The rapid growth in e-commerce in recent years has led to severe problems, the biggest being a lack of delivery drivers, too much traffic, too much packaging waste and excessive CO2 emissions. While parcel service providers have automated almost all areas, this does not apply to the infamous last mile.

This is where the solution from a German start-up, whose employees successfully invented and launched the DHL Packstation twenty years ago, comes in.The innovation consists of an smart and mobile solution to automate the last mile delivery of parcels, centered around a mobile locker. The system s unique selling point is reusable packaging that avoids a deposit system .

The parcels are delivered in reusable packaging via mobile and automated lockers with up to 180 parcels at changing locations near the recipients. Recipients are informed of the receipt of deliveries via smartphone. They can use their smartphone to open the mobile lockers and remove the parcels. The reusable packaging remains in the mobile lockers so that no packaging waste is generated. A paid deposit system, which previously prevented the acceptance of reusable package systems, is not necessary. The system enables parcels to be both received and sent.

The first prototype of a mobile locker was finalized at the end of March 2024 and will be tested in April/May 2024. The German company is now searching for an innovative manufacturing partner interested in refining the prototype and constructing a mini series of 6-10 mobile lockers by the end of Q3-2024.

The mini series will be deployed in a pilot with a parcel service provider in a European city end of 2024, beginning of 2025, where the mobile locker will be evaluated. Following a successful pilot, the German company intends to commence serial production in 2025, laying the groundwork for the commercialization of the concept. A 10% market share is envisaged in the medium term. Initially, the company will target all major European parcel markets. In a second wave, they will target North American markets, and in a third wave, Japan, Australia and Singapore.

The key expertise sought in a production partner is the capability to deploy a “compact” materials handling technology in a mobile locker being moved every day. Key features of the mobile lockers are described below in more detail.

The company anticipates a demand of 75k mobile lockers at unit costs of 36k EUR, yielding a potential revenue of 2.7bn EUR for the locker manufacturer in the long run.

Sought is a technical cooperation and manufacturing agreement. Preferred partners are manufacturers of storage and retrieval technologies. Tasks to be performed are the technical optimization of the prototype of the mobile locker, the conduct of validation tests in collaboration with the German company and the parcel service provider before the pilot phase and technical support during the pilot, also to initiate serial production based on a built-to-order strategy.
Advantages and innovation
• Handling of increasing eCommerce parcel volumes at all times without resource bottlenecks
• Dynamic routing: Every night, an intelligent software calculates the ideal locations for the mobile lockers.
• Reusable packaging remains in the locker, customer only removes the goods (closed loop), no deposit necessary
• Reduction of operating costs and increase in time efficiency.
• Reduction of traffic volume and CO2 emissions
• Prevention of packaging waste
• The solution is scalable.
Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
The mobile locker shall have the following features:

• Mobile locker with maximum dimensions no larger than minimum size of a standard parking space, i.e. 4,00m in length and 2,00mn in width.
• Storage elements for 130-200 parcels with max. dimensions of 60 x 55 x 40 cm and max. weight of 20kg.
• Material handling technology able to store and retrieve parcels in no more than 15 seconds, measured as time elapsed between picking up parcel in transfer gate and storage at right position in rack (store process) or between picking up parcel in rack and presenting it in transfer gate to recipient (retrieval process).
• Resilience toward daily movements of up to 70km per day of mobile locker from parcel service provider depots to locations in the morning and reverse movement in the evening.
• Near-field-technology to be used for connectivity between end users smartphone and a smart app, with interface to steering unit of mobile locker.