In the near future, special machines will appear in Italy that will receive and deliver mail parcels, Post and Parcel reports.
The Australian company TZ will provide the solar country with such devices as early as 2014. TZ announced today that its partner, the Italian company FBA Italy Automation and Logistics, has won a tender for the acquisition of such devices. A pilot project to introduce such machines to Italy has already started in Milan. Five similar devices were installed there in some post offices. If residents of the world fashion capital appreciate the innovation, TZ devices will soon be introduced in other parts of the country.
The device, called the Automated Parcel Terminal, is a special machine that consists of four dozen cells capable of delivering parcels weighing up to 30 kg. The terminal operates around the clock and seven days a week. It is somewhat reminiscent of an ordinary ATM. An Australian company that manufactures parcel dispensers is already collaborating with German and French post. Similar terminals have been installed in the United States of America. Automated Parcel Terminal is designed primarily for those who like to shop through the World Wide Web.
To send a package you only need to get a special code, which later needs to be attached to the machine. The recipient of the parcel, in turn, will receive an SMS message with a digital code, which will need to be entered into the machine in order to receive the parcel.
TZ claims that the contract with an Italian partner is a new leap in the European market for automatic mail terminals. So, today many EU countries purchase similar devices from other suppliers, such as, for example, in Russia, vending machines from Logibox, PickPoint, QIWI Post and EMS Russian Post are widely used, which offer exactly the same services as TZ devices. However, the terminals of the above firms have a number of disadvantages.
Technical support specialists regularly encounter complaints about the issuance of someone else's parcels.
For example, one woman turned to one of the post offices in Russia, claiming that one of the automatic terminals of the Eesti Post company issued her parcel to another person. The woman explained that a few days ago she ordered a set of cosmetics in one of the online stores, and soon received a notification that her order was in one of the automatic mail terminals. The very next day, an unfamiliar man contacted her and said that her package was in his possession: he found her in the mailbox. The woman took her order from a stranger, but turned to the mail staff for an explanation, which, in turn, ignored the complaint instead of compensating for the amount of failed delivery.
Later, the woman managed to contact the manufacturer of postal automatic terminals, who apologized for the inconvenience.
Eesti Post explained that the misunderstanding was due to a human factor - the courier responsible for delivering parcels to vending machines mistakenly put two parcels in one box.
The manufacturer also acknowledged that such stories are not uncommon in the activities of the Eesti Post: the company sometimes simply can not cope with huge volumes of work.
However, the benefits of using automated mail terminals cannot be underestimated. Firstly, the queues at the post offices can now be forgotten forever, secondly, now you don’t have to wait for the courier to arrive, and finally, thirdly, you can now pick up your parcel at any time and on any day of the week. However, it is still unknown how the Italians will perceive the novelty. TZ and its Italian partner can only wait and hope.
