E-commerce has driven interest in parcel lockers, with the global smart parcel locker market expected to grow from $664 million in 2020 to more than $1.4 billion by 2027. The market is quickly becoming flooded with options, including Amazon’s own Hub Lockers.
The advantages of a parcel locker are many, but they are particularly beneficial in apartment buildings, college campuses and office buildings where getting a package to the final recipient is more difficult. The ability to leave the package in a centralized location improves efficiency for the last-mile provider.
Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) already offers a line of parcel locker systems for e-commerce and mailing applications, but on Wednesday it added to that portfolio with the launch of ParcelPoint Smart Lockers.
Utilizings Pitney Bowes’ own software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology, ParcelPoint lockers can be managed remotely as individual lockers or as a fleet of lockers across locations.
“The global automated parcel locker market is expected to exceed $1.4 billion by 2027, driven by organizations looking for ways to manage the exponential growth in ecommerce and parcel volume,” said Kerry Caylor, vice president of SendTech Parcel and Locker Innovation for Pitney Bowes. “Pitney Bowes ParcelPoint Smart Lockers with powerful SaaS software make it easy for organizations to automate, streamline and digitize their parcel and mail management and deliver a user-friendly contactless pickup experience.”
The lockers offer both pre-configured and customized options, giving businesses flexibility to meet their unique needs, the company said. ParcelPoint lockers join Pitney Bowes’ other locker solutions, including the Express Series. All Pitney Bowes lockers include the SendSuite tracking online solution.
With global parcel volumes predicted to reach 200 billion by 2025, lockers are becoming a solution for organizations with centralized mail operations. The ParcelPoint system integrates with mailroom operations and user devices to ensure the proper size locker in the right location is available for the parcel. When a parcel is placed in a locker, an automatic alert with access bar code is sent to the recipient for retrieval.
Pitney Bowes offers real-time reporting and analytics.
During the product design stage, Pitney Bowes surveyed 200 enterprise and higher education leaders to understand their package management needs. The survey found that 66% were concerned about leaving items unattended and 52% felt constrained by storage space.
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