PUDO Made Easy In 5 Typical Scenes

Why delivery companies are looking at pickup drop off

The e-commerce boom has put pressure on delivery companies. Increasing delivery volumes and cost pressures are coinciding with a rise in customer expectations.

Delivery companies have been looking at PUDO to reduce delivery costs and improve efficiency, and counter driver shortages.

Good PUDO point customer experience is key if delivery companies want to realize these benefits. Get it wrong and that customer may never use PUDO again.

One way to live up to customer expectations is to put the right technology in the hands of PUDO employees.

Smart data capture deployed on any device optimally supports and speeds up PUDO processes in situations like those below.

An impatient customer and an employee who can't scan the parcel

Here, the customer rushes into their local convenience store drop off the parcel before catching the train for work. But the PUDO point is busy and the store staff are overstretched. The customer places the package on the counter and waits in line.

The PUDO associate quickly scans the package. Then scans it again. And again. She then looks up at the customer. A crease in the barcode sticker meant it could not scan. She needs to enter the code manually, taking more time.

The customer misses the train and arrives late for work.

Customer drop off the easy way

The customer walks into the PUDO point using smart devices powered by Scandit Smart Data Capture. Other people are dropping off packages or making purchases, which the staff are dealing with quickly.

The parcel’s barcode is creased but the employee, using smart devices powered by Scandit Smart Data Capture, captures it first time.

So the parcel was dropped off and the customer got to work in time for their 9am meeting.

How this works

Here, the smart device uses Scandit’s Barcode Scanner SDK. It can easily handle a creased or damaged parcel label. It’s important for PUDO employees to scan barcodes quickly and accurately regardless of the barcode condition.

Scandit’s Barcode Scanner SDK also gives users the ability to scan barcodes at any angle, with high amounts of glare across any surface and despite the poor lighting in PUDO points. Our SDK can even scan poorly printed or damaged barcodes with ease.

All of this translates into fast and accurate barcode scanning for any user in any environment.

Benefits include the ability to:

• Reliably scan torn or badly printed barcodes.
• Use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) as a backup for reading damaged labels.
• Get an assured performance even in low light.

So many parcels, so little time

In a supermarket, our store associate is getting worried about their PUDO point duties. It’s near the end of the day and there are more non-customer tasks to be done.

More customers are coming in to pick up packages on the way home from work. The problem? It takes too long to find the right package as each package needs to be scanned individually.

Search & Find the easy way

A customer comes in for a pickup. The employee scans their slip with a smart device and goes to the parcel shelves. He points his smart device all over the parcels on the shelves. It immediately highlights the right one on the screen using augmented reality (AR).

How this works

The smart device has Scandit’s augmented reality and MatrixScan functionality.

MatrixScan allows the smartphone to decode multiple barcodes at the same time. While AR allows the device to overlay information on the device screen.

And the data source can be anything from product or delivery details, handling delivery instructions, recipient information or return exceptions.

Benefits include the ability to:

• AR speeds up locating parcels and reduces wait times.
• Capture multiple barcodes in a single scan.
• Zoom in for detailed, real-time parcel information.

Sorry, we need to check your ID

The customer is in a gas station PUDO point to pick up a delivery of high value. However, valuable goods are often delivered with a “proof of ID” condition, to avoid parcel theft.

It’s down to the PUDO associate to verify the recipient’s identity.

In this case, the customer needs to remove their identity card or drivers license from their wallet. The PUDO associate then needs to spend the customer’s time decoding the information on the front before finally deciding they are the right recipient.

ID-verified PUDO made easy

The customer shows the employee their identity card or drivers license within the see-through section of their wallet. The associate doesn’t need to touch it, she can scan it through the window with her smart device powered by Scandit Smart Data Capture.

The smartphone captures and decodes the document before notifying her the ID matches the recipient. She hands over the delivery without the employee needing to touch the license or make a judgment.

How this works

Scandit Smart Data Capture brings high-performance ID scanning into any mobile delivery app to verify recipient IDs or for age-verification.

It captures the information on the identity document, scanning the barcode, machine-readable zone (MRZ) or text using OCR. The ID data is captured with just a quick scan of the back or front of the card (depending on the country).

All of this is done using the smartphone camera and the phone’s processor. So there is no need to connect to an external database.

Benefits include the ability to:

• Scan IDs or do age-verification on a smartphone or dedicated device.
• Scan drivers licenses, passports and ID cards from all over the world.
• Do all the processing on the device. No data is transmitted from the device.

Parcel inventory check for returns in a dimly lit room

In a small convenience store, a store associate has been asked to come off of a shelf management task to do a parcel inventory check because the store is also a PUDO point.

Parcel inventory checks can be difficult if the PUDO point is in a store.

In this case, the inventory check needs to be performed in the storeroom. It is a time-consuming task as each parcel has to be scanned by the employee individually and the light conditions are often sub-optimal.

Parcel inventory made easy

The store associate simply hovers the device over multiple parcels in the storage area using Scandit’s MatrixScan functionality. In addition, on-screen augmented reality overlays visually to highlight what parcels are overdue for return. They then simply tap the screen to mark and process a return.

How it works

MatrixScan – with its ability to scan multiple barcodes at once – allows the store associate to rapidly check multiple parcels against a real-time inventory list.

This information is then fed onto the screen via Scandit’s AR functionality. The smartphone’s screen instantly shows the parcels’ status.

Benefits include the ability to:

• Rapidly check multiple parcels against a real-time inventory list.
• Display parcel’s status with on-screen AR overlays.
• ‘Tap to select’ to mark a parcel for return and process the request.

Receiving at a PUDO point that is also a store

It’s a busy morning and the store is low on staff. Our store associate is constantly moving from one aisle to the next, checking shelves and helping customers find what they’re looking for.

But they’re also responsible for taking care of the parcels unloaded by delivery drivers. Today’s parcels have been delivered. Staff need to quickly put them away, get them into the system and get themselves back to the shop floor.

Unfortunately, these parcels have to be scanned individually.

This happens at the back of the store where the lighting is poor. So the scanning process takes extra time and is frustrating.

Receiving the easy way

Many store associates use smart devices (powered by Scandit) for store operations tasks. So they can use the same smart device to handle parcel receiving and customer drop off processes.

All they have to do is scan parcels received by drivers or dropped off by customers at the PUDO point.

Scandit’s high performance scanning means speed and accuracy is a given –regardless of tough scanning conditions. A typical example is low light for receiving parcels in the early morning or in the back of the store.

Other examples are torn package labels or poorly printed barcodes on the parcels that are dropped off by customers.

How it works

Speed through receiving processes at the start of the day.

Scandit MatrixScan’s ability to capture a batch of arriving parcels in a single scan. It creates an accurate list to compare to the manifest and ensures no parcels are forgotten or misplaced.

Scandit’s Barcode Scanner SDK makes simple work of poorly printed or damaged barcodes.

Our barcode scanner works across thousands of low-end cameras that lack autofocus, making Scandit the best choice for apps being used across a wide-range of devices.

Benefits include the ability to:

• Scan multiple parcels simultaneously on arrival
• Speed through receiving reliably without human-error
• High performance scanning on any smart device.

Summary - the easy way to get PUDO right

The last mile accounts for over 50% of the supply chain costs. PUDO presents a great opportunity for companies to reduce their last mile delivery cost.

Sending deliveries to a safe place for customer pickup – like a PUDO point – presents a revenue and efficiency saving opportunity.

It is also good for customers. It gives them another option, saves the potential for a failed delivery if they are at work, and helps prevent parcel theft.

Customer experience is key

The processes at these post offices, retail stores and gas stations need to work effectively for PUDO to succeed. Especially as customer and employee experience is key.

One bad PUDO experience and it might be the last time they choose it as a delivery option.

You can help avoid this outcome by making sure your employees have a smart device with Scandit Smart Data Capture.

Whether it’s high performance barcode scanning or more advanced features like augmented reality or ID scanning, you can improve your productivity and keep customers happy.

Interested in finding out how it could work for you? Contact us to find out more.