Case Study: PickPoint Turns To Intermec CN3 for Its Distribution

About PickPoint

PickPoint AG operates a network of more than 2,000 parcel drop-off and pick-up points in Germany and Austria. And the company is now able to further enhance the efficiency of its parcel logistics using technology from Intermec.

Who has not come across this problem?: You have ordered a new product from an online supplier or mail-order catalogue, but you are out all day when the delivery is due. The parcel delivery person tries to leave the package with your neighbours, but they are not in either. The annoying result: the package goes back to the parcel service’s logistics centre. And, instead of the goods you have ordered, all you find in your letterbox is a note advising that the parcel will have to be collected because it could not be delivered.

It was this kind of annoying situation that prompted five young businessmen to establish the company PickPoint back in 2000. Their basic idea was that the consumer should be able to simply collect their package locally, at any time of the day or night. Hence PickPoint chose mainly petrol stations to be its partners because they are often located away from busy town centres and open round the clock. Naturally, this is beneficial for the parcel service too since it no longer needs to make several attempts at delivery and can offer its customers a convenient package collection facility without having to set up a complex system itself. Customers simply register with PickPoint and pay a small fee per package for the service. This system offers more advantages than automatic package vending machines: for example, bulky goods in excess of a certain standard format are handled too. In addition, PickPoint collaborates with nearly all parcel services while, to date at least, only packages from a single provider are stored in automatic package vending machines.

Seven years after start-up, PickPoint’s range of services is now well established. However, its main focus remains the B2B segment rather than non-corporate private end customers. PickPoint collaborates successfully with technician providers and field service organisations, including such well-known companies as Fujitsu Siemens, IBM, and Philips. They use the PickPoint system in cooperation with their preferred parcel services for receiving, issuing and even forwarding spare parts and returns. This system efficiently caters for the technicians and field staff of these companies who are often away on business for several days or even the whole week. When spare parts are needed for a repair, the technician is able to pick up the goods ordered from as early as seven in the morning at one of more than 2,000 PickPoint stations in Germany. The service technician does not need to load his/her car up in the morning with other goods for the entire day, they just collect the required products from a PickPoint shortly before the appointment with the customer.

The advantage of this solution is that should a technician be unable to attend a job due to illness, for example, or if a repair job ends up taking longer than originally planned, there is nothing to stop a colleague stepping in to cover. If, in contrast, the goods needed for the entire day were all delivered directly to the technician’s car, as is the case with other systems, such flexibility would not be possible. “Our system makes it possible to increase technician efficiency by about 25%,” says PickPoint’s Director of IT Business and Product Development Marcel Kunkel. This argument has attracted a good number of customers and to date the system remains unrivalled in Germany.

The successful PickPoint system is based on a sophisticated, process-oriented IT solution. Comprising interfaces with logistics partners, customers and the PickPoint network, this system provides the highest possible degree of transparency for all participants. And if a B2B customer needs the solution to be specially adapted to their processes, then PickPoint will do just that. A fundamental aspect of this successful service is that receiving and issuing packages is straightforward for the staff at the PickPoint stations (mainly sales staff at big petrol stations). “For this aspect we need an intuitive solution that requires little staff training, but offers extensive error prevention,” explains Kunkel.

The Problem

Following several years of continuous operation, the first-generation hardware at the PickPoint stations became due for replacement. In terms of technology, PickPoint needs a data collection terminal which, when connected wirelessly to the PickPoint system, scans package barcodes and reads in the signature of the respective customer employee upon receipt or issuing of goods. The PickPoint assistant confirms on the touchscreen whether it is a case of collection or receipt. The system is networked with the customers, PickPoint’s head office and the logistics partners via a web-based extranet. Synchronisation takes place within a few minutes via GPRS connection, which is available at PickPoint stations everywhere.

The Solution

High demands are placed on the hardware, especially since the terminals will be used day in, day out for several years and must be able to withstand the knocks and bumps that occur during such use. So PickPoint decided on the robust, high-performance CN3 handheld computer from Intermec. The touchscreen colour display with backlight and a screen resolution of 240 x 320 pixels ensures user-friendly data entry in all lighting conditions. Thanks to the ergonomic design of this device, it can be operated using just one hand and furthermore the CN3 fits into a shirt pocket.

The project places high demands not only on the hardware, but on the hardware suppliers too: not only does the customer require hardware replacement, but the new hardware must be incorporated into the existing environment. The existing software was substantially modernised and adapted through development of the distribution company’s Opal software (Opal also being a partner of Intermec). Another long-standing partner of Intermec, US company Ryzex, undertook fulfilment, financing and device replacement. The Ryzex Group, a global concern, provides solutions to meet all barcode and network requirements as well as buying, selling, hiring, repairing and installing associated equipment—everything under one roof. Ryzex arranged a leasing partner for PickPoint for its planned substantial investment and committed to buy back the hardware at the end of the lease period, which prompted PickPoint to decide in favour of entering into the lease contract. PickPoint was able to order the CN3 terminals and adhere to its rollout plan.

Results

Kunkel has no regrets about opting for the Intermec product—quite the opposite in fact: “Although we are a relatively small/medium-sized company, we received full support with our tasks and were never left alone to just get on with it,” emphasizes Kunkel. Other providers would have been less flexible in this respect. Kunkel also states that the excellent workmanship and robustness of the Intermec product were key motives for choosing it. He adds, “With this equipment, data synchronisation via GPRS connections is really fast and seamless.” For PickPoint, product quality and smooth operation are worth their weight in gold: “For us and for our partners, there is nothing more expensive and time-consuming than a defective data collection terminal,” says Kunkel. In view of the reliable product solution and comprehensive auxiliary services, collaboration with Intermec has paid off in every respect.