Knowing when a shipment will arrive is invaluable. Since December 2012, GLS Poland, as part of its Info-Service, has been notifying parcel recipients in advance about the status of their shipment via email and SMS. The new service is free of charge and increases delivery efficiency at the “last mile” stage.
When someone orders goods online, they often do not know if they will be at home on the day of delivery, or when the shipment is expected to arrive at all.
– Thanks to information sent well in advance, the recipient is included in the delivery chain from the very beginning – explains Tomasz Kroll, District Manager at GLS Poland. – This makes it easier for the recipient to plan their time and enables them to choose an alternative delivery method if necessary.
The Info-Service does not involve any additional costs for the sender: it is activated free of charge, provided that the recipient’s email address and phone number are provided to GLS along with the parcel details. In case of any potential delivery problems, an SMS message will also be sent.
The introduced solution is a novelty on the courier services market in Poland. Only at GLS will the recipient receive free, advance information about the expected delivery day, along with a three-hour time window during which the courier will arrive.
The first email is sent when the sender provides the parcel data to GLS – it contains information about the expected delivery day. From the next message, the recipient will learn the three-hour time window on that day when the shipment will be delivered, which services have been ordered for it, and whether, for example, a cash-on-delivery amount needs to be prepared. If, despite the notification, no one is at home, an appropriate email and SMS will inform the recipient about what happened to the shipment – for example, whether the courier left it with a neighbor or at the nearest ParcelShop point. For parcels sent abroad, the shipment status will additionally be provided in German, English, or French.
– People are becoming increasingly mobile, yet they still want to receive their parcels quickly and safely – concludes Tomasz Kroll. – By introducing the Info-Service, we have found a solution that allows us to increase the percentage of parcels delivered directly to the recipient.