Durham, N.C., March 24, 2016 – Last fall at GRAPH EXPO in Chicago, Bell and Howell announced a partnership with Cleveron, a postal technology company based in Estonia, to jumpstart parcel terminal delivery in North America. Yesterday, executives from both companies, along with Prime Minister of the Republic of Estonia, the Honorable Taavi Rõivas, and a delegation of U.S. business leaders and public officials, unveiled the PackRobot intelligent locker at a special event at Bell and Howell’s headquarters in Durham, North Carolina.
Intelligent lockers are well established in Europe where they are used for convenient consumer parcel delivery and pickup. Due to rising consumer expectations and the dramatic increase in parcel volumes, they are now gaining attention from U.S. business in three primary applications: eCommerce retail for convenient same-day pickup and returns; brick-and-mortar retail for “click-and-collect” or “buy online, pick up in store” (BOPS); and campus package delivery and returns. Bell and Howell and Cleveron see the potential for 15,000 parcel terminals in North America in the next five years.
Bell and Howell will be showcasing PackRobot in Booth 4175 at the upcoming MODEX 2016 supply-chain tradeshow, April 4-7 in Atlanta.
PackRobot is a dramatic advance in intelligent systems for consumer delivery and pickup of parcels and packages. Built upon experiences gained from producing a very successful line of first-generation smart lockers, Cleveron’s patent-pending innovation combines advanced Internet-of-Things technologies with modern consumer-friendly, space-efficient ergonomic design and aesthetics to bring the convenience of smart lockers to new environments.
Unlike traditional smart lockers that use a fixed number of pre-set locker sizes, PackRobot measures each parcel’s dimensions and uses a proprietary 3D lift system that dynamically configures a locker slot to optimally secure the parcel. The result: no wasted space and capacity for three times more parcels than conventional smart lockers, resulting in maximizing economic use of indoor or outdoor retail floor space.
PackRobot provides a number of unique benefits:
- Flexible deployment options – environmentally hardened design with internal climate control allows for use outdoors and indoors
- Efficient use of available space – dynamic storage system (patent pending) holds up to 500 variable-sized parcels in a footprint under 5m2
- Convenient operation – with a touch-free user interface, integrated smartphone app and the high-speed lift, consumers are able to retrieve a parcel in as little as 10 seconds
- High security and delivery integrity – every parcel is photographed, automatically weighed and measured to ensure the right package is securely delivered to the right recipient
“Cleveron terminals are installed at 800 locations across Europe, with over 61,000 lockers delivering 450,000 parcels each month,” said Bell and Howell CEO Ramesh Ratan. “We anticipate that demand in North America will be tremendous, and are extremely proud to partner with Cleveron to bring this solution to the market.”
For additional information, visit www.bellhowell.net, call 1-800-220-3030 or follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter @bellandhowell.
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About Bell and Howell
Bell and Howell is shaping the future of mail and commerce. We deliver innovative service and technology solutions that enrich customer communications and fulfillment for the world’s largest finance, industry and public sector enterprises. Our software and hardware streamlines high-volume, high-integrity production of customer communications and products, maximizes postal discounts, and monetizes every customer touchpoint. Our service organization is among the most sophisticated in the world for production workflow, automation and industrial mechatronics. Headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C., with offices around the world, Bell and Howell is the trusted partner to thousands of organizations globally. For additional information, visit BellHowell.net.
About Cleveron
Cleveron is an Estonia-based postal technology company that specializes in the design and manufacture of customer-focused automated parcel terminals and software. With a broad experience in logistics, Cleveron has a unique understanding of the challenges posed by the rapidly growing parcel delivery market. The mission of Cleveron is to make sending and reception of parcels as effective, fast, convenient and favorably priced as possible by offering modern technology-based solutions. Its automated parcel terminals for indoor use are present in eight different countries. In 2015, Cleveron has reinvented its newest automated parcel terminal called PackRobot. The model has a unique smart storage system that optimizes the use of available store and internal climate control for outdoor use.
