eCOURIER TRANSFORMS COURIER INDUSTRY WITH O2

O2 today announces the successful implementation of a fully automated mobile despatch solution by eCourier, the first of its kind in the courier industry. 

eCouriers entire fleet of vehicles has been outfitted with O2 Xda IIs and GPS modules, which communicate each units location and availability back to a main server every 10 seconds.  An auto-allocation then uses this data, along with live weather, traffic and demand information, to select the best-placed courier for each delivery, reducing eCouriers Central London pickup and delivery times by 33% and 50% respectively compared to the industry average. 

O2s scaleable mobile tracking facility has removed the limitations of human controllers who typically have to allocate couriers via a radio network, with little or no real-time fleet information, says Jay Bregman, eCourier Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer.  The potential for future growth is exponential. Unlike traditional courier companies who experience a drop in profit margins our margins grows as we grow.  We anticipate a margin some 40 times higher than the current market leader when we reach their size."

This is hugely significant if you consider that the largest London courier company only has a 5% market share due to the size and limitations of the infrastructure needed to manage the size of their fleet.

By replacing the traditional manual system capable of overseeing only a limited fleet, eCouriers innovative fully automated, mobile despatch solution has removed the artificial upper limit on the number of couriers a single company can manage.  Importantly, this opens up the possibility of previously-impossible exponential growth. 

The system also enables the precise tracking of packages by customers through eCouriers bespoke web-based system.  Customers can track individual couriers on a street-level UK map as they navigate traffic towards pickup and delivery locations.  The system provides status updates, such as Package on Board and Proof of Delivery emails containing recipients digital signatures, which are captured via the O2 Xda II and emailed to customers within 10 seconds.

eCouriers system has certainly made a big difference comments eCourier customer Ben Reardon, Dispatch Manager for Harrods in Knightsbridge. We book online and a few minutes later a courier turns up. Simple as that. We use eCourier throughout the day, mostly to deliver items for our customers. Typically they will be food hampers or other goods sent to affluent buyers staying at local hotels - not the type of customer who is prepared to hang around for hours waiting for a delivery. Booking online is faster and more efficient, and we have reduced our courier costs.

eCouriers inbound query calls have now dropped to less than 1% thanks to the online tracking facility 95% lower than industry average.

The eCourier system perfectly encapsulates the dramatic impact innovative use of mobile technology can have on a business model, adds Peter Rampling, Head of SME Marketing at O2.  The new system offers eCourier significant competitive advantage, improving customer experience by achieving greater speed and accuracy, while at the same time reducing costs.  As a direct effect of the implementation, eCourier is now well on its way to becoming market leader.