As a result of the avalanche of online shopping, parcel services faced a sudden peak and then a relatively steady peak at the beginning of last year. Despite previous practice, salient cycles could only be provided with a well-developed IT infrastructure. Cloud solutions, automation, micro-zoning, and track-and-trace interfaces have helped reduce customer complaints and telephone inquiries despite increased customer demand.
Liferay Hungary The latest broadcast of a knowledge-sharing video series presenting digitalisation trends in various industries describes the challenges of digitization during and after the pandemic in the field of logistics through the example of the German DPD Group parcel service
Duplicate orders, stabilizing peak period
As a result of the pandemic, order volumes almost doubled, which meant that logistics processes had to cope suddenly and permanently in small parcel delivery. This meant that peak delivery was usually expected from the parcel delivery company every day of the week. It was also a serious challenge that, due to the constraints associated with COVID-19, they had to implement digital plans previously timed for 3-5 years in a matter of weeks. Luckily for the industry, they were already prepared for capacity for certain seasonal periods, such as Black Friday or Christmas.
appears in a company’s practice, logistics organization, it can react much more flexibly to a changed situation than when it first faces soaring needs.
Cloud and automated solutions for efficient data management
In addition to B2B orders, the number of B2C orders increased sharply. It may seem that this branch of the logistics sector is all about parcel delivery, when in fact it is about precise data management. The real challenge is always a stable IT back-end system, as the amount of data needs to be managed in a secure and, of course, customer-friendly way, the rapid growth of which would not be possible without a strong infrastructure background.
cloud solutions are currently a more suitable method than infrastructure. Thanks to cloud technology, the company can speed up operations at optimal costs, make availability much more secure, and geographically geodundant backup functions that are responsible for secure business operations can become available.
Modernized data management in addition, automation also played a key role. This is because transport companies organize packages and shipments by regions and zip codes. However, Hungary’s postcode system, like that of other countries, is not sophisticated enough for distribution systems to automatically create itineraries and tour plans based on postcodes.
A digital method has provided a solution to such difficulties. , which is called It is called the “micro-zoning” process. The solution is a background database that manages the regions broken down by street number with sophisticated accuracy and is able to perform route planning according to GPS coordinates automatically.
The critical point of the customer experience is customer service
As a result of the closures, many new customers have turned to online services, who have developed increasingly bolder customer habits. This is also evident from the increased use of track-and-trace online tracking interfaces, which help the customer to know where their package is located.
For a parcel delivery company, the available securing employment has also become a key factor. This is partly a technical issue and partly a matter of adequate human resources. An organization operating in the field of logistics must have a secure capacity background so that it is not a problem, for example, if 2-3 thousand customers call customer service at the same time. Call centers must therefore also have an IT server background that provides, inter alia, automated call solutions or registration, as well as the possibility to call the customer back.
“All service providers may be at fault. we tend to promise 100% because it would not be credible in the logistics market as there are so many parameters influencing the evolution of delivery quality.We focus more on the fact that if something is not done well once, the customer should have enough information about the problem and solution. In my opinion, this is the strength of the real-time customer experience, and it also explains why data management is the most important area of logistics, “concludes Szabolcs Czifrik, Managing Director of DPD.
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