With an ambition to be an e-commerce business delivering anything from mail to white goods, PostNL boosted the efficiency and accuracy of deliveries with a BYOD strategy, combined with high-performance scanning from Scandit.

When we were rolling it out, a team of managers tested the old native scanning tool versus the new Scandit solution. They were amazed by how quickly we were able to scan even the most inaccessible barcodes.

Bart Beerden, Product Owner- Field Services, PostNL

Challenge

Improve speed and efficiency of delivery

PostNL is the premier provider of postal and parcel services in the Netherlands – delivering an average of 675,000 parcels and 8 million letters on a weekday. PostNL focuses on quality and exemplary customer service. To facilitate this, it moved to increase automation, flexibility and employee engagement.

The company developed the ‘Mijn werk’ app to track and trace letters and small parcels in the last mile using barcode scanning on BYOD (bring your own device) mobiles and tablets. The application previously relied on an open source-based barcode scanning option.  

However, delivery workers experienced poor quality and delays with the app’s scanning software. PostNL wanted a superior software-based scanning that could reduce time wastage by quickly reading barcodes in any condition.

Solution

High-performing parcel and mail scanning, whatever the weather

PostNL carried out a detailed review of alternative scanning software solutions. It found the Scandit Barcode Scanner SDK provided the highest level of reliability, speed and accuracy to their ‘Mijn werk’ app on smart devices. 

PostNL were satisfied the software worked in the most challenging scenarios encountered over the last mile. This included torn, blurry or worn barcodes in multiple, adverse weather conditions and glaring light. “Time and efficiency is everything to us, so we are delighted by the benefits that Scandit has provided,” says Bart Beerden.

Results

Employee satisfaction scores increased from 60 to 80 percent
>80%
Rise in scanning volumes
>50%
Deliveries scanned per week
840K

Improved speed and efficiency of delivery by more satisfied employees

The quality of PostNL’s service is now fully supported by high-performance barcode scanning at every stage of delivery operations. Post and parcels are tracked accurately, and any issues are quickly identified and managed.

The speed and efficiency of the Scandit solution generated positive employee feedback with 67 percent adoption over traditional scanners. Employee satisfaction scores increased from 60 to 80 percent since deployment.

Integration was also a big factor. After its recent merger with delivery company Sandd, PostNL was able to quickly integrate the Scandit-powered app into 4,000 Sandd devices. 

Key advantages of the Scandit scanning solution

  • Flexibility: works seamlessly on the full range of BYOD devices (over 700 models including both iOS and Android) used by PostNL’s 27,000 staff.
  • Simple integration: with almost no development time and no compatibility issues with the ‘Mijn werk’ mobile app.
  • 100 percent scan reliability: at different angles and ease-of-use meant no need for training.

PostNL now scans 560,000 to 840,000 deliveries every week. The number of scanned items has already increased by over 50 percent since 2016, using the same number of devices.

Other areas of the business, including food delivery, are already looking into the use of Scandit’s barcode scanning software. “Scandit supported our BYOD strategy, giving staff high performing scanning through our ‘Mijn werk’ smartphone app. The results: flexibility during busy peaks, cost savings with no need to purchase extra devices, and happier staff using their preferred personal devices,” says Bart Beerden.

Move to same-day deliveries with MatrixScan

PostNL’s digital transformation roadmap with Scandit is expected to include the adoption of MatrixScan to search and find an item in a single scan. It enables delivery information to be displayed on a device screen with an augmented reality overlay.

Ready to get started with Scandit?

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