packing station

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Packstation - model specialist system, each shipment has its own compartment (2006)
Packstation - model rotation system, shipments are stored in magazines (2004)
Packstation with modular structure (2010)

A Packstation is a parcel machine from DHL , the parcel and express service subsidiary of Deutsche Post AG . The system was set up from the end of 2001; The pilot cities were Dortmund and Mainz . There are currently around 5,000 machines nationwide with around 500,000 compartments (as of June 2020), some of which customers can use around the clock to pick up certain shipments as well as deliver them themselves. In August 2018, the number of registered customers was over ten million.

Handling and range of functions

General

There are no additional costs for using the parcel machines beyond the postage, which is reduced at Packstations compared to the prices at the counter. A Packstation card and the associated postal number are required to receive a shipment addressed directly to a Packstation.

Registration requires an address in Germany to be given. An identification process is required to activate the service. After registering, the customer receives a customer card (formerly “Goldcard”) and a transaction number (TAN) by post. As soon as this number has been verified in the online portal, the Packstation can be used.

Since October 29, 2012, the mTAN process has been used to collect shipments as a result of increased phishing attacks, which requires a mobile phone and the registration of the mobile phone number, which initially led to uncertainty among customers. After strong criticism, DHL hired 70 additional employees in November 2012 and set up a free hotline to process inquiries. The customer card is a magnetic stripe card on which two of three possible DHL lanes are filled with information: the customer's name is stored in plain text on the first lane, the post number is on the second . The third lane has a number that is the same on all cards. When registering at a packing station, only the post number stored on the second lane is compared with a database.

Since 2017, DHL has been gradually converting the packing stations to a barcode process. The magnetic stripe readers are removed and only newer customer cards with an additional barcode printed on the back can be used. Customers who still have an old customer card without a barcode can pick up parcels at these stations by manually entering the post number , as the new customer cards have not been sent to customers automatically until now, but only when requested by DHL. The barcode contains a unique 16-digit sequence that does not correspond to the post number. Until mid-2018 it was possible to generate the required barcode yourself by calculating with the help of the post number, but these barcodes have now been blocked by DHL. The barcode can now also be displayed in the DHL Packstation app and recorded on the smartphone display.

When sending and receiving, the customer is always free to choose which packing station he would like to use throughout Germany. This makes this service particularly interesting for travelers such as truck drivers, sales representatives and vacationers. The closest Packstation can be determined with the Packstation Finder on the Internet using any nearby address. It should be noted that consignments may only be picked up personally by the owner of the respective customer card. The handing over of the card or the access data to third parties is not permitted.

Particularly small packing station at a petrol station in Cologne (2019)

The maximum size of the shipments that can be received or sent via a packing station is 75 cm × 60 cm × 40 cm and is therefore limited compared to normal parcel shipping. The minimum size is 15 cm × 11 cm × 1 cm.

Address shipments to a packing station

DHL parcels , DHL parcels , book shipments , shipments of goods as well as large letters and maxi letters are suitable for delivery to a packing station . Letters that are franked with less postage than large and oversize letters ( standard letter , compact letter , postcard ), can not be placed in a packing station. Products from competing companies are also excluded from delivery to packing stations. A shipment that is to be delivered to a packing station must be addressed according to the following pattern:

Hans Mustermann
12345678
Packing station 123
12345 model town

It is 12345678 , the item number (6 to 10 digits) of the packing station customer (receiver) that this is fixedly allocated. The customer can look up the number of the packing station, the postal code and the location of the packing station in a directory, for example on the company's website. The sender is not restricted to a specific packing station, but can freely decide where the shipment should be delivered to by freely addressing each individual shipment to the appropriate delivery address (house address, packing station, etc.).

Missing (for example for online orders) the field Additional address so that is item number in the field name in the form of name / PO number indicated.

Pick up shipments

SMS with the transaction number for collection

Shipments addressed to Packstations

System error: If several compartments are opened at the same time, the courier can make incorrect deliveries, which cannot be refused

To packing stations may carried out by the Deutsche Post or DHL packages , parcels , large letters , Maxi letters , books and shipments of goods , the minimum dimensions of 15 cm × 11 cm × 1 cm and a maximum size of 75 cm × 60 cm × 40 cm have to be received. As soon as a shipment has arrived, the registered customer is informed by email and, if installed, a push notification in the official DHL Paket app where the shipment is stored. The notification also contains the mTAN required for collection , which can be valid for several deliveries. The shipment can be received at the packing station after the customer card has been scanned and the mTAN has been entered. Since April 2018, cash on delivery items addressed to packing stations have been redirected to post offices, and payment at the machine is no longer possible.

If the machine is fully occupied or defective, or if the shipment is too small, too large or unsuitable for the Packstation, the shipment is transported to another Packstation or a post office and held there for collection. The customer will be informed of this by email and / or SMS. This redirection takes place without consultation; If it is rerouted to a branch, the shipment can usually only be picked up on the next working day and the storage period is reduced to seven days. In contrast to collection at the machine, the recipient must also verify himself with his ID card. The mTAN is obsolete if it is delivered to a branch as an alternative. There is no further transfer back to a packing station, another branch or house address.

The delivery is kept in the parcel machines for nine calendar days. In contrast, the current (2019) notification cards incorrectly indicate a storage period of 7 working days. As part of a goodwill gesture, customer service can extend the storage time in certain cases. Relocation of the consignments (e.g. from a machine to a branch) and second deliveries are not offered. After the deadline has expired, the shipment will be returned to the sender.

The consignment is accepted in ignorance of the sender and the condition of the consignment, since after opening the compartment of the parcel machine according to the terms and conditions there is no longer any possibility of refusing acceptance.

Since 2018, DHL has been introducing Packstations that no longer have a magnetic card reader installed. The post number instead of the magnetic card and the mTAN are sufficient for identification .

Alternatively delivery to a packing station

If the recipient is not found when the parcel is delivered to a house address, an orange collection card was originally placed in the mailbox for collection at the nearest post office (post office or agency). Between 2008 and 2010, green cards were increasingly thrown in for collection at a packing station at the recipient. In 2010 a uniform yellow and white card was introduced on which you can tick whether the parcel has to be picked up at a post office or at a packing station. When collecting the package at a packing station, only the barcode on the collection card has to be held in front of the packing station's scanner; there is no identity check of the collector. This procedure is also used for recipients who are not Packstation customers.

Send shipments

Until mid-2017, the usual receipt for a parcel in a DHL Packstation
Package label printed by Packstation

Only small parcels and parcels can be sent and thus fewer forms of mail than when receiving them. The shipments can be sent with barcode shipping labels pre-paid online. For the online franking (DHL) will be advertised at a discount of 1 euro per package. Since March 2018, parcel stamps purchased online with QR codes can be printed out at Packstations, provided the Packstation already supports this. It has not been possible to purchase shipping labels at the packing station since mid-2017. You can also use tokens or return labels purchased from a sender in branches or parcel shops.

Purchase of tokens

Tokens for franking small parcels and parcels were available at all packing stations, also with customer cards, until 2012. From August 2010 to 2012, it was also possible to hand in small parcels and parcels with tokens issued at Packstations in the branches of Deutsche Post and partner branches.

Until June 30, 2012, a price reduction of 1 euro per parcel was granted at the Packstation. Since then, brands bought at the packing station have cost the same as in the branches. Package stamps could only be bought without additional services. Services such as extended transport insurance, GoGreen, roll form or proof of parcels cannot be commissioned at packing stations. If desired, the sender and recipient addresses could be printed on the parcel label using a screen keyboard. However, this was not possible for package brands for Europe. Here the addresses had to be entered by hand.

Loading of shipments

Registered customers as well as unregistered customers have the option of handing over franked parcels and parcels to DHL using the Packstation. Large letters, maxi letters, books and consignments of goods cannot be sent; these products can only be picked up at a packing station. Return parcels can sometimes be sent back with the Packstation even if they were not originally delivered to the customer by DHL or Deutsche Post.

First, the barcode of the shipping label is read with the built-in scanner . The customer then selects a compartment size and places the shipment in the compartment that opens. The maximum dimensions for all shipments are 60 cm × 35 cm × 35 cm. Upon request, a posting receipt can be printed for parcels, which only shows the parcel number and not the recipient's address. Registered customers can have their posting receipt sent to the email address provided instead.

Parcels prepaid with Stampit could be sent. However, parcels that were franked with Stampit could not be sent because they did not have the barcode.

Types of packing stations

Public packing station

The first packing stations were set up in the pilot cities of Dortmund and Mainz at the end of 2001. Bad Vilbel , Frankfurt am Main and Offenbach am Main followed in October 2002 . Direct addressing to the packing station was not planned during the pilot phase. The sender addressed the package as normal to the recipient's postal address. The recipient had to attach a DHL sticker with the postal identification number next to his doorbell / mailbox. If the DHL employee wanted to deliver the package and the recipient was not at home, he could see from the sticker that the recipient was a Packstation customer. The parcel deliverer then took the parcel back with them and informed the recipient by card (later also by SMS / e-mail) that he could pick up his parcel at his then fixed packing station with his DHL gold card.

The Packstation is produced by the Austrian manufacturer KEBA .

The group announced in September 2007 that by 2009 , in addition to the 900 packing stations that existed at the time, another 1,500 stations at Aldi branches should be added. By installing more machines in public places, the Packstation service was expanded to 2500 machines in November 2009, as planned. According to the company, this achieved the goal that 90% of the population only need around ten minutes to get to the next machine. It was originally planned to set up another 150 stations by 2012; this goal was only achieved in May 2014. In October 2016 the number of Packstations increased to 3,000. By 2021, the number of packing stations is expected to increase to 7,000.

The main areas of expansion are in metropolitan areas and cities. So far, there are only a few packing stations in rural regions. The largest packing station with 602 compartments is in Karlsruhe's Südstadt.

year cities and communes Packing stations Customers
January 2002 2 24 2,500
October 2002 5 75
February 2004 14th
September 2005 90
October 2005 102
April 2006 400,000
November 2006 120 700
February 2007 150 800
August 2007 850
September 2007 900 700,000
October 2008 1,000
November 2008 1,500
June 2009 2,000 1,000,000
November 2009 > 1,600 2,500 1,400,000
September 2011 > 1,600 2,500 2,000,000
May 2014 1,600 2,650 5,000,000
April 2015 2,750
October 2016 3,000
November 2017 8,000,000
January 2018 > 1,600 3,400
August 2018 > 10,000,000
October 2019 4,000 > 12,000,000
June 2020 5,000

In- house packing station for companies

Since January 2004 DHL has also been offering so-called in-house packing stations for large companies (from 3000 employees) . This is particularly interesting for those companies in which the employees often have their parcels and parcels sent to the company address, which companies often do not like. In this way, however, the employees can still be given the opportunity to receive their shipments at the workplace through such a DHL in-house solution . The first company to set up a packing station in-house was SAP in Walldorf ; Another followed in September 2005 at the SAP St. Leon-Rot location . Since these special packing stations are primarily available for the employees of the respective company, the location of these machines is not published. Well-known companies are, for example, BASF , Siemens and Deutsche Telekom . The Bundeswehr is since July 2009, the soldiers of the "barracks Panzertruppenschule " in Munster an exclusive pack station.

In-house packing stations are also suitable for use by people who are not employees of the company, as long as they have access to the location of the packing station. The packing station number cannot be found in the normal way on the Internet, but must be read on site at the terminal. Access to in-house stations can be time-limited, for example at night or on the weekend, but the station does not have to be located within a building or in a non-public area, as the name suggests. In contrast to public packing stations, if there is a corresponding agreement between the company and DHL, delivery can be made to the company's in-house mail department, which can pose considerable problems for non-company employees.

Post branch direct

As an alternative to the Packstation, the Deutsche Post subsidiary DHL has been offering a comparable service under the name Postfiliale Direkt since September 1, 2012, in which parcels and parcels can be delivered to branches of Deutsche Post sales partners, for example to local Postbank branches . The customer is notified by email and can pick up the shipment from the sales branch, but only during the respective opening times. In contrast to the Packstation, no letter products (large and maxi letters, books and consignments of goods) or express items may be sent to a post office. Larger packages than 60 cm × 35 cm × 35 cm, but (as with the Packstation) no luggage, no bulky goods, no heavy and bulky items that are transported with DHL Maxitransport.

A comparable service was already tested between January 2006 and April 2006 in some cities under the name Packstation Depot ( called Depotservice in Kerpen and Münster ). In this case, machines were not set up for reasons of space and / or costs, and items were addressed directly to a post office or post office. Depots existed in Potsdam , Münster, Kerpen, Brühl and Hürth .

Award

  • At the 2004 World Mail Awards, Deutsche Post World Net was named the best company in the Innovation category: its Packstation parcel collection system has since been named the world's most innovative postal product . (The World Mail Awards are the industry Oscar for the postal industry and are awarded annually in 10 categories.)
  • Also in 2004, Packstation was awarded first prize in the kiosk systems category for the best interactive solution at the German Multimedia Awards . (The German Multimedia Award is presented annually by the German Multimedia Congress (DMMK), the German Multimedia Association (dmmv) and the Communication Association. It honors outstanding achievements in the areas of multimedia and interactive solutions.)
  • At the Useware 2006 symposium , the VDI / VDE-Gesellschaft Mess- und Automatisierungstechnik (GMA) awarded the Packstation the Useware Prize . (This prize is awarded every two years for the user-friendly design of technical systems.)

Similar systems

Packstation, parcel box and letter box (not visible) replace an abandoned post office in Hamburg-Stellingen.

Another self-service offer from Deutsche Post is the parcel box , a drop-in box for small parcels and parcels. The Post 24/7 machine is a pilot project and includes a stamp machine , letter box and other self-service services. In addition, between 2005 and 2009 there was the letter station pilot project , an automatic mail acceptor for letters that also offered services such as registered mail and cash on delivery.

Starting in autumn 2013, DHL tested “parcel boxes”, which are installed on the customer's premises like letter boxes. The first test area was in Ingolstadt . These parcel mailboxes can be used for both sending and receiving. Since the tests were very well received, the parcel box was available nationwide since May 2014. The box could either be rented for at least 1.99 euros per month, or optionally purchased. Other postal service providers are not allowed to use DHL parcel boxes. The parcel box has not been offered since the beginning of 2019.

The counterpart to the German packing station in Austria is the Post.24 station , which is also manufactured by KEBA . In the meantime, the same manufacturer also has plants in Denmark, Chile, Norway and Turkey.

There were also parcel delivery systems in the GDR . Only the key to the locker and a notification card were sent to the actual delivery address.

criticism

In 2014, the Federal Association of Courier Express Post Services (BdKEP) saw online trade threatened by the expansion of the parcel station system. These exclusively operated postal infrastructures are only customer-friendly at first glance. This hinders the competitor. The BdKEP sees the solution as the development of postal infrastructures in which equal access is guaranteed for all postal services. This would also be in line with EU postal liberalization. This criticism was rejected by Deutsche Post DHL.

As early as 2011, security analyzes from the Chaos Computer Club environment showed that the magnetic card is insufficient as an identification feature and can easily be copied. Building on this, it was shown in 2015 that the MTAN app introduced at the beginning of the year contained a design weakness which also enabled the required transaction number to be reconstructed using the login data. The function has been deactivated in the app by DHL.

In 2018 it was criticized several times that the access to the "24/7 open" packing stations was restricted. The Post justified this with vandalism. In another case, “noise emissions that were too high” were the reason to even close a station completely.

literature

  • Bettina Oesl: Award-winning innovation / interactive parcel depots - DHL Packstations . In: DGPT (Ed.): The archive . No. 1 , 2011, ISSN  1611-0838 , p. 70-72 .
  • Jürgen Olschimke: Postautomation up-to-date: The "Packstation" . In: Philately current . No. 312 , June 2003 ( jolschimke.de ).

Web links

Commons : DHL-Packstation  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Packstation  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Deutsche Post DHL Group | Jun 08, 20: Nationwide 5,000. DHL Packstation opened in Düsseldorf. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Deutsche Post: DHL Packstation has over 10 million registered customers - Golem.de. Accessed April 12, 2019 (German).
  3. ↑ Simplified handling and more security for DHL Packstation. DHL, October 10, 2012, accessed February 10, 2013 (press release).
  4. ↑ Deutsche Post makes Packstations more secure. Handelsblatt, October 10, 2012, accessed on December 31, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Andreas Reinhardt: Full packing stations and annoyed customers . In SWR1 , November 14, 2012, accessed November 22, 2012
  6. ^ Daniel Bakir, Christoph Fröhlich: Service disaster at DHL: Chaos at the packing station . In stern.de , November 16, 2012, accessed on November 22, 2012
  7. ↑ 06. Nov. 17: DHL Packstation continues on the road to success. In: DHL press releases. Deutsche Post DHL Group, November 6, 2017, accessed on August 18, 2018 .
  8. ↑ DHL Packstation customer cards: calculate barcode from post number | Information desk. In: Information. February 13, 2018 ( 8300111.de [accessed August 18, 2018]).
  9. ↑ a b c d e DHL Packstation FAQ, questions and answers. Deutsche Post DHL Group, accessed on April 30, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Packstation finder . Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ a b Shipping with the Packstation | DHL private customer service. Retrieved April 16, 2020 .
  12. ↑ DHL GTC receiving and shipping options Changes since September 1st, 2017 . In: cbc your shipping logistics company . September 7, 2017 ( cbc-logistics.com [accessed July 2, 2018]).
  13. ↑ Twitter / DHLPaket: @mbeins Every deliverer has… In: twitter.com. Retrieved March 19, 2013 .
  14. ↑ Ordering a second delivery. DHL, accessed on November 13, 2015 .
  15. ↑ General Terms and Conditions of Deutsche Post AG for the use of parcel machines and delivery options (General Terms and Conditions for parcel machines / delivery options). (PDF; 126 kB) DHL, October 21, 2014, accessed on December 14, 2014 . , Number 5 paragraph 3
  16. ↑ https://www.dhl.de/de/privatkunden/pakete-versenden/angebote-online-frankierung/mobile-paketmarke.html
  17. ↑ http://partner.ebay.de/dhl/verpacken-frankieren
  18. ↑ Deutsche Post sets up packing stations at Aldi. In: Welt online . August 10, 2008, accessed December 8, 2013 .
  19. ↑ Swiss Post is installing more parcel machines - Group wants to introduce Packstations across the board - By the end of 2009, around 2,400 locations are planned . In Die Welt , September 12, 2007, p. 14.
  20. ↑ Swiss Post is installing many packing machines - stations should be accessible in ten minutes . In Tagesspiegel , September 12, 2007, p. 21.
  21. ↑ a b Now 2,500 DHL Packstations nationwide - expansion will be continued. November 24, 2009, accessed December 8, 2013 (press release).
  22. ↑ Parcel delivery service: Swiss Post is installing 3,000 new packing stations . ( handelsblatt.com [accessed January 4, 2020]).
  23. ↑ Press release: Largest DHL Packstation in the southern part of Karlsruhe. Deutsche Post, October 13, 2015, archived from the original on January 14, 2017 ; accessed on December 3, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Packstation: Innovative parcel service from DHL in Cologne. Deutsche Post AG, February 5, 2004, archived from the original on November 2, 2007 ; accessed on February 12, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Number of packing stations. As of November 2008. DHL, archived from the original on November 20, 2008 ; accessed on January 10, 2019 .
  26. ↑ Press release: DHL Packstation reaches two million customer mark , dp-dhl.de from September 7, 2011
  27. ↑ Press release: DHL continues to rely on the Packstation , verkehrsrundschau.de from May 6, 2014
  28. ↑ a b https://www.swp.de/suedwesten/staedte/goeppingen/packstation_-post-beklagt-vandalismus-24505756.html
  29. ↑ Internet World Business 15/2005 of December 12, 2005 p. 24
  30. ↑ Stagecoach is out - Packstation is in. Deutschesheer.de, July 1, 2009, archived from the original on July 18, 2009 ; Retrieved December 8, 2013 .
  31. ↑ Post branch direct. DHL, accessed on October 19, 2012 .
  32. ↑ Twitter / DHLPaket: @moshauer Prime shipments go… In: twitter.com. Retrieved March 19, 2013 .
  33. ↑ http://www.paket.de/paketkasten
  34. ↑ DHL Paketkasten available nationwide - The mailbox for parcels is now available for all regions of Germany - Rent from 1.99 EUR per month or buy basic version from 99 EUR , press release from dpdhl.com of May 12, 2014
  35. ↑ http://www.paketkasten.de/
  36. ↑ The parcel box joins the mailbox - if you miss the parcel carrier and no longer want the delivery at your neighbors or even in the branch, you now have an alternative: Deutsche Post DHL is now offering its own parcel box for your front door , including faz.net Material from AFP dated May 12, 2014
  37. ↑ Berrit Gräber: Parcel box of the Deutsche Post No more queuing for the parcel , sueddeutsche.de of May 14, 2014
  38. ↑ Now everyone can order the parcel box - Deutsche Post considers it “the greatest invention since the mailbox”: The “parcel box” can now be ordered nationwide - and should make many trips to the branch superfluous , AFP / lw welt.de from May 12, 2014
  39. ↑ “Will not prevail” - Post competitors blaspheme against DHL parcel box , focus.de from May 15, 2014
  40. ↑ DHL parcel boxes are obstacles to growth in e-commerce , Open Postal Alliance May 16, 2014
  41. ↑ Swiss Post is upgrading: Parcel boxes are being discontinued, PostBot does not come. February 4, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019 .
  42. ↑ Bettina Oesl, p. 72
  43. ↑ The DHL Packstation and its predecessor, the Deutsche Post parcel delivery system , Siegel, Ronny, accessed on July 8, 2014
  44. ↑ Deutsche Post DHL responds to BdKEP's push for parcel boxes. Open Postal Alliance, May 16, 2014, archived from the original on May 17, 2014 ; accessed on January 24, 2019 .
  45. ↑ GPN11 hack station
  46. ↑ DHL Packstation: Security vulnerability favors misuse of almost 3,000 parcel machines , heise.de, June 22, 2016
  47. ↑ https://weserreport.de/2018/07/panorama/tueren-zu-laut-zugeschlagen-packstation- Closed