Belgravium ‘net’ huge parcel delivery project
Belgravium, a leading European manufacturer of mobile computing hardware secured a substantial order for in excess of 450 of its ‘Atlanta 8000’ series Hand Held terminals from Grattan Plc for the Parcelnet arm of the organisation. The deal is thought to be one of the largest for rugged mobile computers within recent history and was won against strong competition from rival US and European manufacturers.Parcelnet was formed in 2000 with the merger of two of the country's best known home shopping companies, Freemans and Grattan, and their two home delivery networks, Speedlink and Direct Line. Grattan had extensive experience of utilising mobile computing technology and were well aware of the requirement for terminals to be rugged enough to survive harsh environments. Belgravium had been a key supplier of mobile computers to Grattan since the late 1980’s and had acquired a solid reputation for excellent product, technical service and general support, although this did not exempt Belgravium equipment from the vigorous technical evaluation process undertaken by the Grattan project team ! The Atlanta rugged CE.NET terminal with colour screen was chosen for its excellent ergonomics, small footprint, light weight and balance.
As well as providing home delivery and return collection services to in-house brands, Parcelnet supports a number of third party clients including Next Directory, Cotton Traders, Boden and Lakeland Limited.
Performing 70 million handlings each year, across its 13 depots, Parcelnet manages home delivery fulfillment from client warehouse to customer, via its own courier network and complementary carriers. The delivery process is backed up by dedicated Account Managers and customer support staff.
Parcelnet’s 4,100 strong courier network covers 92% of the UK population, allowing delivery the day after parcels are despatched from the warehouse. As part of it’s commitment to home delivery, Parcelnet developed an unrivalled menu of add-on premium services to meet customer and business needs, including;
- On site access to proof of delivery and parcel tracking
- Secure delivery, signature guaranteed service
- A six day week delivery service
- Guaranteed next day delivery service
- Nominated day delivery
- Time banded delivery
In addition to it’s core home delivery offer, Parcelnet performs the following national services:
- Customer return collections
- Warehouse stock collections
- Catalogue and brochure delivery
Parcelnet formulated plans for the extension of barcode technologies throughout its fixed depot and hub locations and its ‘radial’ van drivers.
The utilisation of the Atlanta Hand Held terminals will provide Parcelnet and its clients with data on all parcel movements at predefined tracking points offering unquestionable evidence of delivery. This data will enable Parcelnet to achieve the following:
- create ccurate consignment information
- clearly define transfer of ownership
- produce exception reporting between tracking points
- record handling times across the operation
- provide an audit trail for Claims & Enquiries
Senior Management at Parcelnet viewed the roll-out of scanning technology as a key business initiative that will “support Parcelnet’s long term business strategy to acquire more third party traffic, increase the service portfolio and expand the infrastructure”. As such, the initial choice of hardware supplier was a critical component in the success of the project. Specifically, Parcelnet identified that the mobile computing units had to be “simple to use, robust and reliable, as they will be issued to drivers working in demanding outdoor environments”. After an exhaustive evaluation of several major mobile computer manufacturers, the decision was made to award the hardware contract to Belgravium Technologies Plc.