engineering

Parcel locker

Parcel locker is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Parcel locker rather than just read about it. In short: A parcel locker is an automated postal box that allows users for a self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters as well as the dispatch of parcels. History The modern automated parcel locker was born out of a partnership formed in 2000 between the German postal operator, Deutsche Post, and the Austrian automation firm, KEBA.

Key takeaways

Parcel locker belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Parcel locker to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Parcel locker from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A parcel locker is an automated postal box that allows users for a self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters as well as the dispatch of parcels.

History The modern automated parcel locker was born out of a partnership formed in 2000 between the German postal operator, Deutsche Post, and the Austrian automation firm, KEBA. In the late 1990s, as early e-commerce began to rise, Deutsche Post was searching for a sustainable way to handle growing package volumes and reduce expensive, failed home delivery attempts. They approached KEBA, a company that already possessed specialized, global expertise in automating bank safe deposit boxes. Merging KEBA’s security hardware with Deutsche Post’s logistics framework, the two companies developed the world’s first automated electronic parcel locker, building the prototype in a small workshop in Linz, Austria. In late 2001, Deutsche Post launched the system as a pilot project in Dortmund and Mainz under the brand name "Packstation." Operating under KEBA's "KePol" manufacturing line, this milestone laid the structural foundation for the global smart locker industry that followed.

Amazon Locker

Amazon Locker is a self-service package delivery service of parcel lockers offered by online retailer Amazon. Amazon customers can select any Locker location as their delivery address and retrieve their orders at that location by entering a unique pick-up code on the Locker touch screen. However, certain third-party sellers on Amazon may not be able to ship to an Amazon Locker, due to their use of other shipping services such as FedEx or UPS that require a signature. There are several sizes, but when ordering, amazon.com reports some parcels are too big to be delivered to a locker. The Amazon Locker program was launched in September 2011 in New York City, Seattle, and London. As of June 2018, Lockers were available in over 2,800 locations in 70+ cities.

Operation

A customer orders a parcel from Amazon and has it delivered to a Locker location. Amazon's preferred carriers deliver to the locker, and the customer receives a digital pick-up code via email or text messaging. Once the unique pick-up code is entered into the locker's touch screen, the assigned door opens for package retrieval. Amazon customers have three days to collect their packages once they receive their pick-up code. Amazon customers can also return packages to select Amazon Lockers. Amazon Lockers can sometimes be full and therefore not available when a delivery is attempted. In that case customers will have to wait an unspecified amount of time until space is available.

Locker locations Amazon partners with retail stores such as 7-Eleven and Spar to host Amazon Locker kiosks. Retailers receive a stipend from Amazon to host the kiosks. Staples and RadioShack joined the program briefly in 2012, only to withdraw the following year. 7-Eleven has kiosks in 186 locations in the US as of 2015. In the United Kingdom, Amazon has a partnership with Co-op Food and Morrisons. Lockers are located within some Co-op and Morrisons stores. Since 2012, libraries in West Sussex have also been operating Lockers. Large retail centres often have Amazon Lockers, for example there are two in One New Change in London, and there is one in Stratford Centre. The largest Amazon Locker in the world and the busiest in the UK is called Ivory. It has 115 lockers and is located near the Rootes building at the University of Warwick. Amazon has also expanded the Locker program in Canada, France, Spain, Germany and Italy. In 2017, Amazon announced plans to launch Amazon Locker in select Whole Foods Market locations.

Amazon Hub Amazon Hub is a delivery locker for apartment lobbies. The delivery locker accepts packages from all carriers. Amazon Hub was in beta from 2017 until June 2018, when Amazon announced that its Hub program would be available to all property management companies throughout the United States. As of 2020, Amazon was using "Amazon Hub Locker+" to refer to a staffed version of Amazon Lockers, which allowed for customers to pick up large packages, and for customers to return items without a box.

Pharmaceutical lockers Several manufacturers offer parcel lockers designed for pickup of drugs, either at pharmacies or in remote locations. One design as an integrated audio-visual connection for conferring with a pharmacist. Drug pickup lockers are deployed at some Costco pharmacies and have been piloted at CVS Health. A shortage of pharmacists in the 2020s increased pressure to adopt this solution. Though delivery of prescription drugs by mail is common, some jurisdictions (for example the U.S. state of Georgia) have laws which do not allow the use of unattended lockers.

Systems around the world

Asia

Bangladesh In Bangladesh, a partnership between ekpay of A2I and Daraz created ekShop-Digibox Parcel locker. The manufacturing of the solution was done completely within Bangladesh and said to be much cheaper than western or Chinese solutions. The lockers were situated at the metro stations for ease of access.

Australia and Oceania Australia Post offers a similar service with facilities located in or near various post offices.

United Arab Emirates A courier company called Parzel Express introduced automated delivery machines in United Arab Emirates in 2011 manufactured by KEBA.

Europe

Germany

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Parcel locker

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Parcel locker claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Parcel locker before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Parcel locker ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Parcel locker

In research: Parcel locker appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Parcel locker in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Parcel locker is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Commercial machines, Express mail, Interactive kiosks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Parcel locker outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Parcel locker in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Parcel locker means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Parcel locker out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Parcel locker in simple terms?

A parcel locker is an automated postal box that allows users for a self-service collection of parcels and oversize letters as well as the dispatch of parcels. History The modern automated parcel locker was born out of a partnership formed in 2000 between the German postal operator, Deutsche Post, a…

Why does Parcel locker matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Parcel locker?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Parcel locker.