to introduce a new pallet shipping service for Irish SMEs.
Together, AN Post, DB Schenker and Stream has:
- Simplified the process of exporting for small and medium-sized Irish businesses
- Given customers a reliable freight forwarding service into Europe
- Stayed accountable to customers by giving them complete visibility of their pallets
- Provided a faster way for Irish SMEs to deliver their goods to customers across Europe
Post Logistics is a collaborative pallet delivery and collection service from Ireland. An Post, the Irish Post Office, can collect up to seven pallets from any small business across Ireland, and DB Schenker deliver those pallets to any location across Europe. The whole process is managed efficiently, effectively and smoothly with Stream Go.
Background
DB Schenker is one of the world’s largest transport and logistics providers, with over 91,000 employees in 2,000 offices in 130 countries. Proximity, the developer of Stream, has worked closely with DB Schenker for many years.
Proximity has developed, supported and maintained a number of business-critical applications to optimise and improve the efficiency of DB Schenker’s logistics operations, resulting in logistics expertise paired with software innovation.
An Post is the Irish post office, providing regular postal services to personal and business customers, including mailing letters and parcels, bulk mailing and stamp printing.
The challenge
Previously, small Irish businesses had to put their trust in local couriers or transport companies to export pallets, often at higher costs, very limited tracking and without properly meeting their needs.
Working with DB Schenker, An Post launched Post Logistics. This provides Irish SMEs the opportunity to easily export with a simple, reliable and cost-effective way to have their goods collected from any address in Ireland (even in the most remote locations) and efficiently delivered to retailers and wholesalers in the UK and continental Europe.
An Post had expertise in logistics throughout Ireland and an appropriate fleet of vehicles and DB Schenker had extensive experience delivering pallets and parcels all across Europe.
Together they are able to provide a door-to-door pallet collection and delivery service helping small Irish manufacturers and retailers to export goods to Europe.
But how to manage the process, ensuring simplicity for users, cost-effectiveness, and complete accountability at every stage of the delivery process?
The solution
Proximity has worked with DB Schenker for years, providing bespoke solutions for the needs of a large, specialist logistics provider.
But, for Post Logistics, Proximity knew that Stream Go had all the required functionality inbuilt, and would easily scale to the demands of a national service provider, like An Post, which boasts one of the largest nationwide fleets in Ireland.
Stream Go manages the end-to-end collection process and integrates with the DB Schenker’s delivery process:
- Book Small business owners book a job through the customer portal. Fill in a few details and instantly receive a quote, which can then be easily booked and paid for.
- Collect An Post will collect up to seven pallets from any address in Ireland using Stream for the route planning and the Stream App for the drivers. Businesses can even opt for next-working-day collection service with bookings right up until midnight the day before, all fully tracked.
- Transfer The pallets are transported by An Post to the national depot in Dublin, where they are transferred to DB Schenker. All movements are scanned and tracked.
- Transport DB Schenker complete the freight forwarding from Ireland to its final destination within Europe. Full visibility is available on the customer tracking screen.
- Deliver When the pallets reach their final destination, the driver electronically records proof of delivery. Customers (and their customers at the destination) immediately receive notification of their delivery details including signature, time and location.
Simplicity
From the booking system (self-service customer gateway) to the tracking screen, Stream Go’s solution for Post Logistics has made it really simple for small businesses to export goods.
Freight forwarding is no longer a headache, just a really easy way for Irish SMEs to export their goods.
Reliability
An Post is a trusted Irish household name, and DB Schenker has the size and credentials to quickly and reliably ship pallets all across Europe. Stream Go integrates the two, making the entire door-to-door delivery process smooth and consistent. Using scannable barcodes with the driver app means that pallets don’t get lost or mixed up.
Accountability
With Track and Trace functionality built into the driver app, SMEs are able to track the location of their pallets at all times. This allows small Irish manufacturers and retailers to quickly respond to their customers’ questions. Electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) combining signatures, barcodes and GPS location-tracking removes ambiguity, and reduces disputes.
Speed
The streamlined service and map-based route optimisation of Stream Go, in combination with An Posts’ next-working-day collection and DB Schenker’s extensive European transportation network, mean that delivery is always timely too. Pallets arrive at their destination quickly, and accurate delivery-time estimates mean that end-customers are never left waiting to receive their items.
“An Post’s ambition is to do more business. The landscape we operate in is changing rapidly and we have to adapt and grow. In many ways, it was the customers who shaped what Post Logistics is all about: we matched all that is best about An Post with a very real demand from customers for a freight forwarding service that is simpler, faster, reliable and offers real value. The real win is that we can actually help the nation trade more effectively on the global stage and make some money along the way.”
Liam O’Sullivan, Director of Mail Operations at An Post, on the benefits brought by Post Logistics, both to An Post, and to the wider Irish business economy.
In 2017, Post Logistics won the Postal Technology International Awards for New Business Diversification of the Year.