Locker delivery networks are changing the face of distribution and revolutionising the field services market in France. Traditional delivery models have been falling short for years due to their inflexibility and unwillingness to develop a solution that meet the needs of mobile engineers and reps. This has led to a rapid increase in the demand for the convenience and reliability of locker deliveries. ByBox, market leaders in the field now have 150 locker locations across France with more than 1000 engineers using the network per month.
Operating from a 3000 square meter base in Wissous, ByBox delivers 20,000 spare parts a month for engineers working in a variety of sectors ranging from medical to IT. Delivering in-night, ByBox ensures items are in lockers pre 8am so engineers can collect before the start of their days work. This means engineers do not have to wait around at the office for items to be delivered or make long trips to depots to collect items. The ByBox solution is simple, time efficient, convenient and reliable with a 99.79% pre 8am delivery success rate.
The ByBox model is already hugely successful in the UK, delivering over 20 million items a year. As well as the UK, there are also networks in the Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The expansion highlights the growing demand for a locker solution and ByBox is leading the way.
The ByBox lockers are produced at the ByBox manufacturing plant in SablƩ, France which has been manufacturing secure, electronic locker systems for the left luggage, logistics and postal markets for over 25 years. ByBox holds a number of prestigious contracts with some of Europe's leading railway operators such as SNCF and SNCB and postal service companies such as La Poste and bpost.
The lockers themselves are of two types; lock boxes and electronic boxes (iBoxes). The lock boxes use keys for access and the iBoxes are accessed by a unique card. All deliveries to these boxes are monitored using ByBox' software platform Thinventoryā„¢ which provides 100% of stock visibility at every point in the supply chain.
Many companies will show customers that their part has been delivered, but the Thinventoryā„¢ platform is different. It manages the entire end-to-end supply chain and all movements can be traced real-time over the web to see what stage of the supply chain a part is at. As a result of this, customers spend less money on sameday transport and less money on unnecessary stock.
Engineers can also use the lockers to return used/faulty items. They simply attach a return label to the item and it is then automatically re-routed either to a warehouse, back for repair, or, if under warranty, to the original manufacturer for inspection. The process creates a faster return loop and ensures parts arrive at the correct final destination, with total traceability at all stages.
Khalida Hachem, Director of ByBox in France said, "The ByBox model is extremely successful in the UK and has revolutionised the field services market. In France, we are growing at a rapid rate and are looking to emulate that success.
"Companies that employ large teams of field service engineers are finding that ByBox is more efficient, reliable and cost-effective than traditional methods of delivery.
"We are expecting that ByBox' popularity in France will continue to grow, as it did in the UK."