Engen, which is already taking one-stop convenience to new levels with its 24-hour automated parcel lockers, is set to treble the number of collection and drop-off points across its network as it ramps up the service.
To date, tens of thousands of parcels have been delivered and collected via the DSV ByBoxes, set up on the forecourts of Engen service stations countrywide thanks to a partnership between the petroleum company and logistics group DSV Global Transport and Logistics.
Now, says Engen’s Digital Innovation Manager for Retail, Mohamed Hassanally, the company will more than double the current 69 ByBoxes, to 160, by the end of the year. The push is designed to keep pace with the growing demand, and to extend the alternative delivery service as widely as possible. “This is part of our overall strategy to use innovation to improve our service levels wherever possible, along with the convenience factor in terms of the array of services we offer our customers at Engen service stations,” he says.
The automated parcel lockers, designed in response to the growing popularity of the buy-and-collect trend, offer a secure and convenient way to send or receive parcels. Hassanally explains that when shoppers order goods online, they can select the ByBox delivery option to their nearest locker. Parcels, sent the following day, are scanned in by drivers at the selected ByBox terminal. The correct one opens automatically, and the customer gets an SMS with a PIN number so they can then access the relevant locker to collect.
He adds that customers can also send parcels from Engen service stations through the DSV ByBox. All that is required is to purchase a DSV PAK from an associated retailer, then package it up, complete the dispatch note, and scan in the parcel at any ByBox terminal. The touch screen instructions make it extremely simple to deposit the parcel in the correct locker, accessible 24 hours a day.
As Engen works hard to meet the target for the installation of the additional ByBoxes by the end of 2018, Hassanally says they are currently concentrating on providing the service at Engen service stations in big metropolitan areas, including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. In the future, however, they have plans to further extend the offering to smaller towns across South Africa.
“This is a great service for everyone, but especially those who may not be in a position to accept deliveries at their workplaces, or who live in areas where home deliveries aren’t feasible. They can choose a convenient collection point and pick up their delivery whatever time of the day or night suits them. “And that’s definitely a service we would ultimately like to make available to all South Africans, regardless of where they live,” he says.
The alternative, user-friendly delivery solution also dovetails with Engen’s greater aim of offering one-stop convenience at all its outlets, Hassanally adds. “This is just another way in which we are trying to make life better for our customers.”
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