Evri (formerly Hermes UK) is trialling an extension of its ‘safe place delivery photo concept’ to include courier collections, in a bid to further improve its communications with those consumer customers using the service to send or return parcels.
These photos will then be available to the customer alongside their tracking information.
The trial involves a sample of couriers nationwide taking photos of parcels once they have been successfully collected including from a ParcelShop and/or locker location and also when an attempt has been unsuccessful in order to explain why and find a solution. This could include: access issues; problems with the size and/or suitability of the parcel; no response from the address and problems finding the address. It will also enable the courier to flag problems such as road closures and any technical issues.
Commenting on the initiative Joe Tarragano, chief product officer at Evri, said: “We are always looking at ways to improve our service and, if the trial is successful, sharing these photos with our customers will provide another layer of communication about the journey of their item. In addition, where there is a problem it will be easier to identify and resolve quickly.”
In October, the delivery firm announced it has developed bespoke software designed to further improve parcel delivery accuracy. Parcel Vision uses machine vision technology to detect and flag any safe place photos, taken by the courier as proof of delivery, which fail to show the parcel and where it has been left.
